Daniel Langlois#Daniel Langlois Foundation

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Daniel Langlois {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|CQ}} (6 April 1957 – 2023) was a Canadian businessman who was the president and founder of the Daniel Langlois Foundation, Ex-Centris, and Media Principia Inc.

He was founder and inaugural president of Softimage Inc., which is recognized in the fields of cinema and media creation for its digital technologies, in particular its 3-D computer animation techniques. Its software was used to create 3-D effects in such films as The Matrix, Titanic, Men in Black, Jurassic Park, and Terminator 2.

Early life and education

Langlois was born on 6 April 1957 in Jonquière, Quebec, Canada.{{cite web |title=Daniel Langlois |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/langlois-daniel |last1=Vérroneau |first1=Pierre |last2=McIntosh |first2=Andrew |orig-date=27 May 2008 |date=7 December 2023 |work=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208213701/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/langlois-daniel |archive-date=8 December 2023 |access-date=8 December 2023}}

He earned a bachelor of design degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal.{{cite web |year=2022 |title=Daniel Langlois biography |url=https://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=302 |publisher=Daniel Langlois Foundation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209065105/https://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=302 |archive-date=9 December 2023 |access-date=8 December 2023| quote=Daniel Langlois and his partner Dominique Marchand died in tragic circumstances on December 1, 2023 in Dominica near their Coulibri Ridge resort. }}{{cite news |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2031957/daniel-langlois-dominque-marchand-deces |title=L'entrepreneur québécois Daniel Langlois retrouvé mort dans les Caraïbes |language=French |trans-title=Quebec entrepreneur Daniel Langlois found dead in the Caribbean |date=3 December 2023 |author= |work=Radio-Canada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204213310/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2031957/daniel-langlois-dominque-marchand-deces |archive-date=4 December 2023 |access-date=8 December 2023}}

Film career

Langlois worked for eight years as a film director and animator for private companies and the National Film Board of Canada. During this time, he made contributions to the film industry, especially to the field of computer graphics. He gained recognition for his work on Transitions, the first stereoscopic 3-D computer animation in IMAX format (presented at Expo 86). He also had a hand in the 1985 film Tony de Peltrie, which garnered several international awards.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Langlois also founded Softimage Inc., serving as its president and chief technology officer from November 1986 to July 1998. The company is recognized in the fields of cinema and media creation for its digital technologies, especially its 3-D computer animation techniques. Softimage software was used to create 3-D effects in such films as The Matrix, Titanic, Men in Black, Jurassic Park, and The Mask.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Langlois was president and founder of the Daniel Langlois Foundation, Ex-Centris, and Media Principia Inc.

Later career: sustainable development

In later years, Daniel Langlois was involved in sustainable development and research projects for the creation of self-sustainability for small communities and some industrial sectors such as the hospitality sector. Coulibri Ridge, which is part of this research process in Dominica,{{cite web |url=https://www.coulibriridge.com/_files/ugd/f8e3fe_54abf21bcd8944809a26aa9f6883f14f.pdf |title=Coulibri Ridge: Realising a vision of sustainability |date=2020 |last=Crask |first=Paul |magazine=Dominica Geographic |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208215157/https://www.coulibriridge.com/_files/ugd/f8e3fe_54abf21bcd8944809a26aa9f6883f14f.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2023 |access-date=8 December 2023}} was awarded Gold and Platinum Winner as well as Grand Winner in the Hotel and Tourism Development category at the 15th Edition of the Grands Prix du Design 2022.{{cite web |url=https://int.design/en/projects/coulibri-ridge/ |title=Coulibri Ridge Grands Prix du Design 2022 |year=2022 |publisher=INT. Design |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207171222/https://int.design/en/projects/coulibri-ridge/ |archive-date=7 February 2023 |access-date=8 December 2023}}

Recognition and honours

1994: Named by Ernst & Young as Canada's national entrepreneur of the year
1996: Honorary doctorate in administration, Université de Sherbrooke{{cite web |url=https://www.usherbrooke.ca/decouvrir/a-propos/notre-histoire/doctorats-honorifiques/docteurs/l/daniel-langlois |title=Daniel Langlois |language=French |author= |publisher=Université de Sherbrooke |url-status=live |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202061927/https://www.usherbrooke.ca/decouvrir/a-propos/notre-histoire/doctorats-honorifiques/docteurs/l/daniel-langlois |access-date=8 December 2023}}
1997: Scientific and Technical Oscar, from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences{{cite web |url=https://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/Search/Nominations?nomineeId=4159&view=1-Nominee-Alpha |title=Daniel Langlois |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=8 December 2023}}
1999: Knight of the National Order of Quebec{{cite web |url=https://www.ordre-national.gouv.qc.ca/membres/membre.asp?id=380 | title=Daniel Langlois (1957 – 2023) |language=French |website=Ordre National du Québec |publisher=Government of Quebec |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208221457/https://www.ordre-national.gouv.qc.ca/membres/membre.asp?id=380 |access-date=8 December 2023}}
2000: Officer of the Order of Canada{{cite web| url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-6994 |title=

Mr. Daniel Langlois |publisher=Governor General of Canada |url-status=live |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202061933/https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-6994 |access-date=8 December 2023}}

2002: Honorary doctorate, McGill University{{cite web |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/oscars-academia-9790 |title=The Oscars of academia? |orig-date=21 May 2002 |date=1 July 2013 |publisher=McGill University |url-status=live |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202060425/https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/oscars-academia-9790 |access-date=8 December 2023}}
2004: Great Montrealer{{cite web |url=https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/ordre/en/daniel-langlois |title=Daniel Langlois |publisher=City of Montreal |url-status=live |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202060436/https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/ordre/en/daniel-langlois |access-date=8 December 2023}}
2004: Honorary doctorate, Concordia University{{cite web |url=https://www.concordia.ca/offices/archives/honorary-degree-recipients/2004/12/daniel-langlois.html |title=Honorary degree citation - Daniel Langlois |last=Jackson |first=Christopher |date=December 2004 |publisher=Concordia University |url-status=live |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202060424/https://www.concordia.ca/offices/archives/honorary-degree-recipients/2004/12/daniel-langlois.html |access-date=8 December 2023}}
2005: Honorary doctorate, Université du Québec à Montréal{{cite web | url=https://distinctions.uqam.ca/prix-et-distinctions/prix-uqam/doctorat-honoris-causa/ | title=Doctorat honoris causa |language=French |publisher=Université du Québec à Montréal |url-status=live |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208223212/https://distinctions.uqam.ca/prix-et-distinctions/prix-uqam/doctorat-honoris-causa/ |access-date=8 December 2023}}
2008: Honorary doctorate, University of Ottawa{{cite web |url=https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/president/honorary-doctorates/langlois-daniel |title=Langlois, Daniel |publisher=University of Ottawa |url-status=live |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202060437/https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/president/honorary-doctorates/langlois-daniel |access-date=8 December 2023}}
2016: Officer of the Order of Montreal

Death and investigation

On 1 December 2023, police in Dominica found a burnt out car near Galion containing the bodies of Langlois and his partner Dominique Marchand.{{Cite web |last=Amidi |first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |date=2023-12-05 |title=Multiple People In Custody After Softimage Founder And Computer Graphics Pioneer Daniel Langlois Found Dead In Dominica |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/multiple-people-in-custody-after-softimage-founder-and-computer-graphics-pioneer-daniel-langlois-found-dead-in-dominica-235420.html |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Cartoon Brew |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Softimage Founder Daniel Langlois, Partner Dominique Marchand Found Dead in Dominica |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/12/softimage-founder-daniel-langlois-partner-dominique-marchand-found-dead-in-dominica/ |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Animation Magazine}} According to Dominica News Online and other local sources, the couple had been missing for a few days. They reported that three people had been detained and were being questioned by police.

"For years, the two men had fought bitterly over use of a public road. In 2019, Dominica’s highest court ruled that the road was indeed public and Langlois’ workers and guests could use it."{{cite news |last1=Hunter |first1=Brad |title=Why was suspect in Dominica murder of Canadians sprung from jail? |url=https://torontosun.com/news/world/why-was-suspect-in-dominica-murder-of-canadians-sprung-from-jail |access-date=20 October 2024 |work=Toronto Sun |date=Dec 11, 2023 |quote=Lehrer is now back behind bars}}

On 6 December 2023, it was reported that in fact the police in Dominica had made four arrests in the case, and that two of the suspects, Jonathan Lehrer and Robert Snyder, had been charged with murder in a court in Roseau, Dominica's capital. Lehrer, a man from New Jersey, owns a property next to Langlois's and Marchand's luxurious eco-resort and had been involved in litigation with Langlois five years before the murders in a matter dealing with a public roadway.{{Cite news |title=2 charged in Dominica killings of Daniel Langlois and Dominique Marchand |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/2-charged-langlois-marchand-killing-dominica-1.7050513 |date=6 December 2023 |last=MacFarlane |first=John |work=CBC News |url-status=live |archive-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207033837/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/2-charged-langlois-marchand-killing-dominica-1.7050513 |access-date=8 December 2023}}{{Cite web |last=Amidi |first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |date=2023-12-06 |title=Two American Men Charged With Homicides Of Computer Animation Pioneer Daniel Langlois And Partner |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/law/two-american-men-charged-with-homicide-of-computer-animation-pioneer-daniel-langlois-and-partner-235532.html |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=Cartoon Brew |language=en-US}}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czioAXaL8N0 Road to Ruin] - The Fifth Estate: Season 50, Episode 2 via: YouTube

bail was granted and apparently assured by a government representative. The trial starts February 10/25 in Dominica.

Daniel Langlois Foundation

The Daniel Langlois Foundation is a non-profit, philanthropic organization endowed by Daniel Langlois and chartered in 1997 with the mission to support artistic and scientific projects and research dedicated to further general human awareness as well as the understanding of human relation with its natural and technological environment.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The purpose of the foundation is to further artistic and scientific knowledge by fostering the meeting of art and science in the field of technologies and the environment. The Foundation seeks to nurture a critical awareness of technology's implications for human beings and their natural and cultural environments, and to promote the exploration of aesthetics suited to evolving human environments. The Foundation Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D) seeks to document history, artworks and practices associated with electronic and digital media arts and to make this information available to researchers in an innovative manner through data communications.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

In 2005, the foundation initiated the development of DOCAM (Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage). This international research alliance's primary objective is to develop new methodologies and tools to address the issues of preserving and documenting technological and electronic works of art.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The Daniel Langlois Foundation, DOCAM, and its Centre for Research and Documentation are located in Montreal. In 2011, the entire collection of the foundation was donated to the Cinémathèque québécoise.{{cite web | url=https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/en/collections/daniel-langlois-fondation/ |title=Daniel Langlois Foundation |publisher=Cinémathèque québécoise |url-status=live |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927152434/https://www.cinematheque.qc.ca/en/collections/daniel-langlois-fondation/ |access-date=8 December 2023}}

Resilient Dominica (RezDM.org) is a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) formed in 2018 shortly after Hurricane Maria by the Daniel Langlois Foundation in an attempt to rebuild and strengthen resilience in Dominica in the communities of Soufriere, Scotts Head, and Gallion.{{cite news |url=http://sundominica.com/articles/coral-relief-strike-team-on-a-mission-to-save-domi-6768/ |title=Coral Relief Strike Team: On A Mission To Save Dominica's Coral Reefs |date=18 May 2022 |author= |work=The Sun |url-status=live |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202060425/http://sundominica.com/articles/coral-relief-strike-team-on-a-mission-to-save-domi-6768/ |access-date=8 December 2023}}