Jean Pierre Lefebvre


Jean Pierre Lefebvre is a Canadian filmmaker. He is widely admired as "the godfather of independent Canadian cinema," particularly among young, independent filmmakers.

Biography

Jean Pierre Lefebvre studied literature at the University of Montréal and taught for two years at the Jesuit-run Loyola College in Montreal. 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 , 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 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 and his film Le jour S... was screened in the Un Certain Regard section. His 1973 film The Last Betrothal won the prestigious Prix de l'Organisation catholique internationale du cinéma in 1974.
Il ne faut pas mourir pour ça, Le Vieux pays où Rimbaud est mort, and Aujourd'hui ou jamais 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.

Filmography

Features

  • The Revolutionary – 1965
  • Don't Let It Kill You – 1967
  • Patricia and Jean-Baptiste – 1968
  • My Friend Pierrette – 1969
  • Straight to the Heart – 1969
  • The House of Light – 1969
  • Q-Bec My Love – 1970
  • Those Damned Savages – 1971
  • My Eye – 1971
  • Ultimatum – 1973
  • The Last Betrothal – 1973
  • Pigs Are Seldom Clean – 1973
  • Confidences of the Night – 1975
  • The Man from the Movies – 1976
  • The Old Country Where Rimbaud Died – 1977
  • To Be Sixteen – 1979
  • Wild Flowers – 1982
  • Le jour S... – 1984
  • The Box of Sun – 1988
  • The Fabulous Voyage of the Angel – 1991
  • Now or Never – 1998
  • La Route des cieux – 2010

    Other work

  • L'homoman
  • To the Rhythm of My Heart
  • Alfred Laliberté sculpteur
  • Ensemble
  • Sentiers secrets
  • Laubach Literacy of Canada: The Changing Workplace
  • Atelier altitude
  • Il était une fois Sabrina et Manu
  • L'Âge des images
  • H comme hasard
  • See You in Toronto
  • Le manuscript érotique
  • ''Mon ami Michel''