Xavier Dolan

Xavier Dolan (born 20 March 1989), sometimes credited as Xavier Dolan-Tadros, is a Canadian actor and filmmaker.

Early life

Dolan was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the son of Geneviève Dolan, a teacher, and Manuel Tadros, an Egyptian-born Canadian actor and singer with strong ties in the Quebecois entertainment industry. Dolan was a successful child actor.

Career

Early Work

Dolan attracted international attention with his first feature film, I Killed My Mother (J'ai tué ma mère), which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in, using funds from his extensive work as a child actor. The film premiered at the Director's Fortnight program of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival where it received an eight-minute standing ovation and won 3 awards— the Art Cinema Award, the SACD Prize for screenplay and the Prix Regards Jeunes — and built on its success by winning even more honours on the international festival circuit, including a Lumière Award, 4 Jutra Awards including Best Film, Best Screenplay and Most Successful Film Outside Québec, beating out Denis Villeneuve’s film Polytechnique (2009) in what was a deemed an "upset."

The finger

In Western culture, the finger or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger or the bird or flipping someone off,) is an obscene hand gesture. It communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "fuck off", "fuck you", "shove it up your ass", "up yours" or "go fuck yourself". It is performed by showing the back of a closed fist that has only the middle finger extended upwards, though in some locales the thumb is extended. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially Western ones. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, although others use it to express pointing without intentional disrespect toward other cultures.

The gesture dates back to Ancient Greece and it was also used in Ancient Rome. Historically, it represented the phallus. In some modern cultures, it has gained increasing recognition as a sign of disrespect, and has been used by music artists (notably more common among hardcore punk bands and rappers), actors, celebrities, athletes, and politicians. Most still view the gesture as obscene. The index finger and ring finger besides the middle finger in more contemporary periods has been likened to represent the testicles.