Jacques Leduc

Directing

Jacques Leduc

Born 1941-11-25 · Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Jacques Leduc (born November 25, 1941) is a Canadian film director and cinematographer. Leduc began his career in 1961 working as a film critic for the magazine Objectif. The following year, at the age of 21, he was hired as a camera assistant by the NFB. Over the course of the next few years he worked under such filmmakers as Denys Arcand, Gilles Carle, and Don Owen. In 1965 he began working as both Director and Cinematographer; his first film as director was a documentary short entitled Chantal en vrac. Leduc continued his work as Director with his first feature film in 1967 entitled Nomininque, depuis qu'il existe and his first feature documentary film in 1969 entitled Cap d'espoir. The documentary film was "about the muted violence that existed [in Quebec] and the monopoly over news held by Power Corp." and became one of the most famous cases of censorship at the NFB when it was banned by NFB commissioner Hugo McPherson. Leduc continued working on critically acclaimed films throughout the 70s and 80s such as On est loin du soleil (1970), Tendresse ordinaire (1973), and Trois pommes à côté du sommeil (1988). In 1990 he left the NFB and became a freelance filmmaker.[3] In 1992 he directed the film La vie fantôme; the film was named Best Canadian Film at the Montreal World Film Festival and earned a Genie Award for Best Screenplay nomination. Since then he has primarily worked with other Directors as their cinematographer and in 2008 was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier.

Acting credits

The Private Life of Cinema poster
NR

A two-part in-depth exploration of the evolution of the private film industry, seen through the eyes of more than 50 industry professionals. Part One (1939-1979) : Artists and professionals from the social and commercial film sectors recount the struggle to build a film industry that is privately operated yet publicly funded. Part Two (1980-2010) : Executives, policymakers, and industry professionals trace the origins of the major funding institutions and discuss the unintended consequences of building a cultural industry around performance metrics, revenue generation, and private profit.

The Private Life of Cinema

2011

La tête au neutre poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

La tête au neutre

1972

My Eye for a Camera poster
NR

A filmmaker, fascinated by the power of the camera and obsessed with the theories of Russian film pioneer Dziga Vertov, decides to get a camera eye to replace the real eye he lost as a child. The visionary quest begins on the operating table, where a surgeon grafts a prototype ocular implant into his eye socket. Seeking a microscopic camera that could be incorporated into his artificial eye so he could secretly film whatever he sees, the filmmaker explores the futuristic technology that could make this possible, while revisiting chapters of his own past.

My Eye for a Camera

2001

Réjeanne Padovani poster
6.7

The unexpected return of his ex-wife and the assembly of a group of protesters both threaten to wreck a corrupt contractor's inauguration party for his new superhighway.

Réjeanne Padovani

1973

Cinéma, cinéma poster
7.0

An anthology of sequences from the best films that the National Film Board of Canada produced since its beginnings. Divided by themes and presented by a trio of actors-signers (including Carle's wife Chloé Sainte-Marie) who sings the same song in between the movie excerpts. This movie celebrated the anniversary of the National Film Board in 1985.

Cinéma, cinéma

1985

Behind the camera

Ordinary Tenderness poster
9.3

A lonely woman spends the winter isolated and reminiscing about the past as she waits for her husband to return from a prolonged absence.

Ordinary Tenderness

1973

Montreal Stories poster
5.0

Six stories about Montreal. 1: A young housewife from Toronto samples the nightlife using basic French. 2: The tale of a painting of Montreal's first mayor, Jacques Viger. 3: During a hockey game, Madeleine tries to tell Roger she wants a divorce after forty years of marriage. 4: A visitor to a conference on pictographs arrives at the airport, where the female customs officer steals a momento from each person. 5: As she is being driven to the hospital in an ambulance after an auto accident, Sarah recalls her life. 6: At a diplomatic reception, an older woman reminisces about her grand love in Montreal.

Montreal Stories

1991

Montreal Stories poster
5.0

Six stories about Montreal. 1: A young housewife from Toronto samples the nightlife using basic French. 2: The tale of a painting of Montreal's first mayor, Jacques Viger. 3: During a hockey game, Madeleine tries to tell Roger she wants a divorce after forty years of marriage. 4: A visitor to a conference on pictographs arrives at the airport, where the female customs officer steals a momento from each person. 5: As she is being driven to the hospital in an ambulance after an auto accident, Sarah recalls her life. 6: At a diplomatic reception, an older woman reminisces about her grand love in Montreal.

Montreal Stories

1991

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Ça marche

1969

The Last Glacier poster
6.0

A docudrama on the closing of the town of Schefferville. When Raoul loses his job at the mine because the operations are ending, he's been settled there for ten years with Carmen and their son. They're now forced to leave the town, leaving behind the traces of an ephemeral prosperity.

The Last Glacier

1984

The Last Glacier poster
6.0

A docudrama on the closing of the town of Schefferville. When Raoul loses his job at the mine because the operations are ending, he's been settled there for ten years with Carmen and their son. They're now forced to leave the town, leaving behind the traces of an ephemeral prosperity.

The Last Glacier

1984

Lundi - Une chaumière, un coeur poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Lundi - Une chaumière, un coeur

1978

Lessons on Life poster
8.0

A day in the life of a Quebec magazine writer - his fortieth birthday - from his dream before waking to his last act before sleeping. He looks back over his life, his thoughts, and his loves.

Lessons on Life

1989

Lessons on Life poster
8.0

A day in the life of a Quebec magazine writer - his fortieth birthday - from his dream before waking to his last act before sleeping. He looks back over his life, his thoughts, and his loves.

Lessons on Life

1989

Chantal: en vrac poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Chantal: en vrac

1967

Nominingue... depuis qu'il existe poster
10.0

A Docufiction about the twin realities of the Nominingue village in rural quebec, a poverty town turned vacation spot. where the older generation remembers the harsh conditions and poverty that afflicted them, while younger generations and tourist deal with ennui.

Nominingue... depuis qu'il existe

1967

Nominingue... depuis qu'il existe poster
10.0

A Docufiction about the twin realities of the Nominingue village in rural quebec, a poverty town turned vacation spot. where the older generation remembers the harsh conditions and poverty that afflicted them, while younger generations and tourist deal with ennui.

Nominingue... depuis qu'il existe

1967

Samedi - Le Ventre de la nuit poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Samedi - Le Ventre de la nuit

1977

Far from the Sun poster
7.0

The six members of the working-class Bessette family each mimic a certain stage of the life of the iconic Brother André and are an incarnation of his values and characteristics.

Far from the Sun

1971

La vie fantôme poster
5.5

Pierre is in love with two women and has a stable relationship with both of them. His wife, all by herself, makes him feel whole. However, he has the identical feeling with his librarian mistress and cannot understand why this arrangement shouldn't be satisfactory for everyone concerned.

La vie fantôme

1992

La vie fantôme poster
5.5

Pierre is in love with two women and has a stable relationship with both of them. His wife, all by herself, makes him feel whole. However, he has the identical feeling with his librarian mistress and cannot understand why this arrangement shouldn't be satisfactory for everyone concerned.

La vie fantôme

1992

Cap d'espoir poster
NR

This film, shot in 1969, deals with a certain rebellious vision of Quebec at the time. It is a radical questioning of the ways of being of an entire community, which the filmmaker expresses in a most direct style. (This film was released in theaters in 1975.)

Cap d'espoir

1975

When I Will Be Gone... poster
9.0

Jacques Leduc directed and co-scripted (with Jacques Marcotte) this Canadian-French co-production, a drama about an aging Montreal woman, Caroline (Annie Girardot), in her 60s and contemplating impending death. She destroys old correspondence, cleans her apartment by putting furniture in the street, and looks back on her life (as revealed via flashbacks and a film crew interviewing her daughters). Caroline's brief marriage to an Englishman gave her one daughter, successful businesswoman Rachel (Domini Blythe), and an affair with a rebel in the Congo resulted in her other daughter Myriam (Sheila Rose). Further memories rise to the surface when Caroline joins her long-time friend Maureen (France Castel) for a black-tie reception where their community work in Africa brings them an Order of Canada award.

When I Will Be Gone...

1998

No artwork available
8.0

David Marvin, photographer and archivist, tormented by deafness and illness, killed himself in 1975. Mixing fiction and documentary, this feature film draws a parallel between his life and the history of Griffintown, a neighborhood of Montreal to which he devoted part of his work.

Albédo

1982

No artwork available
NR

In a very traditional and popular setting, this documentary follow Willie Lamothe who becomes a national icone aftera 25 years career. The film follows the stars through is retelling of his career, his private life and his shows. It also follows testimonies from his fans and friends. Finaly, it his full of Willie Lamothe's music.

Je chante à cheval avec Willie Lamothe

1971

There or Elsewhere poster
10.0

A mirror and satire of modern society, this film, without commentary, uses symbols, sounds, suggestive images, and signs to invite the viewer to reflect on the various forms of oppression—money, authority, prohibitions, and incentives—that constrain contemporary man, steal his time, and degrade his conscience and moral values.

There or Elsewhere

1969

No artwork available
10.0

"Montréal under the snow and the cold winter. It is the period of the year when the garage owners strike it rich. The automobile at the service of man? This small opus would rather show the contrary. This is one in a series of eight films titled “Chronicle of Everyday Life,” a project that filmmaker Jacques Leduc took four years to realize, and whose goal was to revisit Direct Cinema at a moment when it was already heavily “contaminated” by mainstream TV." - Anthology Film Archives

Friday: About Cars

1978

Jeudi : « À Cheval sur l'Argent » poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Jeudi : « À Cheval sur l'Argent »

1977

Le temps des cigales poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Le temps des cigales

1987