Wajdi Mouawad

bWbajdi Mouawad moved to Paris in his teens and then to Canada settling in Montral Qubec He graduated from the prestigious National Theatre School and first concentrated on writing and directing for the theatre His career although short has been distinguished by the high quality of his work He was given First Prize by the Qubec Theatre Critics Association for his stage version of emLittoraeml in 2000 He later turned the play into a film script which was released in 2004 The English title for the film is emTidelineem The play first performed in 1997 was also honoured with the Governor General of Canada Award His play emIncendiesem Scorched has been produced all over the world including the United States and Australia and has won several awards It was the basis for Denis Villeneuves acclaimed 2009 film a hrefincendiesemIncendiesema In 2002 the government of France made him a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres In 2008 he was named artistic director of the French theatre section at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and In 2009 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions as a writer actor stage director and playwright known internationally for the quality and scope of his theatrical creationsbr br br