Francine Laurendeau, Former Cinema Journalist, Dies
Francine Laurendeau, Film Critic and Radio Host, Dies
MONTREAL (AP) — Francine Laurendeau, a former film critic for Le Devoir and a longtime animator and director at Radio-Canada, died Wednesday. A book dedicated to her life, Francine Laurendeau, the one who loves, was published last year.
Laurendeau was born in 1936, the daughter of journalist and politician André Laurendeau.
A Career in Film and Radio
According to Le Devoir, Francine Laurendeau served as a film critic for the Quebec-based newspaper from 1978 to 1995.
She also hosted On the screen, a weekly cinema radio program on Radio-Canada’s cultural channel. The program transitioned to a music space in 2004. Laurendeau also directed radio shows including Present national edition, Present Sunday, and Listening.
In 1994, Laurendeau discussed her work as a journalist at the Cannes Film Festival on the program The rush to art, hosted by Marie Plourde.
role in Quebec’s First Student Strike
Before her extensive media career, Laurendeau was one of three student delegates who attempted to meet with then-Prime Minister Maurice Duplessis during Quebec’s first student strike in 1958. At the time, she was a student at the University of montreal.
Laurendeau was featured in the 1990 documentary The story of the three, produced by her spouse, filmmaker Jean-Claude Labrecque. The film retraced the journey laurendeau and fellow student delegates Jean-Pierre Goyer and Bruno Meloche took from Montreal to Quebec City to advocate for democratizing access to university.
Earlier this year, journalist and photographer Jean Bourbeau published an article detailing his encounter with Laurendeau while volunteering at a CHSLD, noting she had been affected by Alzheimer’s disease.