Making Movie History: Claude Pelletier

Claude Pelletier witnessed the radical transformation of recording technology in the course of his career: from heavy, unwieldy gear that needed to be trucked to location to lightweight, portable Nagras. The new technology would spark an aesthetic revolution, liberating soundmen from old constraints and nurturing a new era of experimentation. Pelletier worked alongside Gilles Groulx and Arthur Lamothe, contributing to seminal Direct Cinema titles like Golden Gloves (1961) and Bûcherons de la Manouane (1962). He would collaborate on over 100 productions, including important Quebec films like De mère en fille (Poirier, 1968) and Où êtes-vous donc? (Groulx, 1969). Fascinated by genealogy, Pelletier found time to explore local parish archives during film shoots, compiling a list of close to 90,000 names linked to his family surname. Since they retired, he and his wife, Laura Gauthier, have become certified genealogists.