Jean Pierre Lefebvre studied literature at the
University of Montréal and taught for two years at the Jesuit-run Loyola College in Montreal (now part of
Concordia University). He began writing as a film critic, first for
Quartier Latin, then for
Séquences and
Objectif. He directed his first film, a short drama, then three independent features. He joined the
National Film Board of Canada and made two films, including the 1968 feature
My Friend Pierrette (Mon amie Pierrette), co-starring
Raôul Duguay and produced by
Clément Perron. Lefebvre was then asked to head the NFB's French-language fiction studio. He began its
Premières Oeuvres series, designed to make low-budget shorts and features. Four features and a number of shorts were produced within a year before the initiative was terminated, and Lefebvre left to form his own production company, Cinak, with his wife and editor,
Marguerite Duparc. He writes and produces all his own films. He proved to be successful again at Cannes when he received the International Critics' Prize for
Les fleurs sauvages (1982) and his film
Le jour S... (1984) was screened in the
Un Certain Regard section. His 1973 film
The Last Betrothal (Les dernières fiançailles) won the prestigious Prix de l'Organisation catholique internationale du cinéma in 1974.
Il ne faut pas mourir pour ça (1967),
Le Vieux pays où Rimbaud est mort (1977), and ''Aujourd'hui ou jamais
(1997) make up his Abel Trilogy''; three feature films starring the recurring character of Abel Gagné played by
Marcel Sabourin. In 1991, he was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada "for his innovative and high-quality feature films". In 1995 he was awarded the
Prix Albert-Tessier. In 2013, Lefebvre received a
Governor General's Performing Arts Award. ==Filmography==