Jean Pierre Lefebvre
Directing
Biography
Jean Pierre Lefebvre (born 17 August 1941) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is widely admired as "the godfather of independent Canadian cinema," particularly among young, independent filmmakers. Jean Pierre Lefebvre studied literature at the University of Montréal and taught for two years at the Jesuit-run Loyola College in Montreal (now part of Concordia University). He began writing as a film critic, first for Quartier Latin, then for Séquences and Objectif. He directed his first film, a short drama, then three independent features. He joined the National Film Board of Canada and made two films, including the 1968 feature My Friend Pierrette (Mon amie Pierrette), co-starring Raôul Duguay and produced by Clément Perron. Lefebvre was then asked to head the NFB's French-language fiction studio. He began its Premières Oeuvres series, designed to make low-budget shorts and features. Four features and a number of shorts were produced within a year before the initiative was terminated, and Lefebvre left to form his own production company, Cinak, with his wife and editor, Marguerite Duparc. He writes and produces all his own films. Lefebvre was one of the first Canadian filmmakers to receive international acclaim for his work; his film Don't Let It Kill You (Il ne faut pas mourir pour ça) (1967) was the first Canadian film to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival. He proved to be successful again at Cannes when he received the International Critics' Prize for Les fleurs sauvages (1982) and his film Le jour S... (1984) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section. His 1973 film The Last Betrothal (Les dernières fiançailles) won the prestigious Prix de l'Organisation catholique internationale du cinéma in 1974. Il ne faut pas mourir pour ça (1967), Le Vieux pays où Rimbaud est mort (1977), and Aujourd'hui ou jamais (1997) make up his Abel Trilogy; three feature films starring the recurring character of Abel Gagné played by Marcel Sabourin. In 1991, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his innovative and high-quality feature films". In 1995 he was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier. In 2013, Lefebvre received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award. Source: Article "Jean Pierre Lefebvre" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For
Apostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and hosted by Bernard Pivot. It ran for fifteen years (724 episodes) from January 10, 1975, to June 22, 1990, and was one of the most watched shows on French television (around 6 million regular viewers). It was broadcast on Friday nights on the channel France 2 (which was called "Antenne 2" from 1975 to 1992). The hourlong show was devoted to books, authors and literature. The format varied between one-on-one interviews with a single author and open discussions between four or five authors.
Apostrophes
Montréal, 1959. In the classroom of Sister Cecilia, Leonie (aged 11) first met Father Malachy, a young Dominican father who has come to visit his school. It is love at first sight for this lonely and dreamy child who took refuge in religion to escape a mother who is emotional and too worried. But there is also love at first sight between Sister Cecilia and Father Malachy. Between human love and the love of God, which will prevail?
Pour l'amour de Dieu
A pilot who has not flown in years due to an accident has to deal with unexpected visitors and financial woes on the day he decides to return to the sky.
Now or Never
The abduction and murder of numerous school girls in a quaint, all-American town. Inspired by true events.
American Girls
Commissioned by the Toronto International Film Festival to mark the event's 25th anniversary in September 2000, the "Preludes" program consisted of ten short films by Canadian directors which were inspired in some way by the festival. Each film screened as a prelude to a feature film in the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival program. The full "Preludes" anthology was screened on the web in November 2000, and was given theatrical retrospectives at the TIFF Lightbox in the subsequent years.
Preludes
Every morning, Marcel confides in his tape recorder. It is from his reflections on life that this film takes us into the wake of his story.
At the End of Nothing at All
In this satire of sexuality in the entertainment industry and voyeurism, a woman maintains 3 romantic relationships simultaneously: with her husband, with her boss, and with her lover.
Q-Bec My Love
In this silent, surrealist fantasy, thick clouds in a scorched sky prevent the sun from reaching the earth. Only a group of children in this gray world have access to a source of light which is in the wintry woods. They collect it into small boxes that they use to revive people imprisoned in pictures. A young woman grieving for her lost lover goes in search of these children so that they can bring her beloved back to life.
The Box of Sun
A middle-aged man travels to France and is discouraged by the attitudes of the people concerning his native land until he meets and begins relationships with two lonely women.
The Old Country Where Rimbaud Died
No description available.
Le manuscrit érotique
A meditation on society's attitudes and beliefs, as explored through a New France fur trapper's relationship with a Native woman that spans centuries.
Those Damned Savages
A computer scientist scans dreams with a computer.
City of Dark
No description available.
L'île jaune
The unexpected return of his ex-wife and the assembly of a group of protesters both threaten to wreck a corrupt contractor's inauguration party for his new superhighway.
Réjeanne Padovani
After another cardiac arrest, Armand knows he doesn't have long left to live. But after more then 70 years in the same house, he doesn't want to die anywhere other than at home. His wife Rose has secretly decided she will die as she lived: with him.
The Last Betrothal
After losing a loved one, Simone decides to volunteer in a hospital and spends her days with terminally ill patients. However, other parts of her life soon begin to suffer as well.
Vital Signs
Three generations of a family struggle to be open with each other during a week of summer vacation at their country cottage.
Wild Flowers
Backyard Theatre is a documentary about playwright Michel Tremblay and director André Brassard’s flavourful brand of Quebec theatre, which captured the earthy wit and joual (slang) of Montreal's East End working-class neighbourhood. The film features impromptu improvisation by the cast of Les belles-soeurs and Demain matin, Montréal m'attend, two genre-defining plays.
Backyard Theatre
Francis is a taxi driver and comic book artist who begins drawing a fantastical comic series about an intergalactic taxi driver in outer space, only to find that the stories he imagines for his comic strip start to materialize in real life.
The Fabulous Voyage of the Angel
Jean-Paul is a public servant, tired of toiling at his soul-destroying job. As a writer, he feels out of touch with the times and longs for inspiration.