
Denise Filiatrault
Biography
Denise Filiatrault (born May 16, 1931) is a Canadian actress and director. She attained star status on TV in the 1960s, co-starring with Dominique Michel in the Radio-Canada television series Moi et l'autre (1967–71) and in many editions of Radio-Canada's annual New Year's special, Bye Bye. She had further success in Chez Denise (1978–1982), Le 101, avenue des Pins (1984–85) and Denise... aujourd'hui (1990–91). In addition to her television career, Filiatrault also performed in films and on stage, notably in works by Michel Tremblay. She was known to perform both comic and dramatic roles, such as Gilles Carle's The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron) in 1973, André Brassard's film version of Tremblay's Once Upon a Time in the East (Il était une fois dans l'Est) in 1974, Denys Arcand's Gina in 1975, Claude Fournier's Far from You Sweetheart (Je suis loin de toi mignonne) in 1976, Fantastica in 1980 and Carle's The Plouffe Family (Les Plouffe) in 1981, playing the tormented Cécile. Following Les Plouffe, Filiatrault took a break from film, concentrating more in writing and directing for theatre and summer comedy. Filiatrault then decided to take the leap to directing cinema by adapting Tremblay's novel C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux into the 1998 film It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux, presenting the world of overweight women yearning for love and affection. Filiatrault opted for a simple yet effective style that showcased the talents of the film's strong female leads. This dramatic comedy scored such success that Filiatrault wrote and directed the 1999 sequel Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux... la suite), in which she further developed the characters and their world. In 2002, she produced a new comedy fantasy, Alice's Odyssey (L'Odyssée d'Alice Tremblay), which received a lukewarm response from critics and moviegoers. In 2003, taking advantage of the success of her motion picture characters, Filiatrault produced a television miniseries for TVA, Le Petit monde de Laura Cadieux (2003), before tackling a new film Bittersweet Memories (Ma vie en cinémascope) (2004), a dramatic biography of 1930s-1950s singer Alys Robi (played by Pascale Bussières). As artistic director of the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, she and the theatre were criticized in January 2015 by a coalition of Montreal arts groups for a year-end production in which a Caucasian actor portrayed hockey player P.K. Subban in blackface. Filiatrault responded that she was "shocked, outraged, and humiliated" by the reaction, saying that she had been in show business for 60 years and was the first person to hire a black Quebecer on television.
Filmografi
Les indrogables1972 ·
Gina1975 · Actress
Effraction1983 · La barmaid de l'établissement de nuit
By the Blood of Others1974 · Geneviève Barthélemy
Bedmania1974 · Fabienne
Le p'tit vient vite1972 · Carmen Ladouceur
Laurence Anyways2012 · Restaurant Manager
Alisée1993 · Nora
Sisters and Neighbors!2024 · Madame Tremblay
The Razor's Edge1985 · Mother
Compulsive Liar2019 · Chauffeure Uber
Les beaux dimanches1974 · Angéline
Mado1976 · Lucienne
The Death of a Lumberjack1973 · Blanche Bellefeuille
Les Tisserands du pouvoir 2, la révolte1988 ·
Fantastica1980 · Emma
Far Away From You, Darling1976 · Florence
Les Tisserands du pouvoir1988 · Emma Leclair
The Crime of Ovide Plouffe1984 · Soeur d'Ovide
Once Upon a Time in the East1974 · Hélène
The Late Blossom1977 · Marguerite Lapointe-Beaulieu
It's the Heart That Dies Last2017 · Mme Lapierre
Filiatrault : Parcours d'une légende2022 · Self
The Horse Trader’s Daughter1990 ·
Dorothée Berryman
Vincent Gauthier
Robert Castel
Denis Drouin
Francis Blanche
Anna Gaël
Bruno Cremer
Jacqueline Laurent
Robert Kramer
Gabriel Arcand
Paul Préboist
Anne Libert