Daniel Langlois was a pioneering animator. Image: DANIEL LANGLOIS FOUNDATION
Canadian businessman and partner Daniel Langlois discovered dead in Dominica.
Dominica is home to Canadian businessman Daniel Langlois and his partner, whose bodies were discovered under mysterious circumstances.
Reports indicate that a burned-out truck contained the remains of Mr. Langlois and Dominique Marchand, who were found on Friday.
From the island’s eco-resort, where they were owners, the pair had gone missing for days.
Softimage, an animation software company that Mr. Langlois co-founded, supplied software for several Hollywood blockbusters.
Dominica News Online cites Dominica’s Minister of National Security and Legal Affairs, Rayburn Blackmoore, as saying that three foreign people and one Dominican had been arrested in connection with the event.
“We cannot ignore this type of terrible crime and the brutality in this crime. We cannot allow those responsible to go unpunished,” the minister said, as reported by Dominican media.
The Dominican national police have been approached by the reporter for comment.
An official from the United States Department of State informed the reporter that they are aware of allegations regarding the detention of a US citizen in Dominica in response to claims that one of the four individuals now being interrogated by the authorities is an American citizen.
“Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment at this time.”
There was a lack of details on the fatalities.
Both partners “died in tragic circumstances” on December 1, according to a Monday statement from the entrepreneur’s charity organization, the Daniel Langlois Foundation, which he established in 1997.
“In the coming weeks and months, details of the exact circumstances of their passing will be revealed as the Dominican police authorities and justice system proceed to the investigation,” according to a statement.
“Mr. Langlois’s stellar career left a profound influence on contemporary cinema,” the organization added.
In the 1980s, Mr. Langlois founded Softimage after a career as an animator and filmmaker in Quebec, Canada. Titanic, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, and Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace were all made possible by its 3D animation programme.
Reportedly sold to Microsoft for $130 million (£85 million) in 1994.
A trio of years subsequent to that transaction, Mr. Langlois was co-winner of an Academy Award in the scientific and technological category for components used in Softimage animation.
His engagement with the arts and cinema continued, and he even held the position of president at Montreal’s independent film festival, the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.
More recently, Mr. Langlois and Ms. Marchand founded the Resilient Dominica Project to aid the island after Hurricane Maria, which damaged the local economy and killed 65 people, while running the eco-friendly resort Coulibri Ridge in Dominica.
According to the foundation, Ms. Marchand was involved with the Humane Society of Dominica, an animal charity.
Pascale St-Onge, Canada’s Minister of Culture and Heritage, referred to Mr. Langlois as “a visionary in digital technologies and cinema” in an X (previously Twitter) post.
His inventive attitude is reflected in his legacy. She expressed her condolences to his family in her letter.