[2][3] Giraldeau was born and raised in Montreal, and studied sociology and philosophy at the Université de Montréal where, with Jacques Parent, he co-founded Quebec's first film club.
[5] Upon graduation, Giraldeau moved to Ottawa and joined the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), where he became friends with Michel Brault.
In 1953, he left the NFB and set up his own company, Studio 7, through which he produced programming for Radio-Canada (CBC Quebec), including the 39-episode series for young people, Petites Médisances, which he and Brault created in the Direct Cinema style—Giraldeau called it "image journalism".
[8] Also in 1964, Giraldeau organized North America's first international symposium on sculpture; the Montreal event became his award-winning film The Shape of Things.
[9] At the 1995 International Festival of Films on Art, a formal tribute was paid to Giraldeau.