Late-Montreal filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée to be honoured over the weekend

From Montreal to Hollywood – Jean-Marc Vallée’s films brought us here to the big screen, directing Academy Award-winning actors and even being nominated himself.

The 58-year-old died on Christmas day, unexpectedly, at a cabin outside Quebec City – suffering a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.

The internationally recognized Canadian filmmaker was among some of the first Quebec directors to conquer Hollywood.

Vallée is being remembered for inspiring many, including his family.

“The man behind the camera is the man you got in front of the camera. He was just this, you know, successful filmmaker,” explained his son Alex Vallée.

“A nice memory that made me cry a lot lately when it was while listening to the song of Francis Cabrel, ‘Quand j’aime une fois, j’aime pour toujours’. Which means when I love one time, I love, I love always. And he used to sing that to me, dancing around in the living room, holding me in his hand. Yeah, that was very true and very, very loving. And I loved that memory.”

Alex Vallée with with father Jean-Marc Vallée and his brother Émile. (Photo Courtesy: Alex Vallée – Instagram/@shots_soda_biohacking)

A trademark Jean-Marc Vallée used to say at the end of his projects was: “‘Cut, print, thank you, bye!’”

On Saturday, the public will be able to say their goodbyes at Montreal’s Centre PHI.

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Instead of flowers, the family asks that people make a donation to the Jean-Marc Vallée Memorial Fund created in his honour to support film students at Concordia University, where his youngest son graduated from.

“Let’s encourage young filmmakers and help some of them. And if we can, you know, create more Jean-Marc Vallées that are going to have success internationally, then why not?”

The Montreal native won an Emmy for directing the hit HBO series Big Little Lies, starring Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman among other greats.

And earned multiple Oscar nominations for directing the critically-acclaimed Dallas Buyers Club – with Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto.

The list of A-listers Vallée worked with and his accomplishments in Hollywood goes on and on, but for Alex – realizing his father was an icon – didn’t come until after his death.

Émile and Alex Vallée. (Photo Courtesy: Alex Vallée – Instagram/@shots_soda_biohacking)

“I guess now, sadly when he passed away. Before, I mean, you never know what you get ’til it’s gone. So it’s a great lesson of gratitude, grief, and to cherish what we have.”

Alex remembers his father as honest, courageous, and authentic. From the man dancing with him in the living room to the star directing Hollywood films.

“For me, it’s amazing how someone could believe so much inside himself to start from nowhere, come from Quebec and go conquer Hollywood. I mean, who does that? He showed us the way. Thank you Denis for saying it. And I hope that he’s going to inspire more to come.”

Cut, print, thank you, bye: Jean-Marc Vallée