Welcome to the Dollhouse

Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1959, Todd Solondz quickly developed a style of gritty social satire. His second feature, Welcome to the Dollhouse, won the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. His next film, Happiness, was selected for Cannes' Quinzaine des cinéastes and won the FIPRESCI prize. Solondz's approach to the subject of paedophilia in Happiness (1998) caused a major controversy, with the film's original distributor going so far as to renounce its rights. In 2009, the director signed a sequel to Happiness entitled Life During Wartime. Presented in competition at Venice, the film won the prize for best screenplay.

Meanwhile, Solondz directed Storytelling (2001), selected in the Un certain regard section at Cannes, as well as Palindromes (2004), presented in official competition at Venice. Dark Horse (2011) was also launched at the Venice Film Festival, while Wiener-Dog (2016), inspired by Robert Bresson's Au hasard Balthazar, had its first public screening at Sundance. For example, characters from Welcome to the Dollhouse can be found in both Life During Wartime and Wiener-Dog. The suburbs of New Jersey are at the heart of all his films, which tackle disturbing themes: pedophilia, incest, suicide, rape...