Born in Deschambault, Québec, Canada; educated at the University of Montreal (history). Arcand was aised in a strict Catholic home (his mother had wanted to be a Carmelite nun) and spent nine years in Jesuit school. He produced his first film, the short SEUL OU AVEC D'AUTRES / ALONE OR WITH OTHERS (1962), while at university. After graduation, he went to work for the National Film Board of Canada, and between 1964 and 1965 he made a trilogy of short historical documentaries about the early explorers and settlers of North America. In 1970 he directed ON EST AU COTON / COTTON MILL, a feature-length documentary about abuses in the textile industry that was officially banned, allegedly because of its "biased" point of view. Another politically-oriented documentary followed, QUÉBEC: DUPLESSIS ET APRES... / QUÉBEC: DUPLESSIS AND AFTER... (1972). In 1972 Arcand directed his first feature, LA MAUDITE GALETTE / DIRTY MONEY. Other notable feature credits include GINA (a.k.a. "Stone Cold Revenge") (1975), LE CRIME D'OVIDE PLOUFFE / MURDER IN THE FAMILY (1984), LE DÉCLIN DE L'EMPIRE AMÉRICAIN / THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE (1986, Oscar® nomination for Best Foreign Language Film), JÉSUS DE MONTRÉAL (1989), AMOUR ET RESTES HUMAINS / LOVE & HUMAN REMAINS (1993), JOYEUX CALVAIRE / POVERTY AND OTHER DELIGHTS (1996), STARDOM (2000) and LES INVASIONS BARBARES / THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS (2003), which received an Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film. Arcand's most recent release is L'ÂGE DES TÉNÈBRES / THE AGE OF IGNORANCE (2007). His brother is Canadian actor Gabriel Arcand (b. 1949).  Nominated for Writing (Original Screenplay) 2003: THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS 1 nomination