Dominique Othenin-Girard
| Dominique Othenin-Girard | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
13 February 1958 Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Swiss, French |
| Alma mater | London Film School |
| Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1981-present |
Dominique Othenin-Girard (born 13 February 1958) is a Swiss/French film director, producer and screenwriter. He is known for films such as Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, The Crusaders and After Darkness which was nominated for a Golden Bear Award. Othenin-Girard is also active in promoting awareness for Down syndrome.
Dominique Othenin-Girard was born in 1958 in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, to French painter Ivan Othenin-Girard and Sonia Calame. His early years were spent traveling to lands that were in culturally different from his native Switzerland; first for an extended stay in Greece and then to live in Iran where his father established the Fine Arts Program in Tehran. At 7 years old he returned to Switzerland with his mother, brother and sister, where he remained until going to the United States as an exchange student when he was 16 years old. He began studying photography and was accepted at the London Film School.
Othenin-Girard graduated from the London Film School with a Masters of Arts in directing and editing. In 1982 he founded his own production company, Dog Productions, to produce, write and direct his first feature film, the psychosocial thriller After Darkness (1984), which was nominated for a Golden Bear at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival. He continued to direct film for the TSR and British HTV until 1987 when he moved to Los Angeles. An opportunity to direct the horror movie Night Angel showed Othenin-Girard's talent in this genre, and he went on to direct and co-write Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.
In 1990, Othenin-Girard’s sister-in-law, who has Down syndrome, moved in with his family. This inspired him to tell the story of a family with a child with Down's syndrome. To accomplish this he founded the production company Alhena Films SA in Los Angeles to co-write and direct the family drama Sandra: c’est la vie (1992). He took this theme up again by co-writing and directing the German television film Florian: Love with All His Heart, which was RTL's highest rated film and received praise from Down syndrome advocate groups.
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