Philippe Falardeau's journey in the world of filmmaking began after he studied Canadian politics and international relations. In 1993, he was selected as a contestant for the popular TV series La course destination monde, where he shot 20 films and ultimately emerged victorious, also receiving the IDRC Award.
Falardeau went on to collaborate with director Jacques Godbout on the National Film Board of Canada documentary Le sort de l'Amérique in 1995. Two years later, he returned to the NBF to direct the medium-length documentary Pâté chinois, which explored Chinese immigration in Canada. The film premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival and won the Best Screenplay Award at the Yorkton Film Festival.
In 2000, Falardeau directed his first feature-length film, La moitié gauche du frigo, which was a major success in Canada and screened at numerous international film festivals. The film won several awards, including the City TV Award for Best Canadian First Feature at the Toronto Film Festival and the Claude Jutra Award at the Canadian Genie Awards. It was also distributed theatrically in France by Pierre Grise Distribution.
Falardeau's second feature, Congorama, was released in 2006 and was a Canada/Belgium/France coproduction. The film premiered at the Director's Fortnight in Cannes and went on to screen at numerous festivals around the world, including San Francisco, Toronto, Pusan, Goteborg, and New York Moma. Congorama earned five Jutra Awards, including Best Film, Best Direction, and Best Screenplay, and also won the Best Screenplay Award at the Genies in 2007.
In September 2008, Falardeau's third feature, It's Not Me, I Swear!, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film went on to win the Best Film Award and the International Jury Award in the Generation section at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival.
