Yves Bélanger (cinematographer)

Yves Bélanger (born July 7, 1960) is a Canadian cinematographer. He has worked on films by directors such as Alain DesRochers, Xavier Dolan and Clint Eastwood, and he was a frequent collaborator of Jean-Marc Vallée. In 2016, he received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Cinematography for his work in Brooklyn.

Yves Bélanger
Born (1960-07-07) July 7, 1960 (age 64)
Saint-Jean-d'Iberville, Quebec, Canada[1]
Alma materConcordia University
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1989–present

Life and career

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Bélanger grew up in Sainte-Foy, Quebec. He first became interested in film at eight years old when his father showed him 2001: A Space Odyssey, and he began making short films when he was 13. He studied film at Concordia University, where he contemplated becoming a director or cinematographer, ultimately deciding on the latter.[2] He graduated with a BFA in 1984.[3]

Bélanger began working as a cinematographer in 1989, working initially on music videos before moving to advertising. He started working on films and television series in 1995, alongside directors including Alain DesRochers, Jean-Claude Lord and Alan Metter.[1] He first became recognized in 2001 with the short film Killing Time, for which he received a Canadian Society of Cinematographers award nomination. He worked on another short film, Wildflowers, which won a CSC award in 2003, and he received a third nomination for the 2006 film Cheech.[4] He filmed Laurence Anyways (2012) with the arthouse director Xavier Dolan. Bélanger later said about Dolan's style, "it's not my cup of tea. It's very colorful, very crazy ... I'm more like a naturalist."[5] His work on Laurence Anyways garnered a Camerimage award nomination.[4]

After finishing Laurence Anyways, Bélanger was contacted by director Jean-Marc Vallée, who asked him to work on his upcoming film Dallas Buyers Club (2013). Bélanger and Vallée had known each other for around 20 years but had never worked together before.[6] Dallas Buyers Club marked Bélanger's breakout in the mainstream film industry; he was 53 years old at the time and two decades into his career.[7] A year later, he and Vallée collaborated a second time, on Wild (2014). The film, which is about a woman who hikes the Pacific Crest Trail, was filmed on a small budget with a minimal crew and mostly handheld camerawork.[6][8] His cinematography on Wild received a Camerimage nomination.[4]

Bélanger then shot the period drama film Brooklyn (2015), directed by John Crowley. He became involved after Bruna Papandrea, one of the producers of Wild, introduced Bélanger to Crowley.[9] For Brooklyn, he received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Cinematography.[10] His third collaboration with Vallée was Demolition, released in 2016,[11][12] and their fourth was the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies (2017).[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Director Notes
1989 Justine's Film (Le film de Justine) Jeanne Crépeau
1991 Letters of Transit (Les Sauf-conduits) Manon Briand
2000 The Bottle (La Bouteille) Alain DesRochers
2006 Cheech Patrice Sauvé
2007 My Daughter, My Angel (Ma fille, mon ange) Alexis Durand-Brault
2010 The Comeback (Cabotins) Alain DesRochers
2011 Gerry
Thrill of the Hills (Frisson des collines) Richard Roy
2012 Laurence Anyways Xavier Dolan
2013 Dallas Buyers Club Jean-Marc Vallée
2014 Wild
The Little Queen (La Petite Reine) Alexis Durand-Brault
2015 Brooklyn John Crowley Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
Demolition Jean-Marc Vallée
2016 Shut In Farren Blackburn
9 (9, le film) Marc Labrèche Segment "Le lecteur"
2017 Indian Horse Stephen Campanelli
2018 The Mule Clint Eastwood
2019 Long Shot Jonathan Levine
Richard Jewell Clint Eastwood
Thanks for Everything (Merci pour tout) Louise Archambault
2023 North Star Kristin Scott Thomas
2024 Sisters and Neighbors! (Nos belles-sœurs) René Richard Cyr
Juror No. 2 Clint Eastwood

Television

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Yves Belanger". Premiere (in French). Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Moreault, Éric (March 1, 2014). "Yves Bélanger: de Sainte-Foy à Hollywood". Le Soleil (in French). Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  3. ^ Gibbons, James (March 3, 2014). "And the Oscar goes to...Concordia grads". Concordia University. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Zach (December 18, 2015). "'Brooklyn' cinematographer Yves Belanger on blending modern and classic techniques (Podcast)". Gold Derby. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  5. ^ Roberts, Sheila (December 2, 2014). "Cinematographer Yves Belanger Talks WILD, Rehearsal Process, Controlling Light, Choosing Angles, and More". Collider. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Abrams, Bryan (December 4, 2014). "Wild's Cinematographer Yves Bélanger on Framing Face of America". WhereToWatch. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  7. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 22, 2015). "'Brooklyn' D.P. Yves Belanger On Capturing The 1950s, Saoirse Ronan & Lessons From Jean-Marc Vallee". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  8. ^ Desowitz, Bill (January 12, 2015). "'Wild' DP Yves Belanger Explains How He Captured Reese Witherspoon". IndieWire. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  9. ^ Handler, Joshua (January 20, 2016). "Ask the Expert: "Brooklyn" Cinematographer Yves Bélanger answers ScreenPrism's questions". ScreenPrism. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  10. ^ Kay, Jeremy (March 13, 2016). "'Room' sweeps Canadian Screen Awards". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  11. ^ Albrecht, John (January 13, 2016). ""This Camera Thinks Exactly Like Me:" Cinematographer Yves Bélanger at the Peak of His Career". MovieMaker. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  12. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (December 4, 2014). "Cinematographer Yves Belanger Dishes on Shooting 'Wild'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  13. ^ Dillon, Mark (May 2016). "Demolition". American Society of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
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