Born in Montreal in 1947, Jacques Wilbrod Benoit began his directing career with such videos as Des enfants pour le kik (1972) before becoming assistant director for Cordélia (1979), Maria Chapdelaine (1983), Le crime d'Ovide Plouffe (1984), Le déclin de l'empire américain (1986) and Les portes tournantes (1988). In 1988, he directed two feature films : Le diable à quatre and Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer. He later resumed his work as assistant director for Léolo (1992), Joyeux Calvaire (1996) and Nô (1998).