
Bernard Émond
Directing
Biography
Bernard Émond (born 1951) is a Canadian director, screenwriter, novelist and essayist working in the French-language. He studied anthropology at university and lived for several years in the Canadian north where he worked for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation. He began his film career making documentaries, later moving to feature-length films, all of which have been shot in Quebec. He is noted for the humanistic, sometimes spiritual depth of his films, in particular his trilogy of feature films (2007, 2009, 2012) based on the three Christian virtues, faith, hope, and charity. Other themes in his work include human dignity and frailty, and cultural loss. He describes himself as an agnostic and a "conservative socialist."
Known For

This is the story of Gerard, an man who miraculy survived to an explosion that destroyed his appartment and killed a lot of people. During the next days, he tries to find out why he survived and why others died.
8:17pm, Darling Street

A recent widow living in a small Quebec town goes to Montreal to visit her busy adult son and daughter, and then on a whim decides to travel to the town of her childhood, where she hadn't set foot in decades.
A Place to live

In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Uprooted, far from his loved ones, unable to speak French and faced with a completely alien world, he becomes despondent. When he refuses to eat and expresses a wish to die, his nurse, Carole, comes to the realization that Tivii's illness is not the most serious threat to his well-being. She arranges to have a young orphan, Kaki, transferred to the institution. The boy is also sick, but has experience with both worlds and speaks both languages. By sharing his culture with Kaki and opening it up to others, Tivii rediscovers his pride and energy. Ultimately he also rediscovers hope through a plan to adopt Kaki, bring him home and make him part of his family
The Necessities of Life

When considering taking a few weeks off, Dr. Rainville places an ad to find a replacement who would agree to take his place in Normétal, in Abitibi. Jeanne Dion from Montreal accepts the offer and goes to the site, where it comes into contact with old customers and the lonely doctor. The problems of the inhabitants of the small community are varied, but Jeanne adapts well to her new environment. When Dr. Rainville was struck by a heart attack, he must still be replaced some time. She could even take his place permanently...
The Legacy

A doctor is confronted with his own illness.
The Diary of an Old Man

Rejeanne and Gilles are a married couple whose devastating setbacks--she is laid off from her job and he suffers a debilitating stroke--only begin to fester in the face of corporate greed and personal struggles when they attempt to start over in a new neighborhood.
Summit Circle

Despite the fact that he is completely unrepentant about his crimes, when Regis Savoie's son asks to visit him, prison authorities grant permission for the boy to come. The thief and murderer (Gildor Roy) takes advantage of the moment of his son's arrival to steal a gun and take flight. He settles some old scores, gets together with his girlfriend, and heads for the hills, pursued by a detective who is not to be swayed in his efforts to follow and recapture him.
Requiem for a Handsome Bastard

On the eve of her final moments, a woman recalls her alcoholic past. She revisits her entire youth, including a binge that, at 46, cost her everything she had: "Loneliness and aging are themes that impose themselves on me, in one form or another. As for alcoholism, it fascinates me because of the revolt it underpins, and revolts me because of the unhappiness it creates around itself.
The Woman Who Drinks

Two men bond as one recovers from an attack and the other deals with the impending death of his grandmother.
Novena

Mrs. Lemay has been separated from her husband for 11 years, but takes him back after the death of her partner.
A Respectable Woman

An obsessed scholar attempts to withdraw from the world but finds personal ties drawing him back into the family he had left behind, in this novelistic, beautifully modulated drama from acclaimed Québécois filmmaker Bernard Émond.
All That You Possess

Acquaintances talk about Henri Turcot, a simple man who died in Montreal circa 1990.
Ceux qui ont le pas léger meurent sans laisser de traces

Host Marie-Claude Julien meets director Bernard Émond on the day of the launch of his latest film Une femme respectable. He chose Trois-Rivières and its historic rue Des Ursulines to set the story of his main character. The house where the filming took place belongs to Marie-Claude. She took advantage of the director's visit to conduct this interview.
Le réalisateur Bernard Émond... chez moi

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Trois Mille Fois Par Jour

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L'épreuve du feu

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Le temps et le lieu
The daily life of a group of women in an old age home.