DELEAU: CINEMA UNCHAINED by Michel La Veaux, in theatres May 22, 2026 at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal.
A film about the founder of the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes
SPHÈRE Films is pleased to announce that the feature-length documentary DELEAU: CINEMA UNCHAINED by Michel La Veaux will open in theatres on May 22, following its premiere at the 31st edition of the CINEMANIA Festival in Montreal last fall. A true love letter to cinema, the film paints a portrait of Pierre-Henri Deleau, the man who created and directed the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival for thirty years. See the film in theatres as the event, now known as the Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des cinéastes), takes place in Cannes from May 13 to 23.
Synopsis
A humanistic documentary, carrying essential values, about the “soul” of the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes: Pierre-Henri Deleau. A remarkable enabler. A man of influence, with great sensitivity and vast culture, the defender of bold and avant-garde cinema. Deleau: Cinema Unchained traces an era when cinema was still being discovered, through the testimonies from the greatest: Haneke, Loach, Arcand, Egoyan.
With DELEAU: CINEMA UNCHAINED, renowned Quebec cinematographer Michel La Veaux delivers his fifth feature documentary as director, following Hôtel Louisiane (2015) and Labrecque, une caméra pour la mémoire (2017). Here, he offers a sensitive and in-depth look at a man whose work at the helm of the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight greatly contributed to the development of auteur cinema worldwide.
Michel La Veaux will also take part in a Q&A session with the audience on Saturday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the Cinémathèque Québécoise.
Produced by ITEM 7 (Pierre Even) and distributed in Canada by SPHÈRE Films, DELEAU: CINEMA UNCHAINED opens May 22.
