Canadian filmmaker (1948-1999).

Patry was a co-founder of the production company Alter Ciné (with his life partner, Danièle Lacourse, filmmaker, ally and friend) and directed numerous documentaries and current affairs programs in Africa, Latin America and Asia: "… documentaries should go against the tide," he said, "they should bear witness and spur us to action."

His films have been screened around the world:

"Chronicle of A Genocide Foretold" (Rwanda) won the Canadian Chalmers Prize for Excellence and Creativity, and the Award for Best Feature Documentary at the HotDocs! Festival in Toronto.
"The Forbidden Land" (Eritrea) took the Prix du Jury at the Nyon Festival (Switzerland), and the Blue Ribbon Award at the American Film and Video Festival.
"Denial" (El Salvador) was awarded Quebec's Judith-Jasmin Award.
"Alonso's Dream" (Mexico) won the Dirk Van Der Sypen Award for the Best Documentary shot in Latin America.


Patry's documentaries have contributed to tearing down walls of silence, denouncing injustice and barbarism, and giving voice to victims of horror.

The Alter-Ciné Foundation is inspired by this ethics. The Foundation offers a yearly grant to young film and video makers from Africa, Asia and Latin America to direct a documentary film on the theme of rights and freedoms, including social and economic rights, women's rights, the right to culture and artistic creation...

Yvan Patry passed away on October 14, 1999, he was 51 years old.