Clément Perron (July 3, 1929 – October 12, 1999) was a Canadian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Early life and education

Perron was born in

Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. After graduating from the

University of Laval A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Philosophy Perron went to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to continue his studies with the goal of becoming a teacher. He studied linguistics at the Academie de Portier.

Career

After watching screenings at the Cinémathèque française in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Perron became interested in cinema and on his return to Canada in 1957, he joined the NFB as a writer. In 1960, he began directing documentary shorts and in 1962, found critical success with his film '' Day After Day (Jour après jour)'', which won two

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 ...

. Perron continued to work primarily on documentaries until the NFB decided to make an attempt at a more commercial cinema in the late sixties and early seventies. He directed three fiction feature-length films of moderate success during this time period but his biggest accomplishment was writing the screenplay for

Mon oncle Antoine ''Mon oncle Antoine'' (''My Uncle Antoine'') is a 1971 French-language Canadian drama film directed by Claude Jutra for the National Film Board of Canada. The film depicts life in the Maurice Duplessis-era Asbestos Region of rural Québec bef ...

(1971) which was based on his own childhood experiences. Perron retired from the NFB in 1986 to work in the private sector primarily as a writer. Perron died in 1999 in Pointe-Claire, Quebec.

Selected filmography

Fiction

*''Caroline'' (Short Co-Directed with

Georges Dufaux 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 cinémato ...

, 1964) (Re-Released as part of the 1964 anthology film ''Trois Femmes'') *''

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 centr ...

(C'est pas la faute à Jacques Cartier)'' (Co-Directed with Georges Dufaux, 1968) *'' Taureau'' (1973) *'' Bound for Glory (Partis pour la gloire)'' (1975)

Documentaries

*''Georges-P. Vanier: soldat, diplomate, gouverneur général'' (Short, 1960) *''Crossbreeding for Profit'' (Short, Co-Directed with

Pierre Patry Pierre Patry (November 2, 1933 – June 7, 2014) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Hull, Quebec, Patry began his career in the theatre as an actor and a playwright. He was a founding member of the Canadian Associat ...

, 1961) *''Loisirs'' (Short, Co-Directed with

, 1962) *''Les bacheliers de la cinquième'' (Short Co-Directed with Francis Séguillon, 1962) *'' Day After Day (Jour après jour)'' (Short, 1962) *''Marie-Victorin'' (Short, 1963) *''Salut Toronto!'' (Short, 1965) *''Cinéma et réalité'' (Co-Directed with Georges Dufaux, 1967) *''Fermont, P.Q.'' (Co-Directed with Monique Fortier, 1980)

References

External links

*
Watch films by Clément Perron at NFB.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perron, Clement 1929 births 1999 deaths Canadian documentary film directors Film producers from Quebec Canadian screenwriters in French Film directors from Quebec National Film Board of Canada people Writers from Quebec City 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Screenwriters from Quebec