The Childhood of a Leader is a 2015 historical mystery drama film, written, produced and directed by Brady Corbet, and is Corbet's feature film directorial debut. It is loosely based on Jean-Paul Sartre's short story The Childhood of a Leader, published in 1939 in a collection entitled The Wall, and John Fowles's 1965 novel The Magus. Corbet co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Mona Fastvold, and filmed both an English and a French language version.
The film chronicles the childhood of a fascist leader in the period immediately following World War I. Production began in early 2015, in Budapest, Hungary. The film had its world premiere in-competition (Horizon section) at 72nd Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2015 and won two awards at the festival, Best Debut film and Best Director.
