Yves Bélanger (born July 7, 1960) is a Canadian cinematographer. He has worked on films by directors such as Alain DesRochers,

Xavier Dolan Xavier Dolan-Tadros (; born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian filmmaker and actor. He began his career as a child actor in commercials before directing several arthouse feature films. He first received international acclaim in 2009 for his feature ...

and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

, and he was a frequent collaborator of Jean-Marc Vallée. In 2016, he received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Cinematography for his work in ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

''.

Life and career

Bélanger grew up in

Sainte-Foy, Quebec Sainte-Foy (; ) is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in central Quebec, Canada alongside the Saint Lawrence River. It was 2000–06 municipal reorganization in Quebec, amalgamated into Quebec City at the start of 2002. Most ...

. He first became interested in film at eight years old when his father showed him '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', and he began making short films when he was 13. He studied film at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, where he contemplated becoming a director or cinematographer, ultimately deciding on the latter. He graduated with a BFA in 1984. Bélanger began working as a cinematographer in 1989, working initially on music videos before moving to advertising. He started working on films and television series in 1995, alongside directors including Alain DesRochers,

Jean-Claude Lord Jean-Claude Lord (6 June 1943 – 15 January 2022) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He was one of the most commercial of the Québécois directors in the 1970s, aiming his feature films at a mass audience and dealing with political ...

and Alan Metter. He first became recognized in 2001 with the short film ''Killing Time'', for which he received a

Canadian Society of Cinematographers The Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) () is a non-profit Canadian trade organization with over 500 members whose mission is to promote the artistic creativity and required skills for cinematography. Members of the Canadian Society of Cin ...

award nomination. He worked on another short film, ''Wildflowers'', which won a CSC award in 2003, and he received a third nomination for the 2006 film '' Cheech''. He filmed '' Laurence Anyways'' (2012) with the

arthouse An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

director

. Bélanger later said about Dolan's style, "it's not my cup of tea. It's very colorful, very crazy ... I'm more like a naturalist." His work on ''Laurence Anyways'' garnered a Camerimage award nomination. After finishing ''Laurence Anyways'', Bélanger was contacted by director Jean-Marc Vallée, who asked him to work on his upcoming film ''

Dallas Buyers Club ''Dallas Buyers Club'' is a 2013 American biographical drama film written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. The film tells the story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS in ...

'' (2013). Bélanger and Vallée had known each other for around 20 years but had never worked together before. ''Dallas Buyers Club'' marked Bélanger's breakout in the mainstream film industry; he was 53 years old at the time and two decades into his career. A year later, he and Vallée collaborated a second time, on '' Wild'' (2014). The film, which is about a woman who hikes the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

, was filmed on a small budget with a minimal crew and mostly handheld camerawork. His cinematography on ''Wild'' received a Camerimage nomination. Bélanger then shot the period drama film ''

'' (2015), directed by John Crowley. He became involved after Bruna Papandrea, one of the producers of ''Wild'', introduced Bélanger to Crowley. For ''Brooklyn'', he received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Cinematography. His third collaboration with Vallée was ''

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...

'', released in 2016, and their fourth was the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

miniseries '' Big Little Lies'' (2017).

Filmography

Film

Television

*2017 - '' Big Little Lies'' - 7 episodes *2018 - '' Sharp Objects'' - 7 episodes *2021 - '' Nine Perfect Strangers'' - 8 episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belanger, Yves 1960 births Living people People from Sainte-Foy, Quebec City Canadian cinematographers Concordia University alumni Best Cinematography Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Best Cinematography Jutra and Iris Award winners