Stéphan Bureau

Stéphan Bureau (born July 2, 1964 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a journalist, TV interviewer and producer of TV shows and documentary series.

Life and career

As a teenager, Stéphan Bureau was fond of watching movies, reading and collecting comic books, and he dreamt of being an actor. At 13 years old, he got a one-time opportunity to explore his talent. He successfully auditioned at Télévision de Radio-Canada, and became one of the youngest reporters in a TV show dedicated to teenagers.

He then began a radio journalism career in 1984 at Radio-Canada while pursuing Russian studies at Concordia University. In 1986, he embarked on a broadcast journalism career as a television newscaster. Between 1990 and 1994, he produced and hosted [http://contacttv.net/en "Contact"] , a series of in-depth interviews with prominent figures from the artistic, literary and intellectual world such as Paul Auster, Elie Wiesel, Nancy Huston, Michel Serres, Carlos Fuentes. The documentary series, which was broadcasted throughout Quebec and in many other countries of Europe and Africa earned him a prestigious Rogers Award in English Canada.

He has since been on all major French-Canadian television networks, most notably on TVA, where he was at the helm of "L’événement", a public affairs magazine, and then on the 10 p.m. televised newscast for the next three years. He later joined the Société Radio-Canada where he served in turn as host, foreign correspondent and chief anchorman of the national newsmagazine "Le Téléjournal/ Le Point" from 1998 to 2003.

In 2003, Stéphan Bureau chose to retire from the news world and started working on new projects. With the "Festival Juste pour Rire" (the French edition of the "Just for Laughs" Festival), he created and hosted several tributes to Quebec's prominent comic figures. He also hosted several live interviews with famous comic actors such as Pierre Richard and Franck Dubosc.

In 2006, Stéphan Bureau reinitiated Contact with a new series of 13 episodes. His guests were film and theater director Franco Dragone ; novelist Jean d'Ormesson; author and playwright Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt; short story writer Mavis Gallant; authors Marek Halter, Mario Vargas Llosa and José Saramago; philosopher, psychoanalyst and feminist Julia Kristeva; lawyer and politician Simone Veil; director and playwright Robert Lepage; author, journalist and film director Philippe Labro; French economist Jacques Attali, and French playwright and author Jean-Claude Carrière.

"Slow TV"

For the past 15 years, Stéphan Bureau has conducted interviews that have impassioned the public. Concerned with presenting in-depth interviews with his guests, he quickly established himself as a talented communicator among French-speaking television viewers. Moreover, his talents have contributed in revealing the thinking and works of fascinating persons often misunderstood by television viewers. Aligning himself with the likes of David Frost, Charlie Rose, Stéphan Bureau is one of the few Canadian interviewers able to attract great philosophers, writers, artists and historians in his quest for “the encyclopaedia of creation”.

In pursuit of this knowledge and with intent on pushing the envelope further, Stéphan Bureau chose to turn away from the news world in 1983 to focus on personal projects and explore new avenues in the television production field. Forsaking today’s trend that puts emphasis on content that is “ready-to-roll, quick-to-consume”, Stéphan Bureau takes on a new direction with slow TV, an approach that advocates comprehensive television content. Where others hasten the rhythm, he dares to slow the pace and meditate on the paths undertaken by the great creators of our time.

CONTACT, the encyclopaedia of creation is the culmination of his vision and unquestionable passion for knowledge of mankind.

Contact is also a website where one can access extensive content on each featured guest : video excerpts, exclusive photographs, interview transcripts, researchers reports, blog, quiz, and much more. Shortly after shooting the interview, Stephan Bureau also writes about his encounters and interviews.

Prizes and awards

Over the years, Stéphan Bureau has received several awards honoring the quality of his work, mainly as a newscaster and interviewer. Most of these prizes were awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

* 1994 : Rogers Arts Award for documentary series "Contact"
* 1999 : Prix Gémeaux, Best TV Newscast for "Le Téléjournal / Le Point"
* 2000 : Prix Gémeaux, Best TV Newscast for "Le Téléjournal / Le Point"
* 2000 : Prix Gémeaux, Best interview : all categories for "Le Téléjournal / Le Point"
* 2001 : Prix Gémeaux, Best TV Newscast for "Le Téléjournal / Le Point"
* 2002 : Prix Gémeaux, Best TV Newscast for "Le Téléjournal / Le Point"
* 2006 : Nominee at Prix Gémeaux, Best biography or portrait, for "Contact, the encyclopaedia of creation " - episode featuring French writer Jean d'Ormesson
* 2006 : Nominee at Prix Gémeaux, Best Website for a TV series, for "Contact, the encyclopaedia of creation"

External links

* [http://www.contacttv.net/en Official website for "CONTACT, the encyclopaedia of creation" produced and hosted by Stéphan Bureau]
* [http://www.academy.ca/hist/history.cfm?nname=St%C3%A9phan+Bureau&winonly=0&awards=0&rtype=1&curstep=4&submit.x=0&submit.y=0 Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television]
* [http://www.hahaha.com Just for Laughs Festival]