Jean-Claude Labrecque

Directing

Jean-Claude Labrecque

Born 1938-06-19 · Québec City, Québec, Canada

Jean-Claude Labrecque, CM CQ (June 19, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was a director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada. Jean-Claude Labrecque was born in Quebec City, Quebec, and trained as a camera assistant at the NFB. As a cinematographer, he shot many of the early key films of Claude Jutra (À tout prendre), Michel Brault (Entre la mer et l’eau douce), Gilles Carle (La vie heureuse de Léopold Z), Gilles Groulx (Le Chat dans le sac) and Don Owen (Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail, The Ernie Game). He turned to directing in 1965 with 60 Cycles, about a long-distance bike race on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River, which has been described as a virtual encyclopedia of camera techniques. It won 22 international awards and was nominated for a BAFTA. He left the NFB in 1967 to set-up his own production company, although he continued to freelance with the Board.

Acting credits

From Office to Box-Office poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

From Office to Box-Office

2009

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

Labrecque, une caméra pour la mémoire poster
9.0

A genuine encounter with filmmaker Jean-Claude Labrecque, this feature-length doc underscores not only the importance of his work (especially in the documentary medium) but also his passion for film. The bond between Labrecque and director Michel La Veaux allows us to see beyond the images and discover the smaller story hidden within the larger one. La Veaux shares with us his own love for film and the humanistic perspective from which Labrecque has used his camera to etch the great moments of Quebec’s culture and history into Quebecers’ collective memory.

Labrecque, une caméra pour la mémoire

2017

Remembering Maria Chapdelaine poster
9.0

This feature documentary by Jean-Claude Labrecque recounts the bold and astounding enterprise of French filmmaker Julien Duvivier, who shot a film adaptation of Louis Hémon’s classic novel Maria Chapdelaine in Péribonka, a village in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, in 1934. What was the impact of the original film’s production on the life of the community? What memories remain? What town secrets lie hidden in those memories?

Remembering Maria Chapdelaine

2015

No artwork available
NR

About De Gaulle's eventful visit to Québec in 1967

Le chemin du Roy

1997

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

Rebels with a Camera poster
NR

Thanks to the development of techniques and the adventurous spirit of pioneering filmmakers, among whom Michel Brault occupies a central place, a new way of making cinema was born at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. This film relevantly retraces the history of a collective movement which revolutionized production and filming methods in Quebec and the world.

Rebels with a Camera

2006

Behind the camera

The Wise Guys poster
6.6

In this French Canadian film, when the provincial government tries to move two young farmers from their land to make way for development, the two fight back, accidentally killing a policeman and becoming outlaws in the process.

The Wise Guys

1972

The Wise Guys poster
6.6

In this French Canadian film, when the provincial government tries to move two young farmers from their land to make way for development, the two fight back, accidentally killing a policeman and becoming outlaws in the process.

The Wise Guys

1972

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Le frère André

1987

Les vautours poster
7.0

Although he is something of a layabout, and is still living with his mother, her death comes as something of a shock to Louis Pelletier (Gilbert Sicotte). Still, he has hopes of some sort of legacy and believes that his relatives will help him find a job. All his hopes are dashed when, before the funeral, his three aunts come to Quebec City to settle their sister's estate. As grasping and efficient a crew as ever strode a parlor, by the time they leave, the estate has been cleaned to the bones, as if by vultures.

Les vautours

1975

Félix poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Félix

2009

Félix poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Félix

2009

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

La vie

1968

Forever Québec poster
NR

A Canadian documentary depicting Quebec City as it celebrates its 400th anniversary.

Forever Québec

2008

Forever Québec poster
NR

A Canadian documentary depicting Quebec City as it celebrates its 400th anniversary.

Forever Québec

2008

60 Cycles poster
7.3

On your marks. Follow cyclists from 13 countries as they cover 2.400 km of Gaspé countryside in 12 days-a course longer than those of Italy, Belgium or Spain. The long shots of curving landscape and open road are set to a mesmerizing soundtrack in this documentary, and the results are spellbinding.

60 Cycles

1965

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Michèle Lalonde

1977

No artwork available
7.3

No synopsis available yet.

Le RIN

2002

Remembering Maria Chapdelaine poster
9.0

This feature documentary by Jean-Claude Labrecque recounts the bold and astounding enterprise of French filmmaker Julien Duvivier, who shot a film adaptation of Louis Hémon’s classic novel Maria Chapdelaine in Péribonka, a village in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, in 1934. What was the impact of the original film’s production on the life of the community? What memories remain? What town secrets lie hidden in those memories?

Remembering Maria Chapdelaine

2015

Québec fête juin '75 poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Québec fête juin '75

1976

Claude Gauvreau - Poète poster
NR

A moving documentary about a poet not far from being a legend.

Claude Gauvreau - Poète

1974

Canada the Land poster
6.8

Filmed for the most part from a low-flying aircraft, this documentary short presents a breathtaking view of Canada from coast to coast. Showing the varied terrain, from craggy coast to towering glacier, the film illustrates Canada’s pristine wilderness as well as today's industrial and urban realities. Canada the Land was specially commissioned for the Canada Pavilion at the Osaka World Fair in 1970.

Canada the Land

1971

Chronique de la nuit de la poésie 1970 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Chronique de la nuit de la poésie 1970

2015

Games of the XXI Olympiad poster
5.1

Edited from almost 100 km of film footage shot during the Games, this feature documentary is a breathtaking portrait of the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Much more than a simple record of the Games, the film approaches each event with the intention of revealing the athlete - whether winner or loser - as a unique individual.

Games of the XXI Olympiad

1977

26 Times in a Row poster
NR

This short documentary revisits the 1976 Olympic Marathon. A modern-day addition to the Games, the marathon commemorates the soldier who ran cross-country, in 490 B.C., to announce the Greek victory at Marathon and then died. Here, great film footage of the 1976 Summer Olympics captures the physical demands of the race, while its emotional counterpart is related by Waldemar Cierpinski, the event’s 1976 gold medalist. This emotion-charged film proves that although the winner of the Decathlon is the best all-round athlete, the “toughest” is the winner of the Marathon

26 Times in a Row

1978

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

On s'pratique... c'est pour les Olympiques

1976

Marie Uguay poster
9.0

Reflections on writing, life and death with French Canadian poet Marie Uguay, who would die of bone cancer shortly after the making of this film.

Marie Uguay

1982

The Coffin Affair poster
9.0

In 1953, in the Gaspé forest, there are three bodies half eaten by bears. Fearing repercussions on tourism and investment, Prime minister Maurice Duplessis decided to make an example accusing Wilbert Coffin.

The Coffin Affair

1980

The Coffin Affair poster
9.0

In 1953, in the Gaspé forest, there are three bodies half eaten by bears. Fearing repercussions on tourism and investment, Prime minister Maurice Duplessis decided to make an example accusing Wilbert Coffin.

The Coffin Affair

1980

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Chronique de la nuit de la poésie 1980

2017