Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter."Claude Jutra"
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

. The Prix Jutra, and the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

's Claude Jutra Award, were named in his honour because of his importance in Quebec cinema history."Claude Jutra's name to be pulled from Quebec film awards"
. ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', February 16, 2016. The awards were renamed in 2016, as were streets named for him, following the publication of allegations that he had sexually abused children during his lifetime."Quebec Cinema will rename Jutra awards; cities renaming streets"

CTV Montreal CFCF-DT (channel 12) is an English-language television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Noovo flagship CFJP-DT (channel 35). The two statio ...

, February 17, 2016.

Life and career

Jutra was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec as Claude Jutras. His father, Albert Jutras, was a radiologist and a director of the

Collège des médecins du Québec The ''Collège des médecins du Québec'' (CMQ), or Quebec College of Physicians, is a professional organization responsible for setting educational standards for physicians, regulating the practice of medicine, and policing its members at the pro ...

. He made the short films ''Dément du lac Jean-Jeunes'' and '' Perpetual Movement (Mouvement perpétuel)'' before graduating from the Université de Montréal with a degree in medicine, but turned to filmmaking instead of medical practice after completing his degree. He studied theatre in Montréal (1952–53) and wrote his first original Quebec television play (''L'Ecole de la peur'') in 1953, and a television series, ''Images en boite'', in 1954. He was openly gay. He went to work at the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

in 1956 where he trained in all facets of filmmaking, although his first film for the NFB, ''Trio-Brio'', was permanently lost when the organization moved its head office from Ottawa to Montreal. As a filmmaker, he dropped the s from his surname, a common Québécois surname, because the Jutra spelling was more distinctive. In 1958 he went to France and Africa to work with noted French filmmaker,

Jean Rouch Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French Filmmaking, filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was char ...

. Claude Jutra's career in film, in a certain sense, paralleled Quebec cinema itself. Beginning as an amateur at a time when there was no Quebec cinema, he participated in (and sometime led) several of the principal developments in Quebec: traditional documentaries and docudramas at the NFB; the germinal period of direct cinema; the first steps in the early 1960s toward independent film production; and later trend toward large-budget features, such as '' Kamouraska'', a box office failure now revealed to be a major work in the canon of Canadian cinema. Overall, his work had a consistent thematic pattern: young people and the (often traumatic) passage from innocence to knowledge, a theme that has nostalgic overtones. With financing and production provided by the NFB, Jutra co-wrote and directed the 1971 film '' Mon oncle Antoine'', which until very recently has been ranked as the best Canadian movie ever made. As well as directing several cinema vérité shorts such as ''

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

'' and '' The Devil's Toy (1966 film)'', he also co-directed with

Norman McLaren William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish-Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a caseb ...

and starred in the innovative

pixilation Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. This technique ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated short '' A Chairy Tale''. He was offered the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1972 but declined because he was a Quebec separatist. In 1984, he was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier, given to individuals for an outstanding career in Québec cinema.

Death

Jutra was diagnosed with

early-onset Alzheimer's disease Early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD), also called younger-onset Alzheimer's disease (YOAD), is Alzheimer's disease diagnosed before the age of 65. It is an uncommon form of Alzheimer's, accounting for only 5–10% of all Alzheimer's cases. Ab ...

in the early 1980s."Corpse found in river is Jutra's, note says". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', April 23, 1987. He was reported missing on November 5, 1986. His body was found in the St. Lawrence River in April 1987, with a note in his pocket reading "Je m'appelle Claude Jutra" ("My name is Claude Jutra"); an autopsy later confirmed drowning as his cause of death.

Allegations of child sexual abuse

In 2016, 30 years after his death, interviews with anonymized friends of Jutra claiming he was a pederast were made public in journalist Yves Lever's book ''Claude Jutra, biographie,'' Lever said that "one of Jutra's victims was under 14 years old." He also maintained that Jutra's proclivities were known by many people in the industry, "but nobody made a big deal out of it." Lever's attempts to contact who he described as "the main victim" were declined. in the wake of the allegations, Québec Cinéma held an emergency meeting to discuss changing the name of the Prix Jutra. On February 17, 2016, '' La Presse'' published an interview with an alleged victim of Jutra, who requested to remain anonymous, relating sexual abuse from the ages of 6 to 16. On the same day, Cinéma Québec removed Jutra's name from their awards following a request from the Minister of Culture of Quebec, Hélène David."La ministre David demande à Québec Cinéma de se dissocier de Claude Jutra"

ICI Radio-Canada #REDIRECT ICI {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

, February 17, 2016. To begin the renaming process, she requested the Commission de toponymie (Quebec Toponymy Commission) compile a list of streets and public places in the province bearing Jutra's name. Montreal mayor Denis Coderre additionally announced that the city would remove Jutra's name from streets and parks in its jurisdiction. Of the controversy, ''

'' wrote: "Few legendary figures have fallen so quickly and so completely. Merely 24 hours after the official publication of the first explosive allegation of child abuse against the Canadian cinematic pioneer, the film industry and governments started scrubbing the name Claude Jutra from every trophy, park and street."

Selected films

As actor

*'' A Chairy Tale'' - 1957 *'' À tout prendre'' - 1964 *'' The Rape of a Sweet Young Girl (Le viol d'une jeune fille douce)'' - 1968 *''Préambule'' - 1969 *''Act of the Heart'' - 1970 *'' We Are Far from the Sun (On est loin du soleil)'' - 1971 *'' Mon oncle Antoine'' -1971 *''Love on the Nose'' - 1974 (TV) *''Pour le meilleur et pour le pire'' - 1975 *'' The Flower Between the Teeth (La fleur aux dents)'' - 1976 *''Arts Cuba'' - 1977 (voice) *'' Two Solitudes'' - 1978 *''Riel'' - 1979 (TV) *''Till Death Do Us Part'' - 1982 (TV) *'' The Tin Flute (Bonheur d'occasion)'' - 1983

As director

Jutra made his debut as a director with ''Le dément du lac Jean-Jeunes'' - it explored themes that remained throughout his work, a nostalgia for childhood, madness, and troubled waters. His collaboration with Michel Brault began at this early period. ''Mouvement perpétuel'' was influenced by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

's '' Le Sang d'un poète''. '' L'École de la peur'' (1953) was the first television film made in Quebec. Toward the end of the 1950s, he moved to France, and

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

, who became a friend, asked him to direct ''Anna la Bonne'' (1959), a Cocteau scenario. In 1960, Jutra returned to Canada.

Fiction

*''Le dément du lac Jean-Jeunes'' - 1948, short film *'' Perpetual Movement (Mouvement perpétuel)'' - 1949, short film *''L'école de la peur'' - 1953, TV movie *''Pierrot des bois'' - 1956, short film *'' A Chairy Tale'' - 1957 short animated film co-directed with

*''Les mains nettes'' - 1958 *''Anna la bonne'' - 1959, short film from a scenario by

*'' À tout prendre'' - 1963 *''Marie-Christine'' - 1970, short film *'' Mon oncle Antoine'' - 1971 *'' Kamouraska'' - 1973 *'' For Better or For Worse (Pour le meilleur et pour le pire)'' - 1975 *''Ada'' - 1977, TV movie created for anthology series '' For the Record'' *'' Dreamspeaker'' - 1977, TV movie created for anthology series ''For the Record'' *''Seer Was Here'' - 1977, TV movie created for anthology series ''For the Record'' *''The Patriarch'' - 1978, episode of ''

The Beachcombers ''The Beachcombers'' is a Canadian comedy drama television series that ran on CBC Television from October 1, 1972, to December 12, 1990. With over 350 episodes, it is one of the longest-running dramatic series ever made for Canadian English-langu ...

'' *'' The Wordsmith'' - 1979, TV movie *'' Surfacing'' - 1980 *'' By Design'' - 1981 *''Un petit bonhomme de chemin'' - 1982, unfinished film *'' The Dame in Colour (La dame en couleurs)'' - 1985 *''My Father, My Rival'' - 1985, TV movie

Documentaries

*''Au service de l'esprit troublé'' (Short film Co-Directed with Stanley Jackson, 1955) *''Chantons maintenant'' (Short film, 1956) *''Jeunesses musicales'' (Short film, 1956) *''Rondo de Mozart'' (Short film, 1957) *''Félix Leclerc, troubadour'' (Short film, 1958) *''Fred Barry, comédien'' (Short film, 1959) *''Le Niger, jeune république'' (Short film, 1961) *'' La Lutte'' (''Wrestling)'' (Short film Co-Directed with Marcel Carrière, Claude Fournier and Michel Brault, 1961) *''Québec-U.S.A. ou l'invasion pacifique'' (Short film Co-Directed with Michel Brault, 1962) *''Petit discours de la méthode'' (Short film Co-Directed with Pierre Patry, 1963) *''Ciné boum'' (Short film Co-Directed with Robert Russell, 1964) *''Comment savoir...'' (1966) *''Rouli-roulant'' (Short film, 1966) *''The Devil's Toy'' (Short film, 1966) *''Au coeur de la ville'' (Short film, 1969) *'' Wow'' (1969) *''Québec fête juin '75'' (Co-Directed with Jean-Claude Labrecque, 1976) *''Arts Cuba'' (Short film, 1977)

Awards and nominations

Canadian Film Awards *(1950)

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

, Amateur for '' Perpetual Movement (Mouvement perpétuel)'' *(1958) Canadian Film Award, Arts and Experimental for '' A Chairy Tale'' (shared with

) *(1964) Canadian Film Award, Feature Film for '' À tout prendre'' (shared with Robert Hershorn) *(1971) Canadian Film Award, Direction (Feature) for '' Mon Oncle Antoine'' *(1977) Canadian Film Award, Direction (Non-Feature) for '' Dreamspeaker'' Genie Awards *(1986)

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

, Best Achievement in Direction for '' The Dame in Colour (La Dame en couleurs)'' *(1986) Genie Award, Best Screenplay for ''The Dame in Colour (La Dame en couleurs)''

Film about Claude Jutra

Jutra's close friend, filmmaker Paule Baillargeon, directed the feature documentary ''Claude Jutra: An Unfinished Story'' in 2002. Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre used a mix of archival footage of Jutra with animation to create the 2014 short documentary film '' Jutra''.

Legacy

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

stated in an interview that he shot the first

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

film like a Jutra documentary. Besides the film awards ( Claude Jutra Award and

Jutra Award Jutras may have several meanings : * Claude Jutra: an award-winning French Canadian filmmaker **Jutra Award: Film awards formerly given in the Canadian province of Quebec, named after the filmmaker and now known as Prix Iris **The Claude Jutra Awa ...

), a number of places bear or bore Jutra's name, all found in Quebec:"Claude Jutra had sex with underage boys, new biography alleges"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, February 15, 2016. Multiple parks and streets later were renamed or scheduled to be renamed after the pederasty allegations in 2016.

References

External links

''Je m’appelle Claude Jutra,'' an online exhibition
(In French)
Canadian Film Encyclopedia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jutra, Claude 1930 births 1986 suicides 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian screenwriters in French Film directors from Montreal Canadian LGBTQ film directors Canadian LGBTQ screenwriters Canadian gay actors Canadian gay writers Male actors from Montreal National Film Board of Canada people Suicides by drowning in Canada Suicides in Quebec Writers from Montreal Best Director Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners People with Alzheimer's disease Prix Albert-Tessier winners 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Screenwriters from Quebec 1986 deaths 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people Gay screenwriters Producers of Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners