Alexandre Aja

Alexandre Aja
Alexandre Aja in 2015
Born	Alexandre Jouan-Arcady (1977-08-07) 7 August 1977 (age 39) Paris, France
Occupation	Film director, film producer, screenwriter
Years active	1997–present
Known for	Extreme horror
Notable work	Haute Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors

Alexandre Aja (born 7 August 1977) is a French film director better known for his work in various horror films. Aja rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film Haute Tension (known as High Tension in the US and Switchblade Romance in the UK). He has also directed the horror films The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Mirrors (2008), Piranha 3D (2010) and Horns (2013).

His real name is Alexandre Jouan-Arcady. His pseudonymous surname is formed from the initial letter of each of the three parts of his real name. He was born in Paris, France, and is the son of Jewish French Pied-Noir director Alexandre Arcady and French cinema critic Marie-Jo Jouan.

He acted at a very young age in minor roles in his father's films such as Le Grand Carnaval (), and the two Le Grand Pardon () films.

He made his directorial debut at the age of eighteen with the short film Over the Rainbow, which received a Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award nomination for best short film. In 1999 he directed Furia, a film based on Julio Cortázar's short story Graffiti. From Furia and his next features, he frequently works with Grégory Levasseur as writers such as in The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors, P2, and Piranha 3D. Levasseur also made his works as production designer too.

Aja directed Haute Tension, which released in 2003 in France and in 2005 in the US, and placed Aja on the map of the horror movie genre. The French slasher, though sticking to horror conventions, pushed the envelope of gore and tension. The film is an unauthorized reinterpretation of the novel "Intensity", by Dean Koontz. Favouring make-up effects over computer-generated imagery, the film quickly found respect among horror fans. It was released in the US as High Tension, after some editing. The film was nominated for the grand prize at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, and earned Aja awards for Best Direction and Best Fantasy Film at the Catalonian International Film Festival.