Phil Comeau (born 1956), CM is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film and television director, born in

Saulnierville Saulnierville is a rural Acadian fishing community founded in 1785, located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It contains the French Shore's largest fish processing plant, Comeau Sea Foods, which has been in operations since 1946. Saulnierville also has on ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He lives in

Moncton, New Brunswick Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

and

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

Biography

Phil Comeau is a film and television director and scriptwriter, based in Moncton,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

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 ...

. His documentary and drama films have won over 500 awards at film festivals worldwide. He has directed films and TV episodes in Canada and in over 20 countries. His films have been translated in 27 languages, and been broadcast in 200 countries. A globetrotter, Phil has traveled on all continents and visited over 50 countries. He directed and co-wrote the award-winning drama feature film

Jerome's Secret ''Jerome's Secret'' (french: Le Secret de Jérôme) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Phil Comeau and released in 1994. The first-ever Acadian feature film, it dramatizes the story of Jerome, a mysterious man who washed up on a beach at Bai ...

in Canada, and two TV movies Crash of the Century in France, and Teen Knight in Romania and the USA. His popular drama series include Tribu.com (I & II) with viewer ratings in Quebec of 1.3 million,

La Sagouine ''La Sagouine'' is a play written by New Brunswick author Antonine Maillet that tells the story of ''la Sagouine'', an Acadian cleaning lady from rural New Brunswick. The play is a collection of monologues, written in Acadian French. It has since ...

, Lassie,

Emily of New Moon ''Emily of New Moon'' is the first in a series of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery about an orphan girl growing up on Prince Edward Island. Montgomery is also the author of ''Anne of Green Gables'' series. It was first published in 1923. Plot sum ...

Pit Pony A pit pony, otherwise known as a mining horse, was a horse, pony or mule commonly used underground in mines from the mid-18th until the mid-20th century. The term "pony" was sometimes broadly applied to any equine working underground.English ...

, Les couleurs de mon accent, World Legends and the docu-drama series Mayday broadcast worldwide. His recent award-winning feature documentaries include Zachary Richard Cajun Heart, Acadian Music Wave, Secretariat's Jockey Ron Turcotte, and The Nature of Frederic Back. He also Comeau has directed and wrote numerous films about his Acadian culture. Among them, the first independent Acadian drama feature film

, the first Acadian comedy The Gossips, the first Acadian children's film The Hooked Rug of Grand-Pré, and a popular series remake on an iconic Acadian character

. On the subject of the world Acadian diaspora, he had directed an Acadian feature in Louisiana Zachary Richard Cajun Heart, a series in Quebec Les Acadiens du Québec and documentaries in France Belle-Ile-en-Mer, a Breton and Acadian Island and Belle-Ile in Acadie. As an author, he has also published poetry in two books Plumes d'ictte and Éloizes, a published film script Les Gossipeuses, an Acadian dictionary Le parler Acadjonne, and in 2014 was the editor and co-director of the anthology Acadie Then and Now, a 500-page collective containing both history and contemporary articles on the world diaspora Acadian, which won the international award Prix France-Acadie in Paris. Phil Comeau is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Directors Guild of Canada, Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Quebec, and Front des réalisateurs du Canada.

Recognitions

His films and TV series have received over 500 awards at film festivals worldwide. Phil Comeau has received five (5) Orders: he has been appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 2011; the

Order of New Brunswick The Order of New Brunswick (french: Ordre du Nouveau Brunswick) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Instituted in 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, on the advice of the Cabinet under ...

and the Ordre de la Pléiade from the Assemblée des Parlementaires de la Francophonie in 2016; the distinction of the Ordre des francophones d'Amérique at the National Assembly in Quebec in 2007; and the rank of "Chevalier" of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France in 2006. He also received two Honorary Doctorats in Arts from the

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on highe ...

, N.B. (2013) and from

Université Sainte-Anne Université Sainte-Anne is a French-language university in Pointe-de-l'Église, Nova Scotia, Canada. It and the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick are the only French-language universities in the Maritime Provinces. History It was found ...

in N.S. (2007); the Prix Meritas of the Federation acadienne du Quebec in 1999; the Grand-Pre Award from the Minister of Culture of Nova Scotia in 1997, and the Prix Champion in Ottawa in 1995. His feature film ''Zachary Richard, Cajun Heart'' was presented at the United Nations in Geneva in 2017. In 2021, Comeau was awarded the Médaille Léger-Comeau, the highest Acadian distinction by the Société Nationale de l'Acadie.

Filmography

As director

As writer

As producer or coproducer

Honors

* 2021: Médaille Léger-Comeau, the highest Acadian distinction awarded by the Société Nationale de l'Acadie * 2020: Prix Louisiane-Acadie - 15th Cinema Festival on the Bayou (Lafayette, Louisiana) * 2019: Médaille de la Ville de Marennes -10th Festival of Francophone Culture (Marennes, France) * 2019:

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

( Historica Canada), Inclusion on list of 30 Famous Francophones in Canada * 2018: Prix Eloize, Acadian Artist Most Illustrated Internationally (New Brunswick, Canada) * 2018: Prix du public Radio-Canada / People's Choice for Acadian Artist of the Year (New Brunswick, Canada) * 2018: Prix du President, Richelieu International (Canada) * 2017: The Canadian Encyclopedia (Historica Canada), Inclusion of biography (Canada) * 2017: United Nations, Presentation of his film "Zachary Richard Cajun Heart" (Geneva, Switzerland) * 2016: Cultural Personality of the Year, Acadie-Nouvelle (New Brunswick, Canada) * 2016:

, Gouvernment of New Brunswick (Canada) * 2016:

Order of La Pléiade The Order of La Pléiade (; ) is an honorary order of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. It recognizes people who particularly distinguished themselves in the service of its ideals of cooperation and friendship, promoting the rol ...

, Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie (OIF, International) * 2015: Prix France-Acadie Award, Amitiés France-Acadie (Paris, France) * 2014: Personality of the week, Radio-Canada & Acadie-Nouvelle (Maritimes, Canada) * 2014: Prix Acadie-Québec Award, Bureau atlantique du Quebec & Société national de l'Acadie (New Brunswick, Canada) * 2014: Certificat de mérite, Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse, Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) * 2014: Film Retrospective Phil Comeau, 6 films (Lafayette, Louisiana) * 2013: Honorary Doctorat in Arts, Université de Moncton (New Brunswick, Canada) * 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (Ottawa, Canada) * 2011:

(Ottawa) * 2007: Honorary Doctorat in Fine-Arts, Université Sainte-Anne (Nova Scotia, Canada) * 2007: Ordre des francophones d'Amérique (Quebec, Canada) * 2006:

Ordre des Arts et Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

(Paris, France) * 1999: Prix Méritas Award, Federation acadienne du Québec (Montréal, Canada) * 1997: Prix Grand-Pré Award, Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) * 1995: Prix Champion, Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (Ottawa, Canada)

References

Phil Comeau
at The Canadian Encyclopedia (engl. or french) *https://web.archive.org/web/20190524124714/http://www.omada.ca/artiste/phil-comeau-2 *http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1009464/serie-grandes-entrevues-phil-comeau-le-parcours-dun-artiste-convaincu

External links

* * https://www.dgc.ca/en/quebec/memberView?m=1950 {{DEFAULTSORT:Comeau, Phil Acadian people Canadian male screenwriters Canadian film producers Members of the Order of Canada Film directors from Montreal Writers from Montreal Film directors from Nova Scotia Writers from Nova Scotia People from Digby County, Nova Scotia Film directors from New Brunswick Writers from Moncton 1956 births Living people Acadian film