Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire is a French filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter. He was born on December 31, 1968, in Paris, France, and now lives in New York City. In 1991, he started his career in films as an assistant director. He worked on various films until 2000 when he directed three short films: La Mule (co-directed with Rossy De Palma), A Dios, and Matalo, all focusing on the theme of violence among adolescents.
In 2008, Sauvaire co-produced and directed the film Johnny Mad Dog, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Prix de l’Espoir. The movie is based on the novel ‘Johnny Chien Méchant’ by Congolese writer Emmanuel Dongala, depicting child soldiers during the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003.
Following the success of Johnny Mad Dog, Sauvaire directed a telefilm called Punk in 2012 and the film A Prayer Before Dawn in 2017, which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2023, he directed Black Flies, an adaptation of Shannon Burke’s novel, starring Sean Penn and Tye Sheridan. The film competed at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023.