Jean Pierre Lefebvre

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.

Biography 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. 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.

Filmography

Features The Revolutionary (Le révolutionnaire) – 1965 Don't Let It Kill You (Il ne faut pas mourir pour ça) – 1967 Patricia and Jean-Baptiste (Patricia et Jean-Baptiste) – 1968 My Friend Pierrette (Mon amie Pierrette) – 1969 Straight to the Heart (Jusqu'au coeur) – 1969 The House of Light (La chambre blanche) – 1969 Q-Bec My Love (Un succès commercial, ou Q-bec My Love) – 1970 Those Damned Savages (Les maudits sauvages) – 1971 My Eye (Mon œil) – 1971 Ultimatum – 1973 The Last Betrothal (Les dernières fiançailles) – 1973 Pigs Are Seldom Clean (On n'engraisse pas les cochons à l'eau claire) – 1973 Confidences of the Night (L'amour blessé) – 1975 The Man from the Movies (Le gars des vues) – 1976 The Old Country Where Rimbaud Died (Le vieux pays où Rimbaud est mort) – 1977 To Be Sixteen (Avoir 16 ans) – 1979 Wild Flowers (Les fleurs sauvages) – 1982 Le jour S... – 1984 The Box of Sun (La boite à soleil) – 1988 The Fabulous Voyage of the Angel (Le fabuleux voyage de l'ange) – 1991 Now or Never (Aujourd'hui ou jamais) – 1998 La Route des cieux – 2010

Other work L'homoman (Short film, 1964) To the Rhythm of My Heart (Au rythme de mon coeur) (Documentary, 1983) Alfred Laliberté sculpteur (Documentary, 1987) Ensemble (Video, 1988) Sentiers secrets (Video, 1988) Laubach Literacy of Canada: The Changing Workplace (Documentary short, 1989) Atelier altitude (Short film, 1993) Il était une fois Sabrina et Manu (Short film, 1994) L'Âge des images (Series of 5 videos, 1994–1995) H comme hasard (Short film, 1999) (Part of the collective anthology project Un abécédaire) See You in Toronto (Short film, 2000) Le manuscript érotique (TV movie, 2002) Mon ami Michel (documentary, 2004)