Louis Bélanger
Director and Screenwriter
Biography
Louis Bélanger was born in Beauport, Québec, in 1964. With Denis Chouinard, he directed his first short film, Dogmatisme ou le songe d'Adrien, while in the communications program at the Université du Québec à Montréal. It merited a special mention at the Manifestation Internationale de Vidéo in Montbéliard and won an award at the Festival International du Jeune Cinéma de Montréal.
Together, Chouinard and Bélanger went on to make two medium-length works: Le soleil et ses traces (1990) and Les 14 définitions de la pluie (1992). The latter won the award for best video at the Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois. They then went on to collaborate on the scripts of Clandestins (1996) and L'ange de goudron (1999). Bélanger also made a short film, Les Galeries Wilderton (1991) with Bruno Baillargeon, which won the award for best actress at the Festival International du Jeune Cinéma, and received special mention at the Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois.
In 1999, with Post Mortem, Louis Bélanger completed his first feature, earning him five Jutra awards, including best director, best film and best screenplay (2000). This film also won three Genies, including best new director and best screenplay (2000). Post Mortem was also recognized at the Festival des Films du Monde de Montréal (1999), where it won the award for best director, by the Association Québécoise des Critiques de Cinéma (AQCC, 1999), which named it best feature, and by the Critique Internationale jury (FIPRESCI), who gave it a special mention.
In 2001, in collaboration with Isabelle Hébert, Bélanger directed Lauzon Lauzone, a feature-length documentary. His second feature-length drama, Gaz Bar Blues, which he wrote and directed, opened the Festival des Films du Monde in 2003, and also won numerous awards there. It also won the Prix de la Presse at the Festival du Film de Paris, as well as earning a Genie nomination in 2004. His latest feature, Le génie du crime, an adaptation of the play, Criminal Genius, by George F. Walker, was released in the fall of 2006.
In collaboration with Lorraine Dufour, Louis Bélanger is currently working on the film adaptation of the Trevor Ferguson's novel, The Timekeeper, and is preparing another feature-length drama in collaboration with Alexis Martin, Demande à ceux qui restent.
Filmography
2006
Feature-Length Drama, Video HD to 35mm, Lycaon Pictus / ONF
Les 4 coins
Television Series, 1 x 30 min., Productions les 4 coins / SRC
2005
Made-for-TV Movie, J.B. Media / Cypress Point / TMN / Lifetime / Super Écran
La chambre no. 13
Television Series, 1 x 30 min., Productions des Années Lumières / SRC
2003
Feature-Length Drama, 35mm, Coop Vidéo
View of Terror
Made-for-TV Movie, J.B. Media / TMN / Hearst Entertainment
2000
Feature-Length Documentary, Video, Lyla Films
1999
Feature-Length Drama, Super 16mm to 35mm, Coop Vidéo
1992
Dramatic Short, Video, Co-Director: Denis Chouinard, Les Houblonneurs Unis / Coop Vidéo
1991
Dramatic Short, Video, Co-Director: Bruno Baillargeon, Coop Vidéo
1990
Dramatic Short, Video, Co-Director: Denis Chouinard, Les Houblonneurs Unis / Coop Vidéo
1987
Dramatic Short, Video, Co-Director: Denis Chouinard, Les Houblonneurs Unis
Screenwriter's Filmography
1999
Made-for-TV Movie, Director: Nicolas Wadimoff, Productions Caravan (Geneva) / ARTE (Paris) / TSR (Geneva)
1998
Feature, 35mm, Director: Nicolas Wadimoff, Productions Caravan (Geneva)
Script Consultant's Filmography
1999
Feature-Length Drama, 35mm, Writer-Director: Denis Chouinard, Max Films
1996
Collective Work, Coop Vidéo
Clandestins
Feature-Length Drama, 35mm, Writers-Directors: Denis Chouinard and Nicolas Wadimoff
Les Productions du Regard / Dschoint Ventschr
1994
Feature-Length Drama, 35mm, Screenplay: Ann Burke, Gabriel Pelletier, Anne Pelletier and Yves Pelletier, Lux Films
1993
Feature-Length Drama, 35mm, Writer-Director: Robert Morin, Lux Films
1991
sans-coeur
Feature-Length Drama, 35mm, Writer-Director: Robert Morin, Coop Vidéo, Lux Films
Mentions
2006
Textes et entretiens sous la direction de Bruno Carrière, éd. Les 400 coups (Montréal, Canada)
Quatre membres sélectionnés pour participer à la publication : Louis Bélanger, Bernard Émond, Catherine Martin, Robert Morin
Véro Boncompagni, 2003