The whole team of The Press is today in mourning following the death of its most important film critic of the last twenty years, Marc-André Lussier. The latter, who was recovering from recent heart surgery, was found dead at his home on Friday morning. He was 63 years old.
A friend, a co-worker, a hard worker who never counted his hours, Marc-André was above all a larger than life lover of the seventh art. Just a few weeks ago, he returned from the Cannes Film Festival, where he accurately predicted the winners of the Palme d’Or, the Grand Jury Prize and the Jury Prize, the equivalent of a full podium.
“Marc-André will be greatly missed. Everyone loved him at La Presse, said François Cardinal, associate editor and vice-president Information of The Press. A discreet gentleman, a humble and positive colleague, he was appreciated for his obvious human qualities. Passionate among enthusiasts, he knew how to become a reference for his colleagues, but also for Quebec. »
“Marc-André covered the cinema with an enthusiasm that never left him, with an energy that never waned, and above all, with an incomparable mastery. He has thus been able to rise to the highest level of the profession thanks to an extraordinary curiosity, culture and dedication, which command the respect of all journalists. »
Our colleague was also the oldest employee of The Press where he worked for 45 years. He entered the advertising department on June 6, 1978. At the same time, he has always been committed and attracted to the arts. A singer in the 1980s, he was a semi-finalist at the Festival de la chanson de Granby.
At the same time, his love of cinema, revealed from the end of adolescence on travels, among others the films of François Truffaut, led him to read countless film reviews and to take note of his own impressions of the films watched. .
In 1988, he started hosting a movie show, Special screening, on CIBL radio with several collaborators, including Bruno Boulianne and Patrick Masbourian. He also receives on the air a young filmmaker named Denis Villeneuve.
From 1995, he began to sign his first articles in The Press. During the day, he worked in the advertising section. And at the end of the day, he was coming down from the 4e at 3e floor of the building on rue Saint-Antoine, to write his reports and reviews.
Marc-André was hired as a journalist in the Arts section in 2000. In 2001, he took part in his first Cannes Film Festival. He took the opportunity to create the famous “Cannoiseries” section, a series of short stories on the Croisette which our readers delighted in.
Over the years, he has also been to all the major festivals, from Toronto to Berlin, from the Venice Film Festival to Karlovy Vary. In Montreal, he experienced the great years of the World Film Festival. His career has also led him to many film sets.
From Denys Arcand to Woody Allen, from Catherine Deneuve to Pascale Bussières via Wong Kar-Wai, the Dardenne brothers, Monique Mercure and others, Marc-André has interviewed hundreds of filmmakers, actors and actresses, cinematographers and other artisans of the movie theater.
Author of four books, he also co-hosted the show Featured this week on Télé-Québec with his good friend Marc Cassivi.
To his family, his friends, his colleagues and all those who had the honor and the happiness of knowing him, The Press offers his sympathy.