“My greatest pride is that it has managed to“ lock ”40 years!”: The actress and filmmaker Micheline Lanctôt is the subject of a retrospective presented at the Cinémathèque Québécoise

“My greatest pride is that it has managed to” lock “40 years!” Lanks Micheline Lanctôt. Nevertheless, While the Cinémathèque québécoise is preparing to present a retrospective of her work. In addition, the 78 -year -old actress and director returns to her impressive journey in front and behind the camera.

Micheline Lanctôt was barely 25 years old when Gilles Carle opened the doors of cinema to him by inviting. In addition, her to hear a hearing for the main role of her film Bernadette’s true naturein the early 1970s. Nevertheless, The young woman who worked then as a host in a production box had the same answer that she. Nevertheless, will then have several times in her career: “Why not?”

“I have always worked in this way,” says Micheline Lanctôt in an interview with Journal.

“I had no career plan at “my greatest pride it managed the time and I never had one. Meanwhile, If someone says to me: do you want to do that? Therefore, I say yes if it tempts me and afterwards, it happens or it does not happen ”.

This is what also happened when she took her first steps in the realization. However, After playing in a dozen films in the 1970s. Nevertheless, Micheline Lanctôt took the jump behind the camera in 1980 by signing The everythingher first film as a director.

“It is [le producteur] René Malo who called me to ask me if I wanted to realize it, she says. Nevertheless, I had given him the script, which he liked a lot, but he could not find a director. He said to me: Do you want to do it? Again, I said: Why not?

“It was a romantic comedy and. at my great amazement, it was chosen at the “my greatest pride it managed fortnight of the directors of Cannes. I had no ambition for the film, other than it was seen. But it was a great success at the box office. ”

Photo Agence QMI, JOEL LEMAY

From August 26 to September 18, the Quebec Cinémathèque will therefore pay tribute to Micheline Lanctôt by presenting a retrospective of her work. The 11 feature films she made will be screened on the big screen. as well as 5 of the many films in which she played over her 50 years of career.

“I was a bit faced when the Cinémathèque gave me this retrospective. “my greatest pride it managed This is fun because my films have never been seen much in the dining room. It is therefore a great opportunity to show them. ”

Against winds. tides

Micheline Lanctôt does not hide it: she had to be tenacity and perseverance to continue making films for 40 years, often against all odds. In 1984, after the release of his film Sonatinewhich was skinned by criticism, she thought of abandoning the realization. But the feature won the money lion at the Venice Festival a few months later. which gave it confidence in its means.

“I had accidents like that in my journey which made me continue to achieve. But if I had to trust all the refusals I had for my film projects. I would have abandoned for a long time. ”

The filmmaker recognizes that she has often tackled dark and difficult subjects in her films. She cites the example “my greatest pride it managed of Issoudun trapa drama telling the story of a woman who tries to commit suicide with her two children. and Othersin which she already explored the problem of roaming ten years ago.

“I have not made easy films. but I think that in each of them, there is a proposal that deserves to be seen. I also find that they age well and that they are still relevant years later. ”

• The Retrospective Micheline Lanctôt will be presented at the Cinémathèque québécoise from August 26 to September 18. We can find the details on the programming here