Denise Filiatrault
Date of birth: 1931-05-16
Place of birth: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Known for: Acting
Also known as:
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.
Movie Credits
The Crime of Ovide Plouffe
1984-08-29
Ovide Plouffe has married Rita. She still tries to attract other men even after their marriage. Unha
The Plouffe Family
1981-04-07
The lives of the average Quebecois Plouffe family during the final years of the depression and throu
Backyard Theatre
1973-01-01
Backyard Theatre is a documentary about playwright Michel Tremblay and director André Brassard’s fla
Filiatrault : Parcours d'une légende
2022-04-22
Once Upon a Time in the East
1974-05-26
Two women and a transvestite gay man cross paths in this French Canadian drama. The transvestite is
The Death of a Lumberjack
1973-01-25
This meditative French-Canadian film tells the story of a young woman's search for the father she ha
Fantastica
1980-05-07
In this French–Canadian oddity of music and drama, an actress in a traveling musical revue is involv
Far Away From You, Darling
1976-11-03
In 1940, two sisters work in an ammunition factory, but dream of marriage.
Bedmania
1974-04-02
A large bed recounts stories from its brief existence. Clumsy burglars, adulterated husbands and wiv
15 Nov
1977-06-16
A look at November 15, 1976, the date the Parti Québécois seized power in the provincial elections,
Bye, See You Monday
1979-08-21
Lucie the Quebecker and Nicole the Frenchwoman with the "funny accent" are both twenty-six, single a
The Late Blossom
1977-02-11
30-year-old Quebec City native Gisèle lives a quiet life as a secretary without happiness with her p
The Horse Trader’s Daughter
1990-09-27
An Irishman falls in love in turn-of-the-century Quebec (in Canada).
Sisters and Neighbors!
2024-07-11
The story of Germaine Lauzon, a housewife who wins a million stamps which, she believes, will allow
Laurence Anyways
2012-05-18
The story of an impossible love between a woman named Fred and a transgender woman named Laurence wh
Alisée
1993-01-01
By the Blood of Others
1974-03-07
In a little French town everything goes on as usual and people seem friendly and good-natured, until
It's the Heart That Dies Last
2017-04-14
At 47, Julien is an eternal misfit with no real job. But now that he has published an autobiography
The Razor's Edge
1985-01-02
Samar, a child of the war, finds relief from the chaos around her through Egyptian movies she watche
Nelligan
1991-09-27
This historical drama with music examines the life and times of Émile Nelligan, one of the major Can
Compulsive Liar
2019-07-10
Simon Aubert runs his entire life on lies. An executive at an aviation company, he lies about everyt
Filiatrault
2013-06-23
Gina
1975-01-23
A beautiful stripper hires renowned criminals to exact revenge on those who raped her in her motel r
Les beaux dimanches
1974-10-10
Mado
1976-10-27
A middle-aged businessman faces bankruptcy after his partner's suicide and a rival's unscrupulous of
Les Tisserands du pouvoir
1988-10-21
Les Tisserands du pouvoir 2, la révolte
1988-12-16
Effraction
1983-04-06
During a robbery that goes wrong, Valentin Tralande kills his accomplices and bank customers.
Le p'tit vient vite
1972-10-19