B: May 30, 1931 in Montréal, Quebec
D: August 22, 1994 in Longueuil, Québec
Gilles Groulx joined the NFB as a film editor in 1956 and two years later co-directed the documentary Les Raquetteurs with Michel Brault. Recognized as a Masterwork, his 1964 film Le Chat dans le sac is considered one of the most important works produced in French Canada. Film journalist Peter Harcourt, commenting on the film said, in part, that it marked “the beginning of a beginning” for modern Canadian fiction feature film. With Le Chat, and a few others, Canadian cinema found itself in synch with the contemporary new wave movements then emerging around the world. Like the works of Jean-Luc Godard, Nagisa Oshima and Richard Lester, Gilles Groulx’s first feature rejected traditional production practices and dealt with the political and social issues that were galvanizing young people everywhere at that time. He was awarded the Albert-Tessier Prize in 1985. By the end of his life Groulx was forgotten and poverty-stricken. We list his credits as a director first. |
Features & TV Movies: Les héritiers (1955, documentary, short) Normetal (1960, documentary, short) 24 heures ou plus… (1973, documentary) Au pays de Zom (1983) Credits as a Screenwriter: 24 heures ou plus… (1973, documentary) Au pays de Zom (1983) |
