Michel Brault

Brault, Michel
Michel Brault, filmmaker (b at Montréal 25 June 1928). A professional photographer, Brault filmed the series Les Petites Médisances with Jacques Giraldeau in the early 1950s. He joined the NATIONAL FILM BOARD as a cameraman in 1956 and worked on the Candid Eye series. Quickly moving into film directing, he became a leading figure in direct cinema, using a light, portable camera. Noted for the quality of his cinematography, he went to Europe to work with directors of the cinéma-vérité school.

Returning to Canada, he worked as director of photography on productions by Québec filmmakers such as Claude JUTRA, Anne Claire POIRIER and Francis MANKIEWICZ. At the same time, as a film director, he collaborated with Pierre PERRAULT on 3 feature films, including the classic Pour la suite du monde (1963). His ability to combine the documentary impact of direct cinema with the emotional richness of fiction films is demonstrated in Entre la mer et l'eau douce (1967) and especially in Les Ordres (1974), a documentary dramatization of the 1970 October Crisis that won first prize at Cannes in 1975.

For 20 years, he has divided his time between making documentary and fiction films, producing (Nanouk Films) and directing. He produced and co-directed with André Gladu the 27 episodes of the series, Le son des Français d'Amérique. Since 1987, he has made most of his films for television, including: Les Noces de papier (1989), Shabbat Shalom! (1992) and Mon amie Max (1994). These 3 films explore questions of immigration and interpersonal relations in Québec society or present the experience of being an outsider in one's place of birth. Since making Les Ordres, Brault had wanted to try another political subject, one anchored in Québec's history. After several proposals to funding agencies he finally created Quand vous serez parti... vous vivrez encore (1999), a historical drama dedicated to the REBELLIONS OF 1837 and the history of the Patriotes until 1838 when 12 of them were hanged.

His high standing has not turned Brault away from making short films such as Diogène (1990) and the sketch "La dernière partie," a segment of the feature film Montréal vu par... (1991). Nor has it prevented him making videos (Tu m'aimes-tu, 1991). Brault has been an inspiration to a generation of filmmakers. In 1986 he was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier and in 1996 a Governor-General's Performing Arts award.

Author PIERRE VÉRONNEAU

Links to Other Sites
Vérité Filmmaking
The major Cinéma Vérité films and filmmakers, and a timeline of key events in Vérité Filmmaking. Also features interviews, excerpts, and biographies. From the website for “Cinéma Vérité: Defining the Moment,’ a documentary film by the National Film Board of Canada.