Quebec cinema
Encyclopedia
The history of cinema
in Quebec
started on June 27, 1896 when the Frenchman Louis Minier inaugurated the first movie projection in North America in a Montreal
theatre room. However, it would have to wait until the 1960s before a genuine Quebec cinema industry would emerge. Approximately 620 feature length films have been produced, or partially produced by the Quebec film industry since 1943.
Due to language and cultural differences between the predominantly francophone
population of Quebec and the predominantly anglophone
population of the rest of Canada, Quebec's film industry is commonly regarded as a distinct entity from its English Canadian counterpart. In addition to participating in Canada's national Genie Awards, the Quebec film industry also maintains its own awards ceremony, the Jutra Awards. In addition, the popularity of homegrown French language films among Quebec audiences, as opposed to English Canadians' preference for Hollywood films, means that Quebec films are often more successful at the box office than English Canadian films — in fact, the top-grossing Canadian film of the year is often a French language film from Quebec.
Nevertheless, some films were produced in Quebec during this period. Those were mostly documentaries, some of which were made by priests (Albert Tessier
) and civil servants (Herménégilde Lavoie). In the 1940s and 1950s, the first commercial attempts at cinema happened. Two production houses were at the origins of all the movies of this period: Renaissance Films and Québec Productions. Most of the commercial feature films came primarily from four directors: Fyodor Otsep, Paul Gury, Jean-Yves Bigras
, and René Delacroix. Notable films of this period include Le père Chopin (1945), Un homme et son péché (1949), La petite Aurore l'enfant martyre (1952), Tit Coq (1953), and Les brûlés (1959).
was established by the Parliament of Canada in 1939. Its office moved from Ottawa to Montreal in 1955. In 1957, the new commissioner, Albert Trueman, recommended the creation of a separately funded French production wing. Minister J. W. Pickersgill
rejected Trueman's recommendation as Ottawa feared that two separate organizations would develop under the same roof. This decision intensified the campaign of the Quebec French language press for an autonomous French language branch. Guy Roberge
was appointed as the NFB's first francophone Commissioner in April 1957. The French branch of the National Film Board of Canada
was established and the NFB became autonomous in 1959.
Direct Cinema
filmmakers Michel Brault
, Pierre Perrault
and Gilles Groulx
all made their debut at the NFB. That decade also saw the beginnings of directors Claude Jutra
, Gilles Carle and Denys Arcand
.
Commercial directors such as Denis Héroux
became known for his films Valérie
and Deux femmes en or, two comedies with erotic overtones showing popular success not seen in Quebec since Jean-Yves Bigras' La Petite Aurore l'enfant martyre (1952).
The seventies also marked a high in national filmmaking seen from an artistic perspective, an assessment supported by opinion polls such as the TIFF List of Canada's Top Ten Films of All Time, which has included several films from that decade every year that the poll was taken. Arcand and Carle had critical (especially at Cannes
) and some commercial success with films such as Gina (Arcand) and La vraie nature de Bernadette (Carle). In 1971, director Claude Jutra released one of the most critically praised Quebec film to date, Mon oncle Antoine
. However, his next movie, an adaptation of Anne Hébert
's Kamouraska, was a commercial and critical failure. It should be mentioned that this film suffered re-editing done to accommodate theater owners. A two-hour-long restored version, seen in 2003, shows more artistic coherence. In 1977, Jean Beaudin's J.A. Martin Photographe was selected at Cannes
where Monique Mercure
, the female star of the film, won Best Actress (tying with Shelley Duvall
for 3 Women).
made one of his most acclaimed picture with the NFB, Le confort et l'indifférence
, about the result of the referendum. He then proceeded to direct two movies that were nominated for best foreign picture at the Academy Awards
: 1986's Le Déclin de l'empire américain
and 1989's Jésus de Montréal.
After 1980, a lot of artists felt that the struggle to build a nation that had animated early Quebec cinema was lost. Québécois filmmakers began to make movies that were no longer centred on the Québécois identity. The 1986 success, at home and abroad, of Le déclin... marked another turning point in the movie history of the province. The government-funded movie industry tried to repeat Arcand's success with international co-productions, big budget movies and so-called "mass audience movies".
Meanwhile, director Robert Morin
made himself known with personal movies like Requiem pour un beau sans-coeur. Claude Jutra committed suicide in the 1980s after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease, and Gilles Carle became too sick to direct.
's Maelström
, Denis Chouinard
's L’Ange de goudron, and Un crabe dans la tête caught the media's attention. In 1994, Pierre Falardeau
's Octobre
told a fictionalized version of the October Crisis from the point of view of the Chenier Cell, the FLQ terrorist cell who in 1970 kidnapped and executed Quebec minister and Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte.
Home-made blockbusters came in 2000s and begin to dominate their home market, putting American blockbusters in second place. Séraphin: un homme et son péché
, directed by Charles Binamé, was a major success at the box office in 2002. The next year, 2003, was called "the year of Quebec cinema's rebirth" with Denys Arcand winning the foreign film Oscar for Les Invasions barbares
, the sequel of Le déclin de l'empire américain
, and with Gaz bar blues and Seducing Doctor Lewis
gaining both critical and public acclaim. In 2005, C.R.A.Z.Y.
was released, grossing a considerable amount in such a small market, and garnering widespread praise from critics. In 2006, the Quebec-made action-comedy Bon Cop, Bad Cop
, a film with dialogue in both French and English, took over the title of most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office. Sales for Bon Cop, Bad Cop have totalled $13 million across the country. The previous Quebec film to hold this honour was Les Boys
. In 2007, Arcand's L'Âge des Ténèbres was selected as the closing film for the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2009, De père en flic (English: Father and Guns
) matched the movie Bon Cop Bad Cop to become the highest-grossing French language film in Canadian history.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
started on June 27, 1896 when the Frenchman Louis Minier inaugurated the first movie projection in North America in a Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
theatre room. However, it would have to wait until the 1960s before a genuine Quebec cinema industry would emerge. Approximately 620 feature length films have been produced, or partially produced by the Quebec film industry since 1943.
Due to language and cultural differences between the predominantly francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
population of Quebec and the predominantly anglophone
English Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
population of the rest of Canada, Quebec's film industry is commonly regarded as a distinct entity from its English Canadian counterpart. In addition to participating in Canada's national Genie Awards, the Quebec film industry also maintains its own awards ceremony, the Jutra Awards. In addition, the popularity of homegrown French language films among Quebec audiences, as opposed to English Canadians' preference for Hollywood films, means that Quebec films are often more successful at the box office than English Canadian films — in fact, the top-grossing Canadian film of the year is often a French language film from Quebec.
Before the Office national du film
From the 1896 to the 1960s, the Catholic clergy tried to control what movies Quebecers could see. Two methods were employed: censorship and prohibition of attendance by children under 16. In 1913, the Bureau de censure de vues animées (Office of censorship for motion pictures) began regulating the projection of movies in Quebec. In 1927, the Laurier-Palace theatre burned down, killing many children. The church then almost succeeded at closing down all projection rooms in the province. However, the Parliament of Quebec passed a law preventing only children under 16 from attending movie projections. This law would be repealed only in 1961.Nevertheless, some films were produced in Quebec during this period. Those were mostly documentaries, some of which were made by priests (Albert Tessier
Albert Tessier
Albert Tessier was a French-speaking Canadian priest, historian and a film maker.He was born on in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Mauricie.- Life as a Priest and Educator :...
) and civil servants (Herménégilde Lavoie). In the 1940s and 1950s, the first commercial attempts at cinema happened. Two production houses were at the origins of all the movies of this period: Renaissance Films and Québec Productions. Most of the commercial feature films came primarily from four directors: Fyodor Otsep, Paul Gury, Jean-Yves Bigras
Jean-Yves Bigras
Jean-Yves Bigras was a Canadian film director and film editor, considered a pioneer in Quebec Cinema. Bigras studied first at the University of Ottawa and then at Queen's University. From 1939 to 1942 he served in World War II as part of the RCAF...
, and René Delacroix. Notable films of this period include Le père Chopin (1945), Un homme et son péché (1949), La petite Aurore l'enfant martyre (1952), Tit Coq (1953), and Les brûlés (1959).
After the Office national du film
The National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
was established by the Parliament of Canada in 1939. Its office moved from Ottawa to Montreal in 1955. In 1957, the new commissioner, Albert Trueman, recommended the creation of a separately funded French production wing. Minister J. W. Pickersgill
Jack Pickersgill
John Whitney "Jack" Pickersgill, PC, CC was a Canadian civil servant and politician. He was born in Ontario, but was raised in Manitobia. He was the Clerk for the Canadian Government's Privy Council in the early 1950s...
rejected Trueman's recommendation as Ottawa feared that two separate organizations would develop under the same roof. This decision intensified the campaign of the Quebec French language press for an autonomous French language branch. Guy Roberge
Guy Roberge
Guy Roberge was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician and civil servant. He also served as Canada's Government Film Commissioner during the 1950s and 60s, in which capacity he ran the National Film Board of Canada. He was the first French Canadian to occupy this role.He was born in...
was appointed as the NFB's first francophone Commissioner in April 1957. The French branch of the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
was established and the NFB became autonomous in 1959.
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962 in North America, principally in the Canadian province of Quebec and the United States...
filmmakers Michel Brault
Michel Brault
Michel Brault, OQ is a Quebec cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s...
, Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault 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...
and Gilles Groulx
Gilles Groulx
Gilles Groulx was a Canadian film director. He grew up in a working-class family with 14 children. After studying business in school, he went to work in an office but found the white-collar environment too stultifying...
all made their debut at the NFB. That decade also saw the beginnings of directors Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....
, Gilles Carle and Denys Arcand
Denys Arcand
Georges-Henri Denys Arcand, is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004 for The Barbarian Invasions...
.
The 1960s
Two key changes in the late 1960s paved the way for a new era in Québécois cinema. First, in 1967, Quebec's (religious) censorship bureau was replaced by a film ratings system administered by the province. The other phenomenon was the introduction, in 1967, by the federal government, of its Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC, to become Telefilm Canada). This allowed a greater number of films to reach the screen through government subsidy.Commercial directors such as Denis Héroux
Denis Héroux
Denis Héroux, OC is a Canadian film director and producer.-Biography:Héroux wanted to become a teacher when he collaborated with Denys Arcand and Stéphane Venne on the 1962 film about life as a student, Seul ou avec d’autres...
became known for his films Valérie
Valérie
Valérie is a 1969 black-and-white Quebec film starring Danielle Ouimet, who plays Valérie, and Guy Godin. It was the first Quebec film to show nudity....
and Deux femmes en or, two comedies with erotic overtones showing popular success not seen in Quebec since Jean-Yves Bigras' La Petite Aurore l'enfant martyre (1952).
The seventies also marked a high in national filmmaking seen from an artistic perspective, an assessment supported by opinion polls such as the TIFF List of Canada's Top Ten Films of All Time, which has included several films from that decade every year that the poll was taken. Arcand and Carle had critical (especially at Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
) and some commercial success with films such as Gina (Arcand) and La vraie nature de Bernadette (Carle). In 1971, director Claude Jutra released one of the most critically praised Quebec film to date, Mon oncle Antoine
Mon oncle Antoine
Mon oncle Antoine is a 1971 National Film Board of Canada French language drama film. Québécois director Claude Jutra co-wrote the screenplay with Clément Perron and directed what is one of the most acclaimed works in Canadian film history.The film examines life in the Maurice Duplessis-era...
. However, his next movie, an adaptation of Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert, CC, OQ , was a Canadian author and poet. She is a descendant of famed French-Canadian historian Francois-Xavier Garneau, "and has carried on the family literary tradition spectacularly."...
's Kamouraska, was a commercial and critical failure. It should be mentioned that this film suffered re-editing done to accommodate theater owners. A two-hour-long restored version, seen in 2003, shows more artistic coherence. In 1977, Jean Beaudin's J.A. Martin Photographe was selected at Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
where Monique Mercure
Monique Mercure
Monique Mercure, is a Canadian actress.-Career:Mercure was born in Montreal, Quebec. At the 1977 Cannes Film Festival she won the award for Best Actress for the film J.A. Martin Photographer...
, the female star of the film, won Best Actress (tying with Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall is an American film and television actress best known for her roles in The Shining, Popeye, Thieves Like Us and 3 Women....
for 3 Women).
The 1980s
The victory of the "no" camp in the referendum on sovereignty association was a turning point in Québécois history and culture. Denys ArcandDenys Arcand
Georges-Henri Denys Arcand, is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004 for The Barbarian Invasions...
made one of his most acclaimed picture with the NFB, Le confort et l'indifférence
Le confort et l'indifférence
Le confort et l'indifférence is a 1981 documentary film by Denys Arcand, offering an analysis of the 1980 Quebec referendum, in which "sovereignty-association" was defeated as a first step to eventual secession from Canada...
, about the result of the referendum. He then proceeded to direct two movies that were nominated for best foreign picture at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: 1986's Le Déclin de l'empire américain
Le Déclin de l'empire américain
The Decline of the American Empire is a 1986 Québécois comedy/drama film directed by Denys Arcand. It was followed by a sequel, The Barbarian Invasions in 2003.-Synopsis:...
and 1989's Jésus de Montréal.
After 1980, a lot of artists felt that the struggle to build a nation that had animated early Quebec cinema was lost. Québécois filmmakers began to make movies that were no longer centred on the Québécois identity. The 1986 success, at home and abroad, of Le déclin... marked another turning point in the movie history of the province. The government-funded movie industry tried to repeat Arcand's success with international co-productions, big budget movies and so-called "mass audience movies".
Meanwhile, director Robert Morin
Robert Morin
Robert Morin is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer.-Biography:Robert Morin is known for his very personal, dark, and pessimistic "interior views" of family, crime, law enforcement, and human suffering...
made himself known with personal movies like Requiem pour un beau sans-coeur. Claude Jutra committed suicide in the 1980s after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease, and Gilles Carle became too sick to direct.
The 1990s and beyond
1990-2002 saw the solidification of Quebec's movie industry. Independent films such as Denis VilleneuveDenis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve is a Canadian film director and writer. In his early career he won Radio-Canada's youth film competition "La Course Europe-Asie" in 1990-91. He is a three-time winner of the Genie Award for Best Director, for Maelström in 2001, Polytechnique in 2010 and Incendies in 2011...
's Maelström
Maelström (film)
Maelström is a 2000 Canadian film by Québécois writer-director Denis Villeneuve. It stars Marie-Josée Croze as a depressed, alcoholic woman who becomes romantically involved with the son of a man she believes to have killed in a hit and run accident....
, Denis Chouinard
Denis Chouinard
Denis Chouinard is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has a degree in Filmmaking from Cégep de Saint-Laurent and a degree in Communications from UQAM. He is a close friend and collaborator of filmmaker Louis Bélanger; both men created several short films together before branching off...
's L’Ange de goudron, and Un crabe dans la tête caught the media's attention. In 1994, Pierre Falardeau
Pierre Falardeau
Pierre Falardeau was a Quebec film and documentary director, pamphleteer and noted activist for Quebec independence.-Profile:Falardeau studied anthropology at university and he taught that subject for a brief period...
's Octobre
Octobre
Octobre is a 1994 Quebec movie directed by filmmaker and noted separatist Pierre Falardeau. It tells a fictionalized version of the October Crisis from the point of view of the Chénier Cell, the FLQ terrorist cell who in 1970 kidnapped and murdered Quebec minister and Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte...
told a fictionalized version of the October Crisis from the point of view of the Chenier Cell, the FLQ terrorist cell who in 1970 kidnapped and executed Quebec minister and Deputy Premier Pierre Laporte.
Home-made blockbusters came in 2000s and begin to dominate their home market, putting American blockbusters in second place. Séraphin: un homme et son péché
Séraphin: un homme et son péché
Séraphin: un homme et son péché is a Quebec film released in 2002. The script is based on a novel by Claude-Henri Grignon...
, directed by Charles Binamé, was a major success at the box office in 2002. The next year, 2003, was called "the year of Quebec cinema's rebirth" with Denys Arcand winning the foreign film Oscar for Les Invasions barbares
Les Invasions barbares
The Barbarian Invasions is a 2003 French Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Denys Arcand. It is the sequel to Arcand's earlier film The Decline of the American Empire and is followed by Days of Darkness. The film was produced by companies from both Canada and France, including Telefilm Canada,...
, the sequel of Le déclin de l'empire américain
Le Déclin de l'empire américain
The Decline of the American Empire is a 1986 Québécois comedy/drama film directed by Denys Arcand. It was followed by a sequel, The Barbarian Invasions in 2003.-Synopsis:...
, and with Gaz bar blues and Seducing Doctor Lewis
Seducing Doctor Lewis
La grande séduction is a 2003 Québécois comedy film and the first film directed by Jean-François Pouliot. The script was written by Ken Scott. It won the "Audience Award" at 2004 Sundance Film Festival...
gaining both critical and public acclaim. In 2005, C.R.A.Z.Y.
C.R.A.Z.Y.
C.R.A.Z.Y. is a 2005 French-language Canadian film from Quebec. The film was directed and co-written by Jean-Marc Vallée. It tells the story of Zac, a young gay man dealing with homophobia and heterosexism while growing up with four brothers and a conservative father in 1960s and 1970s...
was released, grossing a considerable amount in such a small market, and garnering widespread praise from critics. In 2006, the Quebec-made action-comedy Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Bon Cop, Bad Cop is a 2006 Canadian comedy-thriller buddy cop film about an Ontarian and a Québécois police officer who reluctantly join forces. The dialogue is a mixture of English and French...
, a film with dialogue in both French and English, took over the title of most popular Canadian film at the Canadian box office. Sales for Bon Cop, Bad Cop have totalled $13 million across the country. The previous Quebec film to hold this honour was Les Boys
Les Boys
Les Boys is a 1997 Quebec-made comedy film directed by Louis Saia. It has spawned three sequels and by any measure is the most successful Quebec made film series of all time, and one of the most successful Canadian-made film series of all time.-Plot:The plot revolves around the players on a...
. In 2007, Arcand's L'Âge des Ténèbres was selected as the closing film for the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2009, De père en flic (English: Father and Guns
Father and Guns
Father and Guns is a Canadian comedy film, released in 2009. Directed by Émile Gaudreault, the film stars Michel Côté and Louis-José Houde as Jacques and Marc Laroche, feuding father and son police officers who are forced to reevaluate their relationship when they're paired up on an undercover...
) matched the movie Bon Cop Bad Cop to become the highest-grossing French language film in Canadian history.
See also
- Cinema of the world
- Culture of QuebecCulture of QuebecThe Culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting from the shared history of the French-speaking majority in Quebec. It is unique to the Western World; Quebec is the only region in North America with a French-speaking majority, as well as one of only two provinces in Canada...
- List of Quebec actors
- List of Quebec film directors
- List of Quebec films
- List of Quebec writers
- Cinema of Canada
- From NFB to Box-OfficeFrom NFB to Box-OfficeFrom NFB to Box-Office is a 2009 documentary by Quebec film director and producer Denys Desjardins. The film documents the development of Quebec cinema, from the founding of the National Film Board of Canada in 1939 to the creation of the Canadian Film Development Corporation in 1968, recounting...
External links
- AQCC: Association Québécoises des Critiques de Cinéma
- ARRQ: Association des Réalisateurs et Réalisatrices du Québec
- La Bibliothèque: Arts: Cinéma
- "Le cinéma québécois à l'ombre de Duplessis"
- La Cinémathèque Québécoise
- Festival international du Nouveau Cinéma
- Québécois Audiovisuel (English version)
- Régie du cinéma du Québec