Denis Villeneuve’s favourite place on earth
Denis Villeneuve has had the fortune to shoot his films all across the world. Just for Dune alone, he shot in Jordan, Norway, United Arab Emirates and Austria, whilst there will have been countless other locations for him to visit for his several other features. But aside from travelling for vocational reasons, how about the places that Villeneuve favours personally?
During a conversation with Lynn Hirschberg, Villeneuve noted his favourite place on earth. He said: “The place that comes up in my mind is The Magdalen Islands. It’s an archipelago with several little islands linked by sand dunes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s one of my favourite places on earth – it is my favourite place on earth. It’s a little island in the heart of the Province of Quebec.”
The Magdalen Islands are, as Villeneuve notes, a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and although they officially come under the Province of Quebec, they are, in fact, closer to Canada’s Maritime provinces and Newfoundland. The collection of islands is comprised of eight major ones: Amherst, Grande Entrée, Grindstone, Grosse-Île, House Harbour, Pointe-Aux-Loups, Entry Island, and Brion. All but Brion are inhabited, although there are a few minor islands also considered to be part of the archipelago.
Discussing his memory of The Magdalen Island, Villeneuve continued: “I went there the first time when I was a kid with my parents. I spent the summer there, and then after, I went around the world visiting several countries in my twenties, but I had an urge [even] before working in Canada, I had the urge to go back there and to revisit my roots there.”
The reason for Villeneuve’s admiration for his favourite place on earth is the fact that it is so remote, and he feels at one with the natural elements. “There is a relationship with the ocean and the horizon there because there are like little hills in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “When you climb the little hill, you see 360 degrees around you, you see the ocean, and it’s like so beautiful, so fragile, so vulnerable, so poetic.”
He added, “It’s just in a relationship with the elements, with the wind, the horizon and the ocean. Many details in the environment. And it is definitely my favourite place on earth.”
No wonder it is his favourite place on earth, as it sounds beautiful. As to whether he has actually shot any film there, Villeneuve noted, “Little things, a lot of pictures.” We can, for now, only imagine the beauty and serenity of The Magdalen Islands as Villeneuve describes them.
