Personal details
- Birth Date: 1960-07-07
- Birth Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Professions: Cinematographer, Camera and Electrical Department
Yves Bélanger, born smack in the middle of summer—July 7, 1960, in Montréal—didn’t exactly take the straight-and-narrow road to becoming one of the most talked-about cinematographers out there. Dude’s got an eye, plain and simple. If you’ve seen Brooklyn (2015), Dallas Buyers Club (2013), or Wild (2014), you’ve seen his work—heck, you’ve probably felt it. He’s the guy who can make a rainy street look like poetry, or find heartbreak in a sunbeam. Not a lot of people can pull that off without making it look forced or corny, but Bélanger? He just gets it. His style isn’t flashy for the sake of being flashy—he’s not trying to show off with every frame. Instead, he wraps you up in the world of the story, almost like you’re eavesdropping on someone’s real life. In Dallas Buyers Club, that rough, grainy look? Totally intentional, and it punches you right in the gut. Wild feels so raw and open you can almost taste the dust in the air. Brooklyn, meanwhile, glows with nostalgia but never tips into sappy territory. Bélanger’s from Montréal, but his work travels all over—emotionally and literally. He’s not just paying homage to his roots; he’s constantly adapting, always game to try new tricks if the story calls for it. That’s probably why directors keep calling him up. You want your film to look honest? Maybe a little beautiful, but not afraid to get ugly? Yeah, Yves Bélanger’s your guy.
Member of CSC (Canadian Society of Cinematographers), which is basically the secret club for people who make movies look ridiculously good. These folks aren’t just pointing cameras and hoping for the best. They're out there fussing with lighting, angles, and all those behind-the-scenes tricks that make a film pop off the screen. You know that one shot in a movie that makes your jaw drop? Odds are, a CSC member had their fingerprints all over it. They get together, swap stories, maybe gripe about gear, and definitely push each other to raise the bar. It’s a badge of honor, honestly. Not everyone gets in, so if you see CSC after someone’s name, you’re probably dealing with a heavy hitter in the movie world. Directors, producers—they all want these people on set because they know how to turn a script into something you can’t take your eyes off.
July 7, 1960
Konidela Ram Charan
Montréal, Québec, Canada
64 years old