Leaving this Earth, Jean-Claude Lord leaves behind him a colossal legacy, as his contribution to our stories shared on screens small and large is multiple and profound. No taboo could resist his talent, his audacity, his passion, his moral sense and his righteousness. Throughout his career, he has achieved a real tour de force, that of offering popular successes that are at the same time punches in the face of our social precepts.
Posted at 10:00 a.m.
I met Jean-Claude Lord when I was a television producer in a company then called Coscient. Our meeting followed by a few years his role in Throw and count, this cult series at the forefront of on-screen drama trends. In many respects, the creator of the series, Réjean Tremblay, and the director, Jean-Claude Lord, were born from the same mold, where the desire and the way to tackle the failings of society are forged.
I remember that day in 1992 when Jean-Claude Lord came with his project under his arm Jasmine : a series barely conceivable at this time marked by the upheavals of the ethnic vote.
The writer-director wanted to address the themes of police brutality and the place of people of color in our society.
Ostensibly, it was something to be covered on the big screen, but on popular whiter-than-white TV?
With all the passion that drove him and his status as a successful director, Jean-Claude Lord convinced me that television could receive a punchy series. This did not happen immediately, the chains being reluctant to take a risk of this nature. Appointed Head of TVA Programs in 1995, I myself gave the green light to Jasmine. I admit that I would have been inappropriate to postpone the project to which I had attached myself, whether out of prudence or simple conformity to the principles of political correctness.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Linda Malo in 2003. Jean-Claude Lord gave her her first role in Jasmine.
Presented in 1996, Jasmine was a huge success. I dare say despite the fact that Jean-Claude Lord gave the title role to Linda Malo, a young black actress with no experience, from modeling like Marina Orsini and Macha Grenon before her. A bold choice, bordering on recklessness, I thought. But taken under the wing of the director and skillfully directed, Linda Malo managed to create a believable and moving character.
It was again Jean-Claude Lord and the late Vincent Gabriele that I appealed to, in 1997, to create a new genre on Quebec television, conceived as a hybrid between the heavy series and the soap opera. For all sorts of reasons, no renowned producer wanted to venture in this direction at that time. But the series Diva and its success have made school. Thanks once again to the genius of Jean-Claude Lord, his legendary efficiency on film sets and his clever direction of the young actresses in the series.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CINEMATHEQUE QUÉBÉCOISE
A scene from tell us about love, by Jean-Claude Lord
Jean-Claude will have been an influencer in my professional life to whom I owe a great deal for his ability to lead television off the traditionally frequented paths. But the reformer that he was experienced his share of disappointments and rejection. When I saw him again last fall at a screening of his film Tell me about love at the Cinéma Moderne, his gaze oscillated between pride and sadness. Because even at 78, he still had fire and a knife between his teeth to express on screen his perception of the turpitudes and injustices of our world.
I found him resistant, but altogether disillusioned with life. It will now be history to remind future generations of a cultural heritage that places it among the greatest.