Montreal sound editor Sylvain Bellemare wins Oscar for Arrival
Bellemare found inspiration for sound of alien language in Pink Floyd's music
Montreal's Sylvain Bellemare gave a shoutout to his home city and expressed his fondness for Quebec director Denis Villeneuve as he accepted the best sound editing Oscar on Sunday for his work on Arrival.
"This award, by far, is a collective award made by people from many countries around the world, led by the Quebec team. Salut, Montreal," he said in his thank-you speech.
He then thanked the cast and crew, including star Amy Adams, who failed to get a nomination.
"Amy Adams, you're a wonderful person and a profound actress. Thanks a lot," said Bellemare.
"Denis Villeneuve ... I love you so much. You bring love to us. All we need is love. Good night."
Bellemare won in a field that also included teams from Deepwater Horizon, Hacksaw Ridge, La La Land and Sully.
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Arrival stars Adams as a linguistics expert who tries to communicate with aliens that have landed on Earth.
Jeremy Renner plays theoretical physicist Ian in the Quebec-shot film, which also stars Forest Whitaker as a military leader.
Earlier this month, Bellemare, along with two Arrival sound mixers, won a trophy from the British Academy Film Awards.
Bellemare's previous credits include Villeneuve's 2010 drama Incendies, which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign-language film.
His other films include It's Not Me, I Swear! and Monsieur Lazhar by Quebec director Philippe Falardeau.
For the heptapod aliens in Arrival, he found inspiration in Pink Floyd's music.
He said echoes and other noises from the psychedelic rock era helped him create the sound of alien movements.
Bellemare was also a contributor to the creation of the aliens' language, which was inspired partly by a melange of animal sounds.