Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

December 31, 1968

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (born 31 December 1968; Paris), is a French director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of films Johnny Mad Dog (2008), A Prayer Before Dawn (2017) and Black Flies (2023). Sauvaire was born on 31 December 1968 in Paris, France. He currently lives in New York City. In 1991, he started film career as a first assistant director of the film Les Nuits Fauves by Cyril Collard. Then he joined the crew for the films Les Demons de Jesus and Les Grandes Bouches directed by Bernie Bonvoisin, I Stand Alone by Gaspar Noé, Sous Les Pieds Des Femmes directed by Rachida Krim, Hors Jeu by Karim Dridi, Louise (Take 2) by Siegfried and Love Me by Laetitia Masson. He continued to work as the assistant director until 2000. At the end of 2000, he directed his three short films, La Mule (co-directed with Rossy De Palma), A Dios and Matalo. In all these three short films, he used the theme of violence among adolescents. In 2008, he made the film Johnny Mad Dog co-produced with Mathieu Kassovitz. The film was later presented in the Official Selection, 'Un Certain Regard' section at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Prix de l'Espoir. The film was an adaptation of the novel 'Johnny Chien Méchant' written by Congolese writer Emmanuel Dongala. It tells the story of a group of child soldiers fighting for the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebels in 2003, during the latter part of the Second Liberian Civil War. After the success of the film, he directed a telefilm Punk in 2012, which was co-produced by Arte, with Paul Bartel and Béatrice Dalle. In 2017, he made the film A Prayer Before Dawn which was adapted from the story of Billy Moore. The film received an official selection at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in 2017. In 2023, Sauvaire directed Black Flies, an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Shannon Burke, with Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan. The film is selected in competition at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023.