The René-Jodoin Award, created by the Sommets du cinéma d'animation and the Cinémathèque québécoise in 2015, recognizes an outstanding, influential and committed figure in Canadian animation. This year, the award will be presented to Mr. Pierre Hébert.

Director of over forty films, including three features (Mount Fuji from a Moving Train, 2021, The Bazin Film, 2017, The Human Plant, 1996) Pierre Hébert worked at the National Film Board of Canada from 1965 to 2000. Since then, as an independent artist, his film work has taken on a multidisciplinary scope (live animation performances with musicians, video installations, collaborations with choreographers, drawings and web projects). He has published several books on cinema (Toucher au cinéma, 2021; Corps langage, technologie, 2006 and L'Ange et l'automate, 1999) as well as two books of drawings (Têtes, 2017 and Tropismes, 2012). Since 2010, he has been working on Lieux et monuments, a project combining animation and documentary, for which he received the prestigious career grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. He was awarded the 2005 Albert-Tessier Award, the highest distinction given to a filmmaker in Quebec, and, in 2018, an honorary doctorate from Vancouver's Emily Carr University of Art and Design. In 2022, he became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.

The René-Jodoin Award will be presented to him on Saturday, May 11, at the Sommets 2024 awards ceremony.

Then, to honor the artist's work and career, we'll close our 22nd edition with the world premiere of GRAVER L'HOMME, ARRÊT SUR PIERRE HÉBERT by Loïc Darses.
In this documentary, the director explores Pierre Hébert's passion for the act of engraving film. Loïc Darses digs deep to discover the artist's first motivations, goes back in time, finds the places and, finally, delivers a vast and moving fresco at the center of which shines an exceptional director.

Photo: Peter Putz