Michel Brault
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michel Brault, OQ (25 June 1928, Montreal -) is a Quebec cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is a leading figure of Direct Cinema and cinéma vérité which were characteristic of the French half of the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s. Brault was a pioneer of the hand-held camera aesthetic. [1]
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.[2] He was the cinematographer for a number of the most famous of the NFB documentaries in the 1960s, including Pierre Perrault's Pour la suite du monde, which Brault co-directed, and for key Canadian films of the 1970's 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.
Contents |
[edit] Honours and distinctions
- 1963 - Film of the Year, Canadian Film Awards
- 1974 Prix L.-E.-Ouimet-Molson
- 1975 - Prix Victor-Morin
- 1980 - Molson Prize
- 1981 and 1983 Genie Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography (also nominated in 1988)
- 1986 - Prix Albert-Tessier
- 1990 - Best director prize at the Flanders International Film Festival
- 1993 - Prix Luce-Guilbeault
- 1996 - Governor General's Award
- 2003 - Prix Guy-L'Écuyer
- 2003 - Officer of the Ordre national du Québec
- 2005 - Prix Jutra lifetime achievement award.
[edit] Selected films
Over the course of his career, Brault worked as a director or cinematographer on over 200 films.[3]Some of the most notable of these films include:
- As director
- Pour la suite du monde (1963)
- Les Ordres (1975)
- Les Noces de papier (1990)
- As cinematographer
- Chronique d'un été (1961)
- Mon Oncle Antoine (1971)
- Kamouraska (1973)
- Les Bons débarras (1980)
- No Mercy (1985)
- The Great Land of Small (1987)
[edit] References
- ^ Michel Brault. Film Reference Library (2003). Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
- ^ Introduction for the 2007 Canadian Retrospective. Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
- ^ Michel Brault - Oeuvres 1958-1974 Works. National Film Board of Canada.
