Julien Élie

Julien Élie is a Canadian documentary filmmaker from Quebec, most noted for his films Dark Suns (Soleils noirs)^[1] and The White Guard (La Guardia blanca).^[2]

He began his career with a supporting role as Pierre in the 1984 film The Dog Who Stopped the War (La Guerre des tuques),^[3] but later worked as a boom operator on films rather than continuing an acting career.^[2]

He released his first documentary film, The One Who Knew (Celui qui savait), in 2001. The film centred on the investigation into the assassination of Rwandan politician Seth Sendashonga.^[4] He followed up with The Last Meal (Le Dernier repas), about prisoners on death row in Texas, in 2003.^[5]

Dark Suns and The White Guard both focused on the issue of violent crime in Mexico.^[2]

His newest film, Shifting Baselines, is slated to premiere at the 2025 edition of the Visions du Réel documentary film festival.^[6]

Filmography

• The One Who Knew (Celui qui savait) - 2001
• The Last Meal (Le Dernier repas) - 2003
• Dark Suns (Soleils noirs) - 2018
• The White Guard (La Guardia blanca) - 2023
• Shifting Baselines - 2025

Awards

Award	Date	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
DOXA Documentary Film Festival	2019	Colin Low Award	Dark Suns (Soleils noirs)	Honored	[7]
Filmfest Hamburg	2019	Sichtwechsel Film Award		Won	[8]
Montreal International Documentary Festival	2018	Grand Prize, National Feature		Won	[9]
	2023	Magnus Isacsson Award	The White Guard (La Guardia blanca)	Won	[10]
		Student Jury Award		Won
Prix Iris	2020	Best Documentary Film	Dark Suns (Soleils noirs)	Nominated	[11]