Veteran Québécois filmmaker René Malo died on August 23 following a brief period of hospitalization at the Montreal University Hospital Center. He was 84.
Malo is best known as the producer of Denys Arcand’s The Decline of the American Empire, which was nominated for the Best International Film Oscar. But he began his career as a music producer, working with artists such as Claude Dubois and Robert Charlebois.
In 1968, he joined the inaugural management team at Radio-Québec. Three years later, he founded Corporation Image M & M, a production company specializing in films and educational programs. In 1973, he founded Malofilm Distribution, a Canadian film distribution company.
In 1976, Malo made his debut as a feature film producer with Jean-Claude Lord’s Panique. He went on to serve as the president and CEO of Malofilm Communications and produced several internationally recognized titles such as Micheline Lanctôt’s Sonatine, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
From 1975 to 1996, he served as president of the Quebec Distributors Association and then the Canadian Distributors Association. During this time, he campaigned for the protection of Quebec’s cultural market and the promotion of Quebec film production.
“I have always done a lot of lobbying with politicians and theatre owners to convince them that it was essential for Quebec films to be seen, that it was the only way to make people appreciate our cinema,” Malo said in a 2010 interview with La Presse.
In 2011, Malo received the Jutra Tribute Award for his contribution to the Quebec film industry. In 2013, he was awarded the National Order of Quebec and an honorary doctorate from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
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