Biography
René Malo was a Canadian film producer, distributor and industry pioneer. Born in Joliette, Quebec, he began his career as a music producer in the 1960s before moving into film. He founded production company Corporation Image M&M in 1971 and Malofilm Distribution in 1973, later serving as president and CEO of Malofilm Communications.
Malo made his feature debut as a producer in 1977 with Panique. He is best known as co-producer, with Roger Frappier, of Denys Arcand’s The Decline of the American Empire (1986), the first Canadian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; the pair won the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture. Other credits include Sonatine (1984) and several entries in the Scanners series. He received the Air Canada Award in 1994, a Jutra lifetime achievement award in 2011 and was appointed a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2013. Malo died on 23 August 2026.
