Jean-Claude Labrecque

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.

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Les années de rêves (1984)

Continuing a saga that began with his previous, 1978 film, Vautours director Jean-Claude Labrecque returns with the French Canadian, Louis Pelletier and puts him in the context of the growing separatist movement in the late 1960s in Quebec. At that time, supporters ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Gilbert Sicotte  •  Anne-Marie Provencher  •  Monique Mercure  •  Amulette Garneau

Continuing a saga that began with his previous, 1978 film, Vautours director Jean-Claude Labrecque returns with the French Canadian, Louis Pelletier and puts him in the context of the growing separatist movement in the late 1960s in Quebec. At that time, supporters ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Gilbert Sicotte  •  Anne-Marie Provencher  •  Monique Mercure  •  Amulette Garneau

60 Cycles (1965)

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, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST: 

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, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST: 

Labrecque, une caméra pour la mémoire (2017)

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Michel La Veaux
CAST:  Jean-Claude Labrecque

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Michel La Veaux
CAST:  Jean-Claude Labrecque

Canada the Land (1969)

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque  •  Rex Tasker
CAST: 

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque  •  Rex Tasker
CAST: 

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DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque  •  Jean-Pierre Masse
CAST: 

The Wise Guys (1972)

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.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Daniel Pilon  •  Donald Pilon  •  Louise Laparé  •  Marcel Martel

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.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Daniel Pilon  •  Donald Pilon  •  Louise Laparé  •  Marcel Martel

Les vautours (1975)

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Gilbert Sicotte  •  Monique Mercure  •  Carmen Tremblay  •  Amulette Garneau

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Gilbert Sicotte  •  Monique Mercure  •  Carmen Tremblay  •  Amulette Garneau

Games of the XXI Olympiad (1977)

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean Beaudin  •  Marcel Carrière  •  Jean-Claude Labrecque  •  Georges Dufaux
CAST:  Nadia Comăneci  •  João Carlos de Oliveira  •  Caitlyn Jenner  •  Olga Korbut

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean Beaudin  •  Marcel Carrière  •  Jean-Claude Labrecque  •  Georges Dufaux
CAST:  Nadia Comăneci  •  João Carlos de Oliveira  •  Caitlyn Jenner  •  Olga Korbut

Live Before the Letter (2006)

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Denys Desjardins
CAST:  Michel Brault  •  Denys Arcand  •  Roger Blais  •  Marcel Carrière

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Denys Desjardins
CAST:  Michel Brault  •  Denys Arcand  •  Roger Blais  •  Marcel Carrière

La vie (1968)

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DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Denis Poulet  •  René Simard

26 Times in a Row (1978)

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST: 

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST: 

Marie Uguay (1982)

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.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Marie Uguay

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.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Marie Uguay

Essai à la mille (1970)

This is a work share in the impressive filmography of Jean-Claude Labrecque! Crowned a Canadian Film Award (the ancestors of the Genii) Test the miles is almost unrivaled in the history of Quebec cinema. Hallucinated poem to music by Pierre Henry and the text of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST: 

This is a work share in the impressive filmography of Jean-Claude Labrecque! Crowned a Canadian Film Award (the ancestors of the Genii) Test the miles is almost unrivaled in the history of Quebec cinema. Hallucinated poem to music by Pierre Henry and the text of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST: 

Remembering Maria Chapdelaine (2015)

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Jean-Claude Labrecque  •  Julien Duvivier

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 ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Claude Labrecque
CAST:  Jean-Claude Labrecque  •  Julien Duvivier
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