Michel Brault
Encyclopedia
Michel Brault, OQ
(born 25 June 1928, Montreal
) is a Quebec
cinematographer
, cameraman, film director
, screenwriter
and film producer
. He is a leading figure of Direct Cinema
, characteristic of the French
branch of the National Film Board of Canada
in the 1960s. Brault was a pioneer of the hand-held camera
aesthetic.
In the 1960s, Brault collaborated with the French Nouvelle Vague, notably with Jean Rouch
, and introduced the cinéma vérité techniques in Europe
. He directed his first documentary
short film for the National Film Board, the influential Les Raquetteurs
in 1958. He was also the cinematographer for a number of key Canadian films of the 1970s such as Claude Jutra
's Kamouraska
and Mon Oncle Antoine
and Francis Mankiewicz
's Les Bons débarras
.
In 1974, Brault directed Les Ordres, about the 1970 October crisis
and won the 1975 Cannes Film Festival award for best director
and the 1975 Canadian Film Award
for best direction. His 1989 film The Paper Wedding was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival
.
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
(born 25 June 1928, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
) is a Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, cameraman, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He is a leading figure of Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962 in North America, principally in the Canadian province of Quebec and the United States...
, characteristic of the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
branch of the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
in the 1960s. Brault was a pioneer of the hand-held camera
Hand-held camera
Hand-held camera or hand-held shooting is a filmmaking and video production technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands as opposed to being mounted on a tripod or other base. Hand-held cameras are used because they are conveniently sized for travel and because they allow...
aesthetic.
In the 1960s, Brault collaborated with the French Nouvelle Vague, notably with Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch was a French filmmaker and anthropologist.He is considered to be one of the founders of the cinéma vérité in France, which shared the aesthetics of the direct cinema spearheaded by Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker and Albert and David Maysles...
, and introduced the cinéma vérité techniques in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He directed his first documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
short film for the National Film Board, the influential Les Raquetteurs
Les raquetteurs
Les raquetteurs is a 1958 Direct Cinema documentary film co-directed by Michel Brault and Gilles Groulx. The film explores life in rural Quebec, at a convention of snowshoers in Sherbrooke, Quebec in February of 1958...
in 1958. He was also the cinematographer for a number of key Canadian films of the 1970s such as Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra
Claude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....
's Kamouraska
Kamouraska (film)
Kamouraska is a 1973 Québécois film directed by Claude Jutra, based on the novel by Anne Hébert, who also worked as screenwriter.-Synopsis:The film is set in rural Québec in the 1830s....
and Mon Oncle Antoine
Mon oncle Antoine
Mon oncle Antoine is a 1971 National Film Board of Canada French language drama film. Québécois director Claude Jutra co-wrote the screenplay with Clément Perron and directed what is one of the most acclaimed works in Canadian film history.The film examines life in the Maurice Duplessis-era...
and Francis Mankiewicz
Francis Mankiewicz
Francis Mankiewicz was a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. In 1945, his family moved to Montreal, where Francis would spend all his childhood. He was a relative of Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Herman J...
's Les Bons débarras
Les bons débarras
Good Riddance is a 1980 French-language Canadian drama film. Directed by Francis Mankiewicz and written by Réjean Ducharme, the film concerns Manon , a rebellious young girl who lives with her mother Michelle and her alcoholic uncle Ti-Guy .-Cast:* Charlotte Laurier - Manon* Marie Tifo -...
.
In 1974, Brault directed Les Ordres, about the 1970 October crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
and won the 1975 Cannes Film Festival award for best director
Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
and the 1975 Canadian Film Award
Canadian Film Award
The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually except in 1974 when Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation that year....
for best direction. His 1989 film The Paper Wedding was entered into the 40th Berlin International Film Festival
40th Berlin International Film Festival
The 40th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 9 to 20, 1990.-Jury:* Michael Ballhaus * Margaret Ménégoz * Vadim Abdrashitov* Suzana Amaral* Steven Bach* Roberto Benigni* Lívia Gyarmathy...
.
Honours and distinctions
- 1964 - Film of the Year, Canadian Film Awards
- 1974 - Prix L.-E.-Ouimet-Molson
- 1975 - Prix Victor-Morin
- 1975 - Best Director, Canadian Film Awards
- 1975 - Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
- 1980 - Molson PrizeMolson PrizeThe Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by The Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and humanities...
- 1981 and 1983 Genie Award for Best Achievement in CinematographyGenie Award for Best Achievement in CinematographyThe Genie Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian film cinematography.-16th Genie Awards:* Thomas Burstyn, Magic in the Water* Alain Dostie, Le Confessional...
(also nominated in 1988) - 1986 - Prix Albert-TessierPrix Albert-TessierThe Prix Albert-Tessier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in Québec cinema. It is awarded to scriptwriting, acting, composing music, directing, producing and cinematographic techniques. It is named in honour of...
- 1990 - Best director prize at the Flanders International Film Festival
- 1993 - Prix Luce-Guilbeault
- 1996 - Governor General's AwardGovernor General's AwardThe Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
- 2003 - Prix Guy-L'Écuyer
- 2003 - Officer of the Ordre national du Québec
- 2005 - Prix Jutra lifetime achievement award.
Selected films
Over the course of his career, Brault worked as a director or cinematographer on over 200 films. Some of the most notable of these films include:Fiction
- Matin (Short film, 1950)
- Geneviève (Short film, 1965) (Re-Released as part of the 1966 anthology film La fleur de l'âge)
- Entre la mer et l'eau douceEntre la mer et l'eau douceBetween Salt and Sweet Water , also known as Drifting Upstream, is a 1967 Québécois film directed by Michel Brault, co-written by Brault, Gérald Godin, Marcel Dubé, Claude Jutra and Denys Arcand....
(1967) - Les ordres (1974)
- Le son des français d'Amérique (TV series, 1974-1980)
- La belle ouvrage (TV series, 1977-1980)
- L'emprise (Short film, 1988)
- Les noces de papier (TV movie, 1989)
- Diogène (Short film, 1990)
- La dernière partie (TV episode of Montréal vu par..., 1992)
- Shabbat Shalom! (TV movie, 1992)
- Mon amie MaxMon amie MaxMy Friend Max is a Canadian 1994 film, written by Guy Fournier and Jefferson Lewis, directed by Michel Brault.-Plot summary:The film is set in contemporary Québec City, Québec....
(TV movie, 1994) - Quand je serai parti... vous vivrez encore (1999)
- 30 vies (TV series, 2011)
Documentaries
- Chèvres (Short film Co-Directed with Claude Sylvestre, 1954)
- La Mattawin, rivière sauvage (Short film Co-Directed with Claude Sylvestre, 1954)
- Les raquetteursLes raquetteursLes raquetteurs is a 1958 Direct Cinema documentary film co-directed by Michel Brault and Gilles Groulx. The film explores life in rural Quebec, at a convention of snowshoers in Sherbrooke, Quebec in February of 1958...
(Short film Co-Directed with Gilles GroulxGilles GroulxGilles Groulx was a Canadian film director. He grew up in a working-class family with 14 children. After studying business in school, he went to work in an office but found the white-collar environment too stultifying...
, 1958) - Eye Witness No. 101 (Documentary series Co-Directed with Grant Crabtree, 1958)
- La lutte (Short film Co-Directed with Marcel CarrièreMarcel CarrièreMarcel Carrière is a Canadian film director and sound engineer.-Biography:Marcel Carrière joined the NFB in 1955 after studying electronic engineering and developed his skills as a sound engineer while working on wildlife films, the Candid Eye series and the work of the newly formed French Unit...
, Claude FournierClaude FournierClaude Fournier L'Héritier was a French personality of the Revolution, nicknamed l'Americain .-Early activities:...
and Claude JutraClaude JutraClaude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....
, 1961) - Québec-U.S.A. ou l'invasion pacifique (Short film Co-Directed with Claude JutraClaude JutraClaude Jutra was a Canadian actor, film director and writer. The Prix Jutra are named in his honor because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec....
, 1962) - Les enfants du silence (Short film, 1962)
- Pour la suite du mondePour la suite du mondePour la suite du monde is a 1963 Canadian documentary film directed by Michel Brault and Pierre Perrault. It was entered into the 1963 Cannes Film Festival....
(Co-Directed with Marcel CarrièreMarcel CarrièreMarcel Carrière is a Canadian film director and sound engineer.-Biography:Marcel Carrière joined the NFB in 1955 after studying electronic engineering and developed his skills as a sound engineer while working on wildlife films, the Candid Eye series and the work of the newly formed French Unit...
and Pierre PerraultPierre PerraultPierre Perrault was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada although largely unknown outside of Québec...
, 1963) - Le temps perdu (Short film, 1964)
- Conflicts (Short film, 1967)
- Settlement and Conflict (Short film, 1967)
- Le beau plaisir (Short film Co-Directed with Pierre PerraultPierre PerraultPierre Perrault was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada although largely unknown outside of Québec...
and Bernard GosselinBernard GosselinBernard Gosselin was a Canadian cinematographer and documentary film director.-Biography:Born in Drummondville, Quebec, Gosselin studied at the Institut des arts graphiques in Montreal and then worked as a printer. He joined the NFB's title department in 1956 to design titles and credits...
, 1968) - Les enfants de Néant (Short film, 1968)
- Éloge du chiac (Short film, 1969)
- René Lévesque vous parlez: les 6 milliards (Short film, 1969)
- L'Acadie l'Acadie?!? (Co-Directed with Pierre PerraultPierre PerraultPierre Perrault was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada although largely unknown outside of Québec...
, 1971) - René Lévesque pour le vrai (Short film, 1973)
- Le bras de levier et la rivière (Short film, 1973)
- René Lévesque: un vrai chef (Short film, 1976)
- Les gens de plaisir (Short film, 1979)
- Il faut continuer (Short film, 1979)
- Le p'tit Canada (Short film, 1979)
- A Freedom to Move (Short film, 1985)
- Campaign 1986 (Short film, 1986)
- Tu m'aimes-tu (Video, 1991)
- Ozias Leduc, comme l'espace et le temps (Short film, 1996)
- La manic (Short film, 2002)
- Une chanson qui vient de loin (portrait de Claude Gauthier) (Short film, 2008)
As cinematographer
- Chronique d'un étéChronique d'un étéChronique d'un été is a documentary film made during the summer of 1960 by sociologist Edgar Morin and anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch, with the esthetic collaboration of director cameraman Michel Brault. The film begins with a discussion between Rouch and Morin on whether or not it is...
(1961) - Mon Oncle AntoineMon oncle AntoineMon oncle Antoine is a 1971 National Film Board of Canada French language drama film. Québécois director Claude Jutra co-wrote the screenplay with Clément Perron and directed what is one of the most acclaimed works in Canadian film history.The film examines life in the Maurice Duplessis-era...
(1971) - KamouraskaKamouraska (film)Kamouraska is a 1973 Québécois film directed by Claude Jutra, based on the novel by Anne Hébert, who also worked as screenwriter.-Synopsis:The film is set in rural Québec in the 1830s....
(1973) - Les Bons débarrasLes bons débarrasGood Riddance is a 1980 French-language Canadian drama film. Directed by Francis Mankiewicz and written by Réjean Ducharme, the film concerns Manon , a rebellious young girl who lives with her mother Michelle and her alcoholic uncle Ti-Guy .-Cast:* Charlotte Laurier - Manon* Marie Tifo -...
(1980) - No MercyNo Mercy (film)No Mercy is a 1986 film starring Richard Gere and Kim Basinger about a cop who accepts an offer to kill a Cajun gangster.-Plot:Eddie Jilette is a Chicago cop on the vengeance trail as he follows his partner's killers to New Orleans to settle his own personal score...
(1985) - The Great Land of SmallThe Great Land of SmallThe Great Land of Small is a 1987 Canadian fantasy children's film. It was written by David Sigmund and directed by Vojtech Jasny. The film starred Michael J. Anderson, in one of his first, and largest, roles...
(1987)