Born in Paris to a French mother and an Algerian father, Demange moved to London with his mother and two older half-brothers when he was two years old, initially to the
south of the city, then the
west. His parents split up shortly after the family moved to London, and between the ages of four and twelve, Demange was raised in two four-year placements in
foster care in
Essex, one with a French-speaking family and the other with a white
Cockney family. He was originally given the first name Mounir, however one of his half-brothers convinced his mother to change it so he could avoid discrimination for having an Arabic name, so after his parents split his first name was changed to Yann and Mounir became his middle name. Although he is a French citizen, Demange has said that he does not have a single sense of national identity and that he primarily describes himself as a Londoner. For his direction of
Channel 4's
Top Boy (2011), a gang drama set in
Hackney, Demange received a nomination for a BAFTA Television Award for Best Director, while the serial was nominated in the category Best Mini-Series. Demange made his directorial film debut with ''
'71'' (2014), which stars
Jack O'Connell as a soldier deployed to Belfast at the height of political violence in Northern Ireland. Demange has also been hailed as a promising new voice in British filmmaking. In November 2022, it was reported that Demange would direct
Blade, a theatrical
reboot of the
Blade film franchise set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe, but was no longer working on the film by June 2024. ==Filmography==