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L'homme à tout faire (French)
Location
Main screening room
Date
September 9th, 2025
Duration
98 min
Cycle
Micheline Lanctôt, All Her Cinema

With fifteen films made over more than forty years, Micheline Lanctôt is an essential figure in Quebec cinema. From L’homme à tout faire to Autrui, from Sonatine (Silver Lion, 1984) to Une manière de vivre, this conviction-driven filmmaker, known for her precise writing, has often borne witness to her times, always one step ahead. It's high time we revisit her films on the big screen to fully appreciate their impact. Key films from her acting career round out the program.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Micheline Lanctôt

The Handyman
Directed by
Micheline Lanctôt
Language
French
Actors
Jocelyn Bérubé, Andrée Pelletier, Janette Bertrand
Origins
Quebec
Year
1980
Duration
98 min
Genre
Drama, romance
Format
Digital
Synopsis

In her directorial debut, Micheline Lanctôt tells the story of Armand Dorion, a naive and gallant workman hired by Thérèse St-Amand to renovate her house. Thérèse, an idle middle-class woman neglected by her husband, is amused by this male presence. As one job follows another, Armand falls in love with his boss.

The Handyman
Entre le mélodrame et la bouffonnerie, Micheline Lanctôt a choisi pour raconter cette histoire la voie, plus subtile, de ce que, faute de mieux, j’appellerai la comédie légère. C’est un film gai, enjoué, cruel sans en avoir l’air, qui, par exemple, fustige au passage certains comportements masculins types.
Francine Laurendeau
1980

Micheline Lanctôt

Micheline Lanctôt completed a Bachelor of Arts degree, as well as studies in music and visual arts. She devoted herself passionately to creating animated films for almost seven years, alongside pursuing an acting career, beginning with La vraie nature de Bernadette in 1972, which won her an interpretation award. Then she proceeded with several other films, including The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 1974. In 1980, she wrote and directed her first feature, L'homme à tout faire, which was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and won a Silver Medal at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Her second feature, Sonatine, won her the Silver Lion at the 1984 Venice Film Festival. Since then, she has written about twenty screenplays, directed twelve feature films, including one documentary, published two novels, three translations, won numerous awards as an actress and director, and keeps working as an actress in television and film. She also taught screen writing and directing at Concordia University for 36 years. She received the Prix Albert-Tessier 2000, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award 2003 and the Prix Jutra Hommage 2014.

Photo: Anna Lupien | Collections de la Cinémathèque québécoise

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About Micheline Lanctôt
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