David Paul Cronenberg CC OOnt FRSC born March 15 1943 in Toronto Ontario is widely regarded as Canadas most influential and internationally celebrated filmmaker Cronenberg has made a significant impact on genre cinema in Canada Nicknamed The Baron of Blood and The King of Venereal Horror he has pushed boundaries with his controversial horror movies His unique style of body horror films including Shivers 1975 The Brood 1979 Scanners 1981 Videodrome 1983 The Fly 1986 Dead Ringers 1988 Naked Lunch 1991 and Crash 1996 have captivated audiences with their thoughtprovoking exploration of the complex relationship between sex technology and violence Cronenbergs contributions to the film industry have been recognized with numerous awards and honours including being a Companion of the Order of Canada a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres de France and a member of Canadas Walk of Fame He has received 10 Genie Awards and has been honoured at prestigious international film festivals as well as receiving lifetime achievement awards from the Governor Generals Performing Arts Awards the Canadian Screen Awards the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival Cronenberg has been married twice first to sound recordist Margaret Hindson from 1970 to 1977 with whom he had one daughter Cassandra Cronenberg born 1972 then to cinematographer Carolyn Zeifman from 1979 until her death in 2017 with whom he had one son Brandon Cronenberg born 1980 and one daughter Caitlin Cronenberg born 1984