Desjardins received the Quebec Film Critic (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma, or AQCC) award for best short film two years in a row for La Dame aux poupées (The Doll Lady) (1996)[1] and for Boris Lehman, filmmaker (1997), a portrait of Boris Lehman the Belgian filmmaker for whom life is a reason to make films, and making films is a reason for living.
He then joined the National Film Board of Canada, where he directed Almanach 1999-2000 and My Eye for a Camera – nominated for a Jutra Award for best documentary in 2003 – as well as Being Human and Rebel with a Camera, which won him the Quebec Film Critic award for best medium-length documentary.
Desjardins has also produced and co-directed the short films Me Bob Robert and Peter and the Penny; the latter received the award for best short fiction film at the 2006 Festival Images en vue.
Desjardins’ third feature-length film, The Great Resistance, was nominated for a Jutra Award for best documentary in 2008.
[2] With Joanne Robertson, he created a web production, Making Movie History: A Portrait in 61 Parts, to celebrate the National Film Board of Canada's 75th anniversary in 2014.