Claude Jutra (1930-1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He joined the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1956, where he trained in all facets of filmmaking. Claude Jutra's film career paralleled Quebec cinema itself. Starting as an amateur when Quebec cinema was just taking shape, he participated in several of its key developments: traditional documentaries and docudramas at the NFB; the germinal period of direct cinema; the first independent film productions; and the later trend toward large-budget features.
Overall, his work followed a consistent thematic pattern: young people and the (often traumatic) passage from innocence to knowledge, a theme with nostalgic overtones. The Prix Jutra and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Claude Jutra Award were named in his honour because of his importance in Quebec cinema history. The awards were renamed in 2016, as were streets named for him, following the publication of sexual abuse allegations.
