Filmmakers

Michel Brault, cinematographer, director, producer, writer (born 25 June 1928 in Montréal, QC; died 21 September 2013 in Toronto, ON). A pioneering documentary filmmaker, and the only Canadian to win the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Michel Brault was one of Canada’s most acclaimed and revered filmmakers. A leading figure in the direct cinema movement of the 1960s, his shoulder-mounted, wide-angle shooting technique and his contributions to the design of the 16 mm Éclair cameras — as well as to such landmark films as Chronique d’une été (1961) — helped define the documentary aesthetic and influenced generations of filmmakers. He was a central figure in Québec’s Quiet Revolution and contributed as a cinematographer to some of the best Canadian films ever made, including his own Les Ordres (1974), his and Pierre Perrault’s Pour la suite du monde (1963), Claude Jutra’s Mon oncle Antoine (1971) and Francis Mankiewicz’s Les Bons débarras (1980). He received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and was made an Officer of the National Order of Québec. He also began to question the ability of documentaries to accurately reflect reality, saying "I don't know what truth is. We can't think we're creating truth with a camera. But what we can do is reveal something to viewers that allows them to discover their own truth."