The history of cinema in Quebec started on June 27, 1896 when the
Frenchman Louis Minier inaugurated the first movie projection in North
America in a Montreal theatre room. However, it would have to wait
until the 1960s before a genuine Quebec cinema industry would emerge.
Approximately 620 feature-length films have been produced, or
partially produced by the Quebec film industry since 1943.Due to
language and cultural differences between the predominantly
francophone population of Quebec and the predominantly anglophone
population of the rest of Canada, Quebec's film industry is commonly
regarded as a distinct entity from its English Canadian counterpart.
In addition to participating in Canada's national Genie Awards, the
Quebec film industry also maintains its own awards ceremony, the Prix
Iris (formerly known as Jutra). In addition, the popularity of
homegrown French language films among Quebec audiences, as opposed to
English Canadians' preference for Hollywood films, means that Quebec
films are often more successful at the box office than English
Canadian films â€" in fact, the top-grossing Canadian film of the year
is often a French language film from Quebec.From 1896 to the 1960s,
the Catholic clergy tried to control what movies Quebecers could see.
Two methods were employed: censorship and prohibition of attendance by
children under 16. In 1913, the Bureau de censure de vues animées
(Office of censorship for motion pictures) began regulating the
projection of movies in Quebec. In 1927, the Laurier-Palace Theatre
burned down, killing 78 children. The church then almost succeeded at
closing down all projection rooms in the province. However, the
Parliament of Quebec passed a law preventing only children under 16
from attending movie projections. This law would be repealed only in
1961.Nevertheless, some films were produced in Quebec during this
period. Those were mostly documentaries, some of which were made by
priests (Albert Tessier) and civil servants (Herménégilde Lavoie).
Joseph-Arthur Homier is considered the first director of
feature-length films in Quebec, and his 1922 production, Madeleine de
Verchères, was based on the life of the 17th-century Quebec heroine,
Madeleine de Verchères. In the 1940s and 1950s, the first commercial
attempts at cinema happened. Two production houses were at the origins
of all the movies of this period: Renaissance Films and Québec
Productions. Most of the commercial feature films came primarily from
four directors: Fyodor Otsep, Paul Gury [fr], Jean-Yves Bigras, and
René Delacroix [fr]. Notable films of this period include Le Père
Chopin [fr] (1945), Un homme et son péché [fr] (1949), La petite
Aurore l'enfant martyre (1952), Tit-Coq (1953), and Les brûlés
(1959).
Frenchman Louis Minier inaugurated the first movie projection in North
America in a Montreal theatre room. However, it would have to wait
until the 1960s before a genuine Quebec cinema industry would emerge.
Approximately 620 feature-length films have been produced, or
partially produced by the Quebec film industry since 1943.Due to
language and cultural differences between the predominantly
francophone population of Quebec and the predominantly anglophone
population of the rest of Canada, Quebec's film industry is commonly
regarded as a distinct entity from its English Canadian counterpart.
In addition to participating in Canada's national Genie Awards, the
Quebec film industry also maintains its own awards ceremony, the Prix
Iris (formerly known as Jutra). In addition, the popularity of
homegrown French language films among Quebec audiences, as opposed to
English Canadians' preference for Hollywood films, means that Quebec
films are often more successful at the box office than English
Canadian films â€" in fact, the top-grossing Canadian film of the year
is often a French language film from Quebec.From 1896 to the 1960s,
the Catholic clergy tried to control what movies Quebecers could see.
Two methods were employed: censorship and prohibition of attendance by
children under 16. In 1913, the Bureau de censure de vues animées
(Office of censorship for motion pictures) began regulating the
projection of movies in Quebec. In 1927, the Laurier-Palace Theatre
burned down, killing 78 children. The church then almost succeeded at
closing down all projection rooms in the province. However, the
Parliament of Quebec passed a law preventing only children under 16
from attending movie projections. This law would be repealed only in
1961.Nevertheless, some films were produced in Quebec during this
period. Those were mostly documentaries, some of which were made by
priests (Albert Tessier) and civil servants (Herménégilde Lavoie).
Joseph-Arthur Homier is considered the first director of
feature-length films in Quebec, and his 1922 production, Madeleine de
Verchères, was based on the life of the 17th-century Quebec heroine,
Madeleine de Verchères. In the 1940s and 1950s, the first commercial
attempts at cinema happened. Two production houses were at the origins
of all the movies of this period: Renaissance Films and Québec
Productions. Most of the commercial feature films came primarily from
four directors: Fyodor Otsep, Paul Gury [fr], Jean-Yves Bigras, and
René Delacroix [fr]. Notable films of this period include Le Père
Chopin [fr] (1945), Un homme et son péché [fr] (1949), La petite
Aurore l'enfant martyre (1952), Tit-Coq (1953), and Les brûlés
(1959).
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