Harry Gulkin was understandably reflective as he faced retirement from his position at SODEC, the Quebec government’s film-funding body.

‘It’s a little weird,’ he concedes. But given his age and the number of decades he’s put in the business, it’s also understandable that he’d want to bow out. Having celebrated his 80th birthday last fall, Gulkin stepped down the first week in January as SODEC’s project manager after 20 years.

‘In a sense, I’m heading into the empty space of no structure. It will be an adjustment, but it’s been my choice,’ he adds.

Gulkin first came to fame on the Canadian film scene in 1975, when the film he produced with Anthony Bedrich, Lies My Father Told Me, became an international sensation. Jan Kadar directed from Ted Allan’s adaptation of his own short story, telling the tale of a young boy (Jeffrey Lynas) and his powerful bond with his ailing Orthodox Jewish grandfather (Yossi Yadin).

Gulkin says the key to the film’s success was its strong local flavor, which beautifully captured the streets of Montreal’s Mile End neighborhood. But the local edge was matched by its universal appeal, as the film would build audiences worldwide, ultimately taking the Golden Globe Award for best foreign film. Allan was also nominated for an Oscar for his script, and, closer to home, the movie would win the Etrog (predecessor to the Genie) for best feature film.

Gulkin went on to coproduce Two Solitudes (1978), Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1978) and Bayo (1985). It was in 1987 that he would join the Quebec film-funding body, now called SODEC, where he’s been working ever since to foster new talent.

In that position, Gulkin has inspired many in Quebec’s burgeoning film business. In 2005, Montreal filmmaker Nicola Zavaglia made a documentary profile of Gulkin, titled Red Dawn on Main Street. In it, director François Girard (Silk, The Red Violin) praises Gulkin as someone who’s left an indelible impression on Quebec cinema.

‘I think SODEC has been very open to new talent,’ says Gulkin. ‘Most bureaucracies are not like that. SODEC has really gone out of its way to accommodate young filmmakers and to bring them to a new level. When I look at the work of François Girard, Louis Bélanger (Gaz Bar Blues) or Denis Chouinard (Délivrez-moi), it makes me very proud. The success of the Quebec scene is due at least in part to SODEC.’