Jean-Daniel Lafond (born 18 August 1944) is a French-born Canadian filmmaker, teacher of philosophy, and the husband to the former
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...
, making him the
Viceregal Consort of Canada
The viceregal consort of Canada is the spouse of the serving governor general of Canada, assisting the viceroy with ceremonial and charitable work, accompanying him or her to official state occasions, and occasionally undertaking philanthropic work ...
during her service.
Biography
Lafond was born in France during the liberation of Paris from the Nazis. After attending the class of
Michel Foucault
Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
and
Michel Serres
Michel Serres (; 1 September 1930 – 1 June 2019) was a French philosopher, theorist and writer. His works explore themes of science, time and death, and later incorporated prose.
Life and career
The son of a bargeman, Serres entered France's ...
, he taught philosophy from 1971 "while pursuing research in audio-visual training and communications". In 1974 Lafond left France for Quebec and became a Canadian citizen in 1981. After teaching at the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
he left the university to focus on film-making, radio and writing.
From his first marriage Lafond has two daughters, as well as two grandchildren. With his current wife, former
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...
, he has an adopted daughter.
Books
* ''Images d'un doux ethnocide'', with
Arthur Lamothe
Arthur Lamothe, (December 7, 1928 – September 18, 2013) was a French-Canadian film director and film producer.
Biography
Born in Saint-Mont, France, Lamothe immigrated to Canada in 1953 and immediately got a job as a lumberjack in the Abitibi ...
, Montréal, Ateliers audio-visuels du Québec, 1979.
* ''Vidéo-communication'', with Claire Meunier, Montréal, Publications Grerdave, 1979.
* ''Pratique et analyse des médias en milieu éducatif'', Montréal, Publications Grerdave, 1980.
* ''Le film sous influence : un procédé d'analyse'', Paris, Édilig, "Médiathèque", 1982.
* ''Les traces du rêve'', Montréal,
L'Hexagone, 1991.
* ''La manière nègre ou Aimé Césaire, chemin faisant : genèse d'un film'', Montréal,
L'Hexagone, 1993.
* ''La liberté en colère : le livre du film'', Montréal,
L'Hexagone, 1994.
* ''Iran : les mots du silence'', with Fred A. Reed, Laval, Les 400 Coups, 2006.
* ''Conversations in Tehran'', with Fred A. Reed, Vancouver, Talon Books, 2006.
* ''Marie de l'Incarnation ou la déraison d'amour'', with
Marie Tifo
Marie Tifo (; born September 26, 1949, in Jonquière, Quebec) is a Canadian actress, and a major star in French-speaking Canada.
She won a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the 1980 drama f ...
, Montréal,
Leméac, 2009.
* ''Un désir d'Amérique. Fragments nomades'', Montréal, Édito, 2015.
Introduction
*"Préface : la rencontre", in Olivier Ducharme et Pierre-Alexandre Fradet, ''Une vie sans bon sens. Regard philosophique sur
Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault (29 June 1927 – 24 June 1999) was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada, although largely unknown outside of Québec. In ...
'', Montréal, Nota bene, 2016.
Filmography
* ''La Liberté en colère''
* ''Tropique Nord''
* ''Haïti dans tous nos rêves''
* ''
Dream Tracks (Les Traces du rêve)''
* ''la Manière nègre ou Aimé Césaire chemin faisant''
* ''L'Heure de Cuba''
* ''Salam Iran''
* ''Le Cabinet du docteur Ferron''
* ''Le Fugitif ou les vérités d'Hassan''
* ''Folle de Dieu''
* ''Un film avec toi''
Distinctions
* Chevalier of l'
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
, France (2014)
* Prize
TV5 pour le meilleur documentaire de langue française
* Prize Lumières de l'Association québécoise des réalisateurs pour l'ensemble de son oeuvre
* Prize Gemini du meilleur réalisateur
* Prize Gemini pour l'image
* Prize Hot Docs pour le meilleur film politique,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
* Member
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
* "Saskatchewan Centennial Medal"
* Companion of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
Controversy
When in 2005 his wife was nominated by Prime Minister
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
The son o ...
as the next Governor General, controversy arose when his past resurfaced. While the personality of Michaëlle Jean was mostly accepted throughout Canada, Lafond himself had early on been suspected of being a Quebec separatist because of some of his movies. When an article in a
sovereigntist journal made its way to the press, alleging that Lafond had befriended a former
FLQ (militant Quebec-separatist organization) member who had built for him a cache "to hide weapons" in his library. Later in August, his wife reacted to this in a formal letter announcing she and her husband "had never adhered to a political party or to the sovereigntist ideology".
Confusion continues to surround his loyalties. In his book, ''La manière nègre'' (The Black Way), he wrote, "So, a sovereign Quebec? An independent Quebec? Yes, and I applaud with both hands and I promise to be at all the St. Jean
aptisteparades." However, in October 2005, in an interview with Radio-Canada he said, "I never believed that I could become a separatist. I have a great deal of difficulty with nationalism in general." He also called members of the sovereigntist movement who had called him a traitor,
terrorists
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. At the same time he affirmed that he was a Québécois before a Canadian. He believes that he has always fought for the "cultural independence" of Quebec, but nothing further.
[Jean's husband blasts separatists]
''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', October 27, 2005
Lafond's 2006 film ''
American Fugitive: The Truth About Hassan'', a documentary about an American political activist who has admitted to assassinating an
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian diplomat in 1980, who appeared, unexpectedly, in the 2001 film ''
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
'', also stirred controversy. The ''
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'' asserted that the film was too sympathetic to
David Belfield
Dawud Salahuddin (born 1950; sometimes spelled Daoud Salahuddin,Michael Taylor, "'Kandahar' Actor Accused of Being Assassin: Tantai Said to Have Killed Diplomat", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', January 04, 2002. also known as Hassan Abdulrahman, H ...
, the activist.
[American Fugitive:The Truth About Hassan]
, '' InformAction''[Lafond's new film hits hot buttons]
'' CBC'', April 26, 2006[Airbrushing a killer]
, ''National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'', May 2, 2006
Honours
In 2010, he was made a member of the
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880.
History 1880 to 1890
The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...
.
As the consort of the then Governor General, in 2005 he was appointed a Companion of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
and was awarded the
Saskatchewan Centennial Medal
The Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan, also called the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, is a commemorative medal struck to celebrate the first 100 years since Saskatchewan's entrance into Canadian Confederation.
The medal recog ...
. During his wife's term of office, he held the courtesy style of ''His Excellency.''
Arms
References
External links
Lafond's views on war from a Radio Canada interview*
La Liberté en colère - Lafond's film on the October Crisis of 1970
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafond, Jean-Daniel
People from Allier
1944 births
Living people
Canadian documentary filmmakers
Canadian viceregal consorts
Companions of the Order of Canada
French film directors
French emigrants to Canada
French emigrants to Quebec
Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Naturalized citizens of Canada
Film directors from Quebec