FILM

About the Director

Jean-Claude Leblanc grew up on a ranch in Bécancour, Québec, Canada, a small town on the outskirts of Montreal. His interest in the world of film started after he made a skateboarding video using the family’s camcorder plugged into a VHS/VCR and sound system. That's when he was introduced to the power of capturing and assembling moving images. He discovered that the creative freedom and possibilities were endless; he was hooked. Short video after short video, he started to seriously consider filmmaking as a way of life. He enrolled at the Trebas Institute in the Film and Television Production program and graduated in 2005. While studying, his life completely changed when he met producer Jason Ross Jallet and director Benjamin P. Paquette, from Ourson films, who had both been impressed with Leblanc’s dedication and passion. Soon after and before he had even finished his studies, he was working as an associate producer at their company and went on to produce three feature films: The Anonymous Rudy S. (2016), The Woman of Ahhs (2008) and Casting Fidelity. While working on these projects, he met Christian Racine, President at Cinéfilms & Video Productions Inc., with whom he developed a lasting professional relationship and friendship that ultimately opened up several doors, most notably, the chance to work on various projects in different crew positions that he was not accustomed to. The experience gained had transformed him into a versatile team player and mostly, a valuable asset for any film crew due to his technical knowledge. Later on, Leblanc started a web series, MX Crack, focusing on racing and motocross and went on to shoot over thirty videos, allowing him to practice and experiment with his cameraman and editing skills. Subsequently, he moved on to directing music videos for various artists, such as Xprofesso, Mycowave, Annie Vaillancourt, ERA 9 and Okonko for whom he had the opportunity to travel to Jamaica and direct a few of their songs, including Rise and Shungu. In 2012, he comes on board as director of photography for the cult horror feature film Pinup Dolls on Ice produced by the Montréal, Québec company BGOI Films Inc. and co-directed by Geoff Klein and Melissa Mira. His work on the film was recognized and earned him a nomination at the 2014 Shockfest Film Festival in Los Angeles, California for “Best Cinematographer” as well as sharing many other awards with the team, including “Best Slasher Film” at the Feratum Film Fest in Michoacán, Mexico and the “Madness Award for Best Film” at the Nocturna, Festival International de Cine Fantastico in Madrid, Spain, just to name a few. A year later, Leblanc establishes his production company, Désaxé films. Before diving head first into producing his own feature film, he decides to sharpen his artistry and gain more experience by starting with a short film. That same summer, in 2015, he pens a script and returns to the family ranch to produce and direct his directorial debut, Cauchemar capitonné, starring Sébastien Huberdeau (De père en flic, Polytechnique, Les invasions barbares) one of today’s most soughtout Québec actors. Cauchemar capitonné had its World Première at the prestigious Fantasia International Film Festival in Montréal, Québec in July 2016 and has since embarked on a festival run in which it is currently screening in front of horror fans around the globe. Leblanc has only one dream when it comes to his filmmaking career and it’s to one day produce a feature length film about the extraordinary life of his father, Jean-Marc Leblanc; the first ever director of photography at the National Film Board of Canada.