Fred Pellerin

Career

With a degree in literature from the Université du Québec in Trois-Rivières, Fred Pellerin was inspired by the stories of his native village that his grandmother and father enjoyed telling him, using various anecdotes, gossip and rumours of the village to craft tales for adults. In a short time, he became a "pleasant storyteller" and his immediate success was as great as his talent.

In 2001, he presented his first show (Dans mon village, il y a belle lurette) which was presented more than 600 times, not only in Quebec but also in France. In 2003, he presented to his audience Il faut prendre le taureau par les contes, which opened the doors of cinema to him: his famous character Babine was brought to the screen by Luc Picard and was a resounding success after its theatrical release in 2008. In 2005, he took the stage with Comme une odeur de muscles to talk about the people who lived in his part of the world. More than 150,000 spectators came to listen to him, and he gave over 450 performances.

In 2006, Pellerin appeared on Télé-Québec's Bazzo.tv show, where he hosted a segment entitled Du rêve à la ruralité. Pellerin not only created his own shows but also collaborated with his brother Nicolas. In the fall of 2007, he released a folk album entitled simply "Fred et Nicolas Pellerin". That same year, he was the spokesperson for the Entraide Campaign (Quand les poules auront des dons).

In 2007, in Montreal’s Maisonneuve Park, he presented a patriotic tale during the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations. In 2008, he once again won over his audience with "L'Arracheuse de temps". The sale of over 200,000 tickets in Quebec and Europe certified this FREdisq double platine show.

In 2011, in collaboration with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Pellerin presented a Christmas tale entitled Une tuque en mousse de nombril at Place des Arts, which was rebroadcast on CBC. This show earned him a Prix Gémeaux for best variety special. In the fall of 2011, he was also featured on Conteurs et nouvellistes québécois de Fred Pellerin à Louis Fréchette, a remote-learning university course offered by TELUQ, in which he participated and which focused mainly on his work.

De peigne et de misère was launched in 2012. Pellerin's last two shows paved the way for him to sell out 70 shows in France and over 275 shows in French-speaking Europe.

Pellerin’s film Esimésac was released in theaters that same year and he also wrote a documentary inspired by the film, which was presented on CBC in December 2012.

Pellerin was not successful only on stage and screen. He also released three audiobooks with Éditions Planète Rebelle and one with Sarrazine Edition (L'Arracheuse de temps) as well as a story book (Bois du thé fort, tu vas pisser drette) and a photobook (Zoom... sur Saint-Élie-de-Caxton) not to mention two DVDs, one produced in 2008 (Comme une odeur de muscles) and the other released in 2010 (L'Arracheuse de temps).

Paris hosted his show De peigne et de misère in June 2013 at the Théâtre de l'Atelier.

Honours

Fred Pellerin's budding career was punctuated by numerous awards highlighting his immense talent as a storyteller. In 2001, he won the literary competition of the Société des écrivains de la Mauricie and in 2002 he won the Gérald-Godin literature prize.

In 2005, he won a Félix Award for script writer of the year at ADISQ for his show Comme une odeur de muscles. In 2008, he was honoured not only with the Mérite du français dans la culture (awarded to a Quebec artist who contributed to the enhancement of French and francophone culture), but was with a Félix for traditional album of the year at the ADISQ Gala for his album Fred and Nicolas Pellerin produced with his brother Nicolas.

In 2009, his solo album Silence was well received by the public, earning him a gold record two weeks after its release, and a platinum record two weeks later. The album also won a Félix Award for folk album of the year. It was also nominated for the 2011 Juno Award for best francophone album of the year.

His show Saint-Elie de Chansons, inspired by his album Silence, won the 2011 Félix Award for show of the year at the ADISQ gala. Pellerin received another Félix for best folk album at the 2012 ADISQ gala for his album C'est un monde, released in November 2011.

In 2012, he was also made Knight of the National Order of Québec. His "verbal acrobatics", his stories that teeter on the border between reality and imagination, his attention to the French language, captivated his audience and made Pellerin an inimitable multi-faceted storyteller whose success is felt all over Quebec.