Joseph-Arthur Homier (born 1875 in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
– died 1934 in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
) was the first director of
feature-length films in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. A renowned professional photographer and amateur playwright, in 1922 Homier directed ''Oh! Oh! Jean'', a slapstick comedy about a servant who courts a widow. The film's success enabled Homier to found the Le Bon Cinéma National company, which in 1922 produced his next film, ''Madeleine de Verchères'', an epic
historical drama
A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...
written by his 18-year-old collaborator
Emma Gendron, a Montreal journalist. Filmed in
Kahnawake, the film tells the story of the celebrated 17th century Quebec heroine,
Madeleine de Verchères
Marie-Madeleine Jarret, known as Madeleine de Verchères ((); 3 March 1678 – 8 August 1747) was a woman of New France (modern Quebec) credited with repelling a raid on Fort Verchères when she was 14 years old.
Early life
Madeleine's f ...
.
Homier changed the name of his company to Le Cinéma Canadien, set up a studio in Montreal, and, working again with Gendron, made ''La drogue fatale'' (1923), a drama about the social harm caused by drugs. Although he made English and French versions of this film, he was not able to cover his expenses. As with his earlier efforts, the film was well received but generated little profit because of its limited distribution in Quebec. As a result, Homier abandoned cinema and devoted himself to photography.
References
External links
*
Joseph-Arthur Hormier at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography
1875 births
1934 deaths
Canadian photographers
French Quebecers
{{Canada-photographer-stub