L'histoire des trois + Saint-Denys Garneau
To mark the release of Francine Laurendeau, celle qui aime (Somme toute, under the direction of Stéphane Lépine), we present some of the films that left a lasting impression on this influential voice in Quebec film criticism.
This short documentary explores the life and work of Saint-Denys Garneau, the French-Canadian poet who was born in Montreal in 1912 and died in Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault, near Quebec City, in 1941. Through magnificent black-and-white images, the film takes us to the places where he lived.
In 1958, Francine Laurendeau, Jean-Pierre Goyer and Bruno Meloche's students traveled from Montreal to Quebec City to meet with Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis. They had been asked by their student assembly to hand-deliver a memoir on university access. But the Premier refused to receive them. For three months, every morning, they politely repeated their request... Thirty years later, we're back on the Montreal-Quebec train with them.
Jean-Claude Labrecque
Jean-Claude Labrecque trained as a camera assistant at the NFB. As a cinematographer, he shot many of the early key films of Claude Jutra (À tout prendre), Michel Brault (Entre la mer et l'eau douce), Gilles Carle (La vie heureuse de Léopold Z), Gilles Groulx (Le chat dans le sac) and Don Owen (The Ernie Game). He left the NFB in 1967 to set-up his own production company, although he continued to freelance with the Board. Throughout his lengthy career, Jean-Claude Labrecque’s interests focused on matters of concern to the Québécois people, whether in sports, culture or politics. His better-known films include La visite du Général de Gaulle au Québec, Games of the XXI Olympiad and his second feature, Les vautours, an eloquent and charming personal meditation on the birth of a generation, considered by critics to be his best film. He also served as Bernard Émond's cameraman on such critically acclaimed films as The Woman Who Drinks, The Novena and Summit Circle. Among his many awards and citations, he won two Canadian Film Awards, in 1964 and 1970, and the Jutra Award for Best Documentary in 2003.
