Yves Lever Explained

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).

Notes and References

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]
5. Marie-Josée R. Roy, "Décès d’Yves Lever, le biographe de Claude Jutra". Le Journal de Montréal, July 8, 2020.
6. Véronneau . Pierre . LEVER, Yves, Histoire générale du cinéma au Québec. Montréal, Boréal, 1988. 555 p. 24,95 $ . Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française . 1989 . 42 . 4 . 632 . 10.7202/304756ar . free .
7. Warren . Paul . 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 . 1996 . 66 . 1 . 174–178 . .
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"