Making Movie History: Claude Godbout

Claude Godbout was a young actor in experimental theatre when he caught the eye of Gilles Groulx, who cast him in Le chat dans le sac (1964). Captured on celluloid by cinematographer Jean-Claude Labrecque, Godbout became an iconic figure for young French Canadians, caught up in the throes of the Quiet Revolution. Le chat dans le sac, along with Claude Jutra's À tout prendre (1963), came to epitomize the energy of Direct Cinema: together they propelled Quebec film into modernity. Turning away from acting, Godbout tried his hand at directing before founding Productions Prisma with friends. The company produced important features like Les ordres (Brault, 1974) and Les bons débarras (Mankiewicz, 1980). Godbout's recent produciton credits include the series Cinéma québécois (2008) and the documentary Le rêve américain (Boulianne, 2014).