Denys Arcand, one of our most renowned filmmakers in the world, presents his new film: will, on October 5th. To highlight this highly anticipated release, The newspaper invites you to review the great moments of his career through impressive photos.
A prolific young filmmaker
Denys Arcand is 34 years old in this photo, taken at the time of the release of the detective film Gina in 1975, his third feature film after La Maudite Galette (1972) and Réjeanne Padovani (1973). Before turning to fiction, the young filmmaker had already made around ten documentaries for the National Film Board (ONF) in the early 1970s, including the controversial On est au Cotton, which was censored for six years for “political reasons”.
The success of Waste
JMTL
Denys Arcand poses alongside Dominique Michel, Dorothée Berryman, Yves Jacques and Pierre Curzi at the grand premiere of the film “The Fall of the American Empire” in 1986. One of the most famous Quebec films in the world; This satirical comedy, in which a group of intellectuals discuss their lives and love relationships, was the starting point for Arcand’s international career. “The Decline” received an Oscar nomination and was a box office hit in Quebec and also in France.
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Filming too Jesus of Montreal
In the summer of 1988, Denys Arcand filmed “Jesus of Montreal,” a brilliant and daring satire in search of spirituality that also earned Arcand another Oscar nomination. “Jesus of Montreal” will mark the history of our cinema by becoming the first Quebec film to win the prestigious Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1989.
The big reunion
AFP
Seventeen years after the release of The Decline of the American Empire, Denys Arcand reunited with the same group of actors for a sequel, Les Invasions barbares, which also starred Stéphane Rousseau, Isabelle Blais, Mitsou and Marie-Josée Croze play along. Here we see the filmmaker surrounded by the film’s actresses on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2003, where Les Invasions barbares won the awards for Best Screenplay and Best Female Performance (awarded to Marie-Josée Croze).
Big winning harvest
JMTL
The triumph at Cannes marked only the beginning of the great adventure of the barbarian invasions. In the winter of 2004, Denys Arcand had a particularly emotional weekend: he won three awards (including best film) at the César ceremony in Paris on February 21 and four awards the next day in Montreal at the Jutra evening (now Gala Québec). Movie theater). Next stop: the Oscars!
Finally an Oscar !
Portal/Gary Hershorn
The third time was the charm for Denys Arcand… After being nominated for the Oscars twice, the Quebec filmmaker finally got his hands on the precious statuette on February 29, 2004 – becoming the first Quebec filmmaker to win the Oscar Sprachfilm won the best foreign film. In this photo, published on the front page of the Journal de Montréal the next day, the filmmaker holds his Oscar and smiles proudly with his producer and wife, Denise Robert.
Praise from Tom Hanks
JMTL
During Oscar weekend in 2004, Denys Arcand had the opportunity to meet with all of Hollywood’s elite, including Tom Hanks, who did not hesitate to tell the Quebec filmmaker all the good things he thought about the barbarian invasions.
Like thieves at a fair
Two years after the immense success of “Barbarian Invasions,” Denys Arcand entrusted Marc Labrèche with the lead role in his next film, “The Age of Darkness.” The filmmaker and the actor get along like thieves while filming this satirical comedy about a disillusioned civil servant who tries to forget his monotonous everyday life by taking refuge in fantasies.
Return to Cannes
AFP
In May 2007, Denys Arcand returned to Cannes to present The Age of Darkness at the end of the festival. The filmmaker poses here during the festival’s traditional photo session with his actors Emma de Caunes, Diane Kruger and Marc Labrèche.
A more thoughtful Arcand
Decency
After a long break of seven years, Arcand returned to cinema in 2014 with The Reign of Beauty, a more thoughtful and “less talky” film than his previous works, which received mixed reviews at the time of its release. This time it is Éric Bruneau who plays the main role in the feature film.
Inspired by Maripier Morin
Courtesy of Seville Films
In 2018, the veteran filmmaker returned (with vigor) to his first love, detective films, with The Fall of the American Empire, a biting social satire starring Maripier Morin in the role of a luxury escort and Alexandre Landry in the role by a doctor of philosophy who became a delivery man out of spite. This photo of the trio was taken on the red carpet of the film’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
Great accomplices
Decency
The film Testament, which will be released in a few days, marks the seventh collaboration between Denys Arcand and his favorite actor Rémy Girard. The actor plays a 70-year-old single man who has lost his bearings in our politically correct world. “This is our seventh film together, Denys and I, and he always tells me: I write them, you say them!” I also share Denys’ vision of our company,” Rémy Girard said in an interview earlier this week.
Testament hits theaters on October 5th.