Honorary degree citation - Thierry Frémaux

On October 6, 2008 Concordia University awarded an honorary doctorate to Thierry Frémaux, delegate general of the Cannes Film Festival.

The ceremony was part of the 21st edition of the Entretiens Jacques-Cartier conference that took place in Montreal and Quebec City from October 3-10, 2008. For the first time in history, seven Montreal post-secondary institutions awarded honorary doctorates at the same ceremony. The ceremony took place at la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in the presence of Quebec premier Jean Charest, as well as the mayors of Montreal and Lyon, Gérald Tremblay and Gérard Collomb. The doctorates were awarded to seven well-known figures from the Rhône-Alpes region of France. At the end of the ceremony, the Quebec poet Gilles Vigneault received le Prix Jacques-Cartier des Arts, in recognition of lifetime achievement.

Pierre Frémaux, a film historian and sociologist, is responsible for programming the Cannes Film Festival, considered the most prestigious of its kind in the world. He works closely with some of the most important filmmakers in the development of their projects, while also discovering up-and-coming talent. He also maintains his position of director of the Lumière Institute in his home town of Lyon and associate professor at l'école normale supérieure Lettres et sciences humaines, also in Lyon.