Pour la suite du monde (1963), The Times That Are (Le Règne du jour) (1967), and The River Schooners (Les Voitures d'eau) (1968) make up his critically acclaimed L'Isle-aux-Coudres Trilogy.
His film La bête lumineuse (1982) screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 36th Cannes Film Festival.
Perrault originally studied law (and practiced for two years), before becoming a radio announcer, poet, filmmaker and dramatist.
His first involvement with film was on the Au pays neufve France series, which was based on his radio program for Radio-Canada.