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 ...
('' Pour la suite du monde'') virtually defines the look of classic Quebec cinema. He became involved with filmmaking while still at university and joined the National Film Board of Canada in 1956, working on the celebrated '' Candid Eye'' series. From 1961–62 he was in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, where he worked with directors such as
Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French filmmaker and anthropologist.
He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was characterized b ...
and Mario Ruspoli, and shot the influential '' Chronique d’un été'' with Raoul Coutard and others. In France, he is considered an originator and one of the purist practitioners of cinéma-vérité.
Brault returned to Quebec and the NFB, but quit the Board in 1965 when Pierre Juneau, the director of French production, refused to okay his first fiction feature, '' Entre la mer et l'eau douce''. Since he pursued a very successful freelance career in feature films, documentaries, shorts and television. His cinematography ranged from the gritty cinéma-vérité style of ''À tout prendre'' to the lyricism of '' Kamouraska'', and his directorial work from the terse documentary stylings of '' La lutte'' to smoothly proficient television dramas such as '' Les noces de papier'', which was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. He won
Canadian Film Awards
The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...
for lensing ''Mon oncle Antoine'' and ''
The Time of the Hunt
''The Time of the Hunt'' (french: Le Temps d'une chasse) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Francis Mankiewicz and released in 1972. An examination of masculinity, the film centres on Willy (Guy L'Écuyer), Richard (Marcel Sabourin) and Lionel ...
(Le Temps d’une chasse)'', and
Genie Awards
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scul ...
for his work on '' Good Riddance (Les Bons débarras)'' and '' Threshold''. '' Orders (Les Ordres)'' (1974), which he directed, shot and wrote, won for him the CFA for direction and he shared the best director award at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival. The film seamlessly fuses documentary and fiction styles while dramatizing the trauma of innocent people caught up in the October Crisis of 1970. It is still regarded as a masterpiece of Canadian cinema.
Death
Brault died of a heart attack on the afternoon of 21 September 2013, while en route to the Film North – Huntsville International Film Festival, where he was to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. According to festival founder Lucy Wing, Brault had arrived at Pearson International Airport after a flight from his home in Montreal, accompanied by his son, Sylvain. Brault had begun the drive north to Huntsville by limousine when he began to feel ill, approximately one hour after his arrival in Toronto. A Ceremony of Commemoration was held for Brault on 4 October 4, 2013 at the Église Saint-Mathieu in Beloeil, Quebec. Among those present for this homage were the provincial premier, Pauline Marois, and Brault's leading lady from ''Entre la mer et l'eau douce'', Genevieve Bujold.
Personal life
His son, Sylvain Brault, is one of Quebec’s top cameramen, and his daughter, Anouk, is a producer.
Honours and distinctions
* 1964 - Film of the Year,
Canadian Film Awards
The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...
Canadian Film Awards
The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...
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 ...
Governor General's Performing Arts Award
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Prix Jutra
The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, which recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in Quebec.
Selected films
Over the course of his career, Brault worked as a director or cinematographer on over 200 films. Some of the most notable of these films include:
As director
Fiction
*''Matin'' - 1960 (short film)
*''Geneviève'' - 1965 (short film, re-released as part of the 1966 anthology film ''La fleur de l'âge'')
*'' Between Salt and Sweet Water (Entre la mer et l'eau douce)'' - 1967
*'' Orders (Les ordres)'' - 1974
*''Le son des français d'Amérique'' - 1974-1980 (TV series)
*''La belle ouvrage'' - 1977-1980 (TV series)
*''L'emprise'' - 1988 (short film)
*'' The Paper Wedding (Les noces de papier)'' - 1989 (TV movie)
*''Diogène'' - 1990 (short film)
*'' Montreal Stories (Montréal vu par...)'' - 1992 (segment "La dernière partie")
*''Shabbat Shalom!'' - 1992 (TV movie)
*'' My Friend Max (Mon amie Max)'' - 1994 (TV movie)
*'' The Long Winter (Quand je serai parti... vous vivrez encore)'' - 1999
*''30 vies'' - 2011 (TV series)
Documentaries
*''Chèvres'' (Short film Co-Directed with Claude Sylvestre, 1954)
*''La Mattawin, rivière sauvage'' (Short film Co-Directed with Claude Sylvestre, 1954)
*'' Les raquetteurs'' (Short film Co-Directed with Gilles Groulx, 1958)
*''Eye Witness No. 101'' (Documentary series Co-Directed with Grant Crabtree, 1958)
*'' La lutte'' (Short film Co-Directed with Marcel Carrière, Claude Fournier and Claude Jutra, 1961)
*''Québec-U.S.A. ou l'invasion pacifique'' (Short film Co-Directed with Claude Jutra, 1962)
*''Les enfants du silence'' (Short film, 1962)
*'' Pour la suite du monde'' (Co-Directed with Marcel Carrière and
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 ...
, 1963)
*''Le temps perdu'' (Short film, 1964)
*''Conflicts'' (Short film, 1967)
*''Settlement and Conflict'' (Short film, 1967)
*''Le beau plaisir'' (Short film Co-Directed with
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 ...
and Bernard Gosselin, 1968)
*''Les enfants de Néant'' (Short film, 1968)
*''Éloge du chiac'' (Short film, 1969)
*''René Lévesque vous parlez: les 6 milliards'' (Short film, 1969)
*''L'Acadie l'Acadie?!?'' (Co-Directed with
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 ...
, 1971)
*''René Lévesque pour le vrai'' (Short film, 1973)
*''Le bras de levier et la rivière'' (Short film, 1973)
*''René Lévesque: un vrai chef'' (Short film, 1976)
*''Les gens de plaisir'' (Short film, 1979)
*''Il faut continuer'' (Short film, 1979)
*''Le p'tit Canada'' (Short film, 1979)
*''A Freedom to Move'' (Short film, 1985)
*''Campaign 1986'' (Short film, 1986)
*''Tu m'aimes-tu'' (Video, 1991)
*''Ozias Leduc, comme l'espace et le temps'' (Short film, 1996)
*''La manic'' (Short film, 2002)
*''Une chanson qui vient de loin'' (portrait de Claude Gauthier) (Short film, 2008)
As cinematographer
* ''
Chronique d'un été
''Chronicle of a Summer'' (French original title: ''Chronique d'un été'') is a 1961 French documentary film shot during the summer of 1960 by sociologist Edgar Morin and anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch, with the technical and aesthetic ...
The Time of the Hunt
''The Time of the Hunt'' (french: Le Temps d'une chasse) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Francis Mankiewicz and released in 1972. An examination of masculinity, the film centres on Willy (Guy L'Écuyer), Richard (Marcel Sabourin) and Lionel ...