Francis Mankiewicz

A distant relative of Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz, Francis was born in Shangaï in 1944. In 1945, his family moved to Montreal, where Francis would spend all his childhood. In the sixties, he graduated in Geology from Montreal University and worked in the woods for a while before realizing geology might not be his true calling. In 1966 he enrolled at the 'London School of Film Technique'. Back in Montréal in 1968, he worked as assistant director on commercial films like 'L'Amour humain' and 'Love is a four-letter word'. In 1972, he directed his first fiction movie 'Le Temps d'une chasse', a character study based on his own screenplay and partly inspired by his days as geologist. The film was well received by critics and was presented at the Venice Film Festival. But it was only in 1978 that Mankiewicz directed his second picture 'Une Amie d'enfance', a dramatic comedy from a theater play by Louis Saïa and Louise Roy. 1980 saw the release of his third film, 'Les Bons débarras', an original screenplay by maverick novelist Réjean Ducharme. As soon as it came out, the film was considered a milestone in Québécois cinema, a reputation that time hasn't tarnished. The film swept the Genie awards, taking eight trophees including best film and best director while actress Marie Tifo's interpretation of the main character won the Silver Hugo at Chicago Film Festival. Once again written by Réjean Ducharme, Mankiewicz's next film, 'Les Beaux souvenirs' (1981), was eagerly awaited and shared obvious similarities with 'Les Bons débarras' in themes and approach. Unfortunately, while some critics expressed enthousiasm, the global reaction was lukewarm. Between 1983 and 1985, Mankiewicz worked on an adaptation of Anne Hébert's novel 'Les Fous de Bassan', but left the project after heavy frictions with the producers. The film was eventually made with Yves Simoneau at the helm. Mankiewicz, for his part, was hired by CBC producer Bernard Zuckerman to direct 'And Then you die', an atmospheric thriller that won two Gemini TV awards. During those years he also directed Sam Shepard's play 'Comme une vue' in Montréal, his sole venture in the theater world. Based on a novel by Jacques Savoie adaptated by Savoie and Mankiewicz, 'Les Portes tournantes' was premiered at Cannes Film festival in 1988 in section 'Un Certain Regard'. It was distinguished by the Oecumenical jury and drew favourable notices before winning two Genies. Mankiewicz then teamed up again with Bernard Zuckerman on two mini-series : 'Love and hate' (1990) and 'Conspiracy of Silence' (1991). Written by Suzette Couture and focusing on real life criminal cases, they both performed very well at the Geminis, winning respectively 5 and 7 trophees, each time including best dramatic mini-series and best direction. Those were to be Mankiewicz last films. In August 1993, he died unexpectedly of cancer at age 49. In his work, Mankiewicz often focused on family in crisis, relations between adults and children, echoes from the past. His premature death was a great loss for Canadian and Québécois cinema. Remain 'les beaux souvenirs' !