Georges Dufaux (; March 17, 1927 in Lille, France – November 8, 2008 in Switzerland) was a Canadian documentary film director and cinematographer.

Biography

After graduating in 1953 from the École nationale de photographie et de cinématographie on the rue de Vaugirard, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Dufaux worked at a film laboratory in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

for three years. He came to Canada in 1956 and joined the NFB as an assistant cameraman, first working on the series ''Candid Eye''. Dufaux eventually progressed to cinematographer and was responsible for the photography of many important Canadian films such as ''Les Brûlés'' (1959), '' Astataïon ou Le festin des morts'' (1965), '' YUL 871'' (1966), ''

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

'' (1968), ''

Fortune and Men's Eyes ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' is a 1967 play and 1971 film written by John Herbert about a young man's experience in prison, exploring themes of homosexuality and sexual slavery. Plot of the play The plot follows Smitty, a 17-year-old, after he ...

'' (1971), '' Taureau'' (1973), ''Les beaux souvenirs'' (1981), and ''

An Imaginary Tale ''An Imaginary Tale'' (french: Une histoire inventée) is a 1990 Canadian drama film directed by André Forcier. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 63rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a ...

(Une histoire inventée)'' (1990). He was also the cinematographer on several of

Léa Pool Léa Pool C.M. (born 8 September 1950) is a Swiss-Canadian filmmaker who taught film at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She has directed several documentaries and feature films, many of which have won significant awards including the ...

's films. Dufaux also worked as director on several short films throughout the 1960s and tried his hand unsuccessfully at a fiction feature film in 1967 with Clément Perron, ''C'est pas la faute à Jacques Cartier''. He returned to documentary films and in the 1970s directed a number of important feature-length documentaries that approached social issues by exploring their impact on the people affected. Dufaux served as Director of the French Program at the NFB from 1986 to 1989 and in 1998 was awarded the

Prix Albert-Tessier The Prix Albert-Tessier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in Quebec cinema. It is awarded to script-writing, acting, composing music, directing, producing a ...

. He died in Switzerland on November 8, 2008.

Major works as director

-L'homme multiplié (1969) (English: ''Multiple Man'') A short, silent film about humanity on a global level produced originally in

70 mm 70 mm film (or 65 mm film) is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is wid ...

with stereophonic sound. People of all places, origins, cultures, secular and religious, are here united and seen side by side, creating an impressive, inspiring and challenging portrait. The film's title appears in seven languages. -À votre santé (1974) (English: ''For Your Health'') A film about the harsh reality of Canadian emergency rooms. Hospitals, dangerously understaffed, face a veritable invasion of patients. Inadequate technical resources make the task more difficult still. Despite a commendable effort the fight may just be a losing battle... -Au bout de mon âge (1975) (English: ''At the End of My Days'') The film follows the slow and painful itinerary of an aged couple with diminishing capacities, both physical and mental, who are facing a complexity of problems by no means unique: they are not well enough to go into residence but are not ill enough to go into a nursing home. -Les jardins d'hiver (1976) (English: ''Winter Gardens'') Filmed in a nursing home funded by the government, the film documents the lives of the elderly who are placed there. Options to ensure senior citizens a more active lifestyle are discussed and reflected upon. -Gui Daò - Sur la voie (1980) (English: ''Gui Daò - On the Way'') A trilogy of films about contemporary Chinese society. Life on a passenger train, daily life in a busy train station, and railway employees unloading freight trains is interspersed which the intimate personal stories of a railway worker and her commitment to work and family life, a retiring train worker and his daughter who will reluctantly replace him, and an optimistic newly-wed couple contrasted with the tested marriage of a middle-aged couple. -10 jours...48 heures (1986) (English: ''10 Days...48 Hours'') The film follows several trawlers after a six-month strike as they head out to the Grand Banks. The danger and tedium of life on a modern fishing boat is vividly captured as well as the processing plants and the families of the fisherman back on shore.

Filmography

As Director

Features

*''

It Isn't Jacques Cartier's Fault ''It Isn't Jacques Cartier's Fault'' () is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Clément Perron and Georges Dufaux and released in 1968. Yves Lever, ''Histoire générale du cinéma au Québec''. Éditions du Boréal, 1988. . p. 165. The film cent ...

(C'est pas la faute à Jacques Cartier)'' (Fiction Co-Directed with Clément Perron, 1967) *''À votre santé'' (1974) *''Au bout de mon âge'' (1975) *''Les jardins d'hiver'' (1976) *'' Games of the XXI Olympiad (Jeux de la XXIe olympiade)'' (Co-Directed with

Jean Beaudin Jean Beaudin (6 February 1939 – 18 May 2019) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He directed 20 films since 1969. His film '' J.A. Martin Photographer'', was entered into the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, where Monique Mercure won the ...

, Marcel Carrière and

Jean-Claude Labrecque Jean-Claude Labrecque, (June 19, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was a director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada. Career Jean-Claude Labrecque was born in Quebec City, Quebec, and trained as ...

, 1977) *''Les enfants des normes - Post-Scriptum'' (1983) *''10 jours... 48 heures'' (1986)

Shorts

*''Bientôt Noël'' (Co-Directed with Stanley Jackson,

Wolf Koenig Wolf Koenig (October 17, 1927 – June 26, 2014) was a Canadian film director, producer, animator, cinematographer, and a pioneer in Direct Cinema at the National Film Board of Canada. Early life Born in Dresden, Germany, Koenig emigrated to Ca ...

and Terence Macartney-Filgate, 1959) *''I Was a Ninety-pound Weakling'' (Co-Directed with

, 1960) *''Les Dieux'' (Co-Directed with

Jacques Godbout Jacques Godbout, OC, CQ (born November 27, 1933) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler (''touche-à-tout''), Godbout has become one of the most important wri ...

, 1961) *''36,000 brasses'' (1962) *''L'école des peintres'' (Co-Directed with

, 1962) *''Pour quelques arpents de neige'' (Co-Directed with

, 1962) *''Rencontres à Mitzic'' (Co-Directed with Marcel Carrière, 1963) *''À propos d'une plage'' (1964) *''Caroline'' (Fiction Co-Directed with Clément Perron, 1964) (Re-Released as part of the 1964 anthology film ''Trois Femmes'') *''Les départs necessaries'' (1965) *''Précision'' (1966) *''Cinéma et réalité'' (Co-Directed with Clément Perron, 1967) *''L'homme multiplié'' (Co-Directed with Claude Godbout, 1969) *''Deux ans et plus'' (Fiction Co-Directed with Gilles Thérien, 1970) *''À cris perdus'' (Co-Directed with Marc Beaudet, 1972) *''Nelli Kim'' (Co-Directed with Pierre Bernier, 1978) *''Les enfants des normes'' (Series of 8 shorts, 1979) *''Gui Daò - Sur la voie'' (Series of 3 shorts, 1980) *''Rue Ste-Catherine Est... to West'' (1992) *''Voyage illusoire'' (1997) *''De l'art et la manière chez Denys Arcand'' (2000)

References

External links

*
The Films of Georges Dufaux at the NFB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufaux, Georges 1927 births 2008 deaths Canadian cinematographers Canadian documentary film directors French Quebecers Film directors from Quebec National Film Board of Canada people Best Cinematography Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Prix Albert-Tessier winners French emigrants to Canada