Denys Arcand now has his own stamp. Canada Post on Tuesday honored the great Quebec filmmaker by issuing a postage stamp featuring his likeness.
The unveiling of this commemorative stamp took place at the Outremont Theater at the end of the day on Tuesday in a private ceremony. The stamp will be officially issued this Wednesday (June 28), three days after the 82nd birthday of the director of Jesus of Montreal and the Barbarian Invasions.
Denys Arcand attended the event with several relatives and friends including his wife and producer Denise Robert, actress Dominique Michel, composer François Dompierre, director and screenwriter Luc Dionne, author Nadine Bismuth, actors Rémy Girard and Yves Jacques.
Joel Lemay / QMI Agency
“Tonight I’m a happy man,” said Denys Arcand, visibly moved after spotting the stamp, which was designed after a black-and-white photograph of him behind the camera taken by Bertrand Carrière on the film set in 1985. From the movie The Fall of the American Empire.
“When my agent wrote me that Canada Post wanted a stamp printed on me, I was surprised at first. Little did I know there was anyone at Canada Post who knew what I was doing. But afterwards I told myself that I should take this as recognition from the Canadian government for the work we’ve done since we started making films in Quebec.
- Listen to Anaïs Guertin-Lacroix’s cultural contribution live every day at 7:10 a.m. on the Alexandre Moranville broadcast QUB radio :
“When I think about how far I’ve come since I started (60 years ago) and see where we are now. It would have been unthinkable for any of us in 1960 to become “Big Time” Hollywood like Denis Villeneuve is today. The path we have traveled has often been difficult, but I am proud of all our colleagues.”
Joel Lemay / QMI Agency
A master
Denis Villeneuve is also one of the artists who paid tribute to Denys Arcand in a video broadcast during the event. “When I think of Denys, the word comes to mind “master”» stressed the director of Dune from the Hollywood Hills.
Denys Arcand is the first Quebec filmmaker to have his face on a Canada Post stamp. He is now among a select group of Quebec artists who have been eligible for this honor in the past, including singer Robert Charlebois, choreographer Fernand Nault, group Beau Dommage, singer Ginette Reno and the late actress Monique Mercure.
Denys Arcand, one of the most important ambassadors of Quebec cinema around the world, has been critical of our society for more than 60 years. He remains the only Quebec director to date to have won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (2004 for Les Invasions Barbares).
Denys Arcand filmed a new film last fall called Testament, which hits theaters on October 5th.