Master degree in Literature at the Universite de Montreal. Three years of teaching at the Addis-Abeba University. Back at Montreal 1957 working in advertising. Office national du film du Canada in 1958. Founder of the cultural periodic 'Liberte'in 1959. First movie direction in 1962. Jacques Godbout: at the same time a well known novelist, 'Salut Galarneau', making fiction movies, from a thriller like _Gammick, La (1974)_ to a parody musical _IXE-13 (1971)_; and a poet working also on documentaries on the culture Paul-Émile Borduas (1962), on the communication Feu l'objectivité (1979) (1979) or on identity usurpation like Alias Will James (1988) (1988).
Brother of Claude Godbout.
He did his secondary education at Brébeuf with Robert Bourassa and Pierre Bourgault. He directed a movie 'Traître ou patriote' about his great-uncle prime minister Adélard Godbout.
Worked in advertising with André d'Allemagne before becoming a director at the ONF. Joseph,his maternal grandfather used to say to the rising sun "Salut Galarneau". Jacques used this saying as an homage to him in his eponymous novel.