Yves Lever

Yves Lever (1942 – July 7, 2020) was a Canadian film critic and historian from Quebec.[1] He was historically most noted for his 2016 biography of film director Claude Jutra, which addressed allegations that Jutra had sexually abused underage children.[2] The statement was controversial, but Lever's publisher stood behind him,[3] and Jutra's name was quickly removed from numerous cultural and geographic entities that had been named in his memory, including Quebec's Jutra Awards and the national Claude Jutra Award.[4]

Born and raised in Marsoui, Quebec, Lever taught film studies at a variety of institutions throughout his career, including Collège Ahuntsic, the Université de Montréal and Université Laval.[5] His other published books included Cinéma et société québécoise (1972), Histoire générale du cinéma au Québec (1988),[6] Les 100 films québécois qu’il faut voir (1995),[7] Dictionnaire de la censure au Québec : littérature et cinéma (2006)[8] and J.A DeSève, diffuseur d'images (2008).

  1. ^ André Duchesne, "L’historien du cinéma Yves Lever est décédé". La Presse, July 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Graeme Hamilton, "Quebec film industry shaken by book claiming prominent director Claude Jutra was a pedophile". National Post, February 16, 2016.
  3. ^ Florence Sara G. Ferraris, "Boréal se porte à la défense d’Yves Lever". Le Devoir, February 17, 2016.
  4. ^ Matthew Hays, "Considering the Claude Jutra scandal, one week later". CBC Arts, February 23, 2016.
  5. ^ Marie-Josée R. Roy, "Décès d’Yves Lever, le biographe de Claude Jutra". Le Journal de Montréal, July 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Véronneau, Pierre (1989). "LEVER, Yves, Histoire générale du cinéma au Québec. Montréal, Boréal, 1988. 555 p. 24,95 $". Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française. 42 (4): 632. doi:10.7202/304756ar.
  7. ^ Warren, Paul (1996). "Les 100 films québécois qu'il faut voir by Yves Lever, and: Micheline Lanctôt, la vie d'une héroïne by Denis Pérusse, and: L'oumigmatique ou l'objectif documentaire by Pierre Perrault (review)". University of Toronto Quarterly. 66 (1): 174–178. Project MUSE 515741.
  8. ^ Élie Castiel, "Review of Dictionnaire de la censure au Québec : littérature et cinéma Sous la direction de Pierre Hébert, Yves Lever et Kenneth Landry. Montréal : Fides, 2006, 717 pages"]. Séquences, Issue 247 (2007). p. 24.