Actualités
Le vieil âge et l’espérance
When old age brings with it physical and sometimes mental decline, is there a way to keep a hopeful attitude towards life and its mysteries? That is the question this documentary aims to answer by calling not only on specialists such as geriatricians, gerontologists, psychologists and philosophers, but, first and foremost, on the experience of elderly people themselves.
La fille du cratère
A woman of the land, Yolande Simard-Perrault sees herself as a child of an earthshaking event in Charlevoix, Quebec, millions of years ago. Strong as the Canadian Shield, she is a daughter of the crater formed by that meteor impact, which explains her uncommon vitality. This documentary portrays a determined woman who is the reflection of a land that has always been bigger than life. She was the creative and life partner of filmmaker Pierre Perrault, who left everything behind to be by her side. The film charts the influence of this insatiable dreamer and her contributions to the building of a collective unconscious. In a stream of images and words, Simard-Perrault recounts the splendours of the landscape and the people who shaped it. Generous and boundless, her quest for identity nurtured and perpetuates the oeuvre of the man who breathed new life into Quebec cinema.
Point d’équilibre
Official Selection – Montreal International Documentary Festival 2018 Filmed from the point of view of its young subjects, A Delicate Balance takes an introspective look at the lives of four dancers on the cusp of adolescence—that critical time in one’s life when childhood fantasies begin to collide with the realities of being an adult. A tender and captivating documentary in which students of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec candidly tell their stories and share their hopes and dreams.
Droit devant
Best Director – American Indian Film Festival San Francisco 2017 Official Selection – Hot Docs 2017 The Road Forward, a musical documentary by Marie Clements, connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Clements paints an electrifying picture of how a tiny movement, the Native Brotherhood and Native Sisterhood, became a powerful voice for social, political and legal advocacy, eventually effecting profound change at the national level. The Road Forward’s stunningly shot musical sequences, performed by an ensemble of some of Canada’s finest vocalists and musicians, seamlessly connect past and present with soaring vocals, blues, rock, and traditional beats. The Road Forward is a rousing tribute to the fighters for First Nations rights, a soul-resounding historical experience, and a visceral call to action.
Avec un sourire, la révolution!
Magnus-Isacsson Award – Montreal International Documentary Festival – 2018 Forty years after the end of Franco’s dictatorship, Catalans of all backgrounds are mobilizing to hold a self-determination referendum despite Spain’s refusal to countenance it. As they openly engage in disobedience, Catalans face growing repression with a smile. After directing a first feature right out of college (La Planque, 2004), Alexandre Chartrand spent a few years editing documentary films before directing his first feature doc in 2016 (Le Peuple interdit). Fascinated with Catalan culture, he has made it his subject of predilection. He shares his career between cinema and painting.
20-22 Omega
Prix du jury Étudiant – Montreal International Documentary Festival 2018 20-22 OMEGA invites us on a pure cinematic odyssey into our civilization with a profound look at the humanity emerging in the Anthropocene, the epoch being shaped by human presence and activities. Shot over 5 years across 100 locations, with exclusive access to popular as well as restricted places, spectacular events and fascinating characters, evocative images document and reveal this new humanity known as Posthumanism. In symphony with the images, cathedral organ music, choir songs and Inuit throat singing come together to create a singular operatic soundtrack, standing in for speech. With its gorgeous black and white celluloid images and immersive music, this film reprises the classical symphonic form of Early cinema to tell the story of the postmodern western world full of machines, technology and dense crowds.
Territoire Ishkueu Territoire Femme
This documentary feature 8 women storytellers, writers, and poets in live performances at the Atalukan Storytelling Festival in Mashteuiatsh (Pointe-Bleue). Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau tells us all about of her relationship with The Bear, her paintings and sculptures are part of the film. Josephine Bacon, Natasha Kanape Fontaine deliver their vision of the world, Marie-Andrée Gill convey forcefully her very beautiful and raspy poems. Sonia Robertson, director of the Festival, Alice Germain, adventure guide and Telesh Bégin, shaman, make us discover their territory. Kathia Rock tells us how the priests mingled with everything and offer us beautiful Innu and French songs. Claude Hamel is a native of Abitibi and a resident of the Eastern Townships since 2006. Initiated to the art of urban storytelling in 1981 with the Wondeur Brass collective, she added traditional tales to her practice when she was involved in Productions Coeur.com, a group of artists and therapists where she co-directed workshops, from 1998 to 2008, in France, Belgium, Egypt and Quebec. Claude has been writing, exploring and presenting since then traditional and historical tales as well as life stories based on her personal experience that has led her from film sets to mythical places around the world. A soundman in documentary cinema from 1986 to 2012, Claude directed several short films, and in 2018 a feature film: Territory Ishkueu Territory Woman with 8 women writers, storytellers, authors, Quebec native poets, in collaboration with the O.N.F. and a PRIM Production Réalisations Indépendantes de Montréal grant. The storyteller has a thousand hats signed eight […]
Déchirements
En prélude, voyez le court métrage Le tirage au sort, de Hamza Zakari Yaou Sélection Festival de Montréal des films de l’Asie du Sud – 2018 Depuis l’affaire Shafia en 2009, où quatre femmes ont été tuées, une prise de conscience s’est opérée dans la société québécoise. Les violences basées sur l’honneur existent ici aussi. Des jeunes – très majoritairement des filles – font face à des pressions et des interdits, que ce soit au sujet des sorties scolaires, de la tenue vestimentaire ou des fréquentations, tout cela au nom de l’honneur. Certaines sont parfois même contraintes par leur famille à épouser le candidat que cette dernière a choisi pour elle. Refuser d’obéir peut représenter un lourd tribut à payer: contrôle abusif, séquestration, coups, rejet, solitude. De cela résultent un mal-être profond, des déchirements sans nom entre sa culture d’origine, qu’on voudrait sauvegarder, et celle du Québec, qu’on voudrait adopter. Presque dix ans après l’affaire Shafia, le Québec a-t-il fait ses devoirs et peut-il dorénavant faire face ces situations? Que se passe-t-il aujourd’hui lorsqu’une de ces filles demande de l’aide? Qui est là pour elle? Et qu’est-ce qui peut être fait? Des professeurs, des directeurs d’école, des organisateurs communautaires, des policiers sont mobilisés. C’est de cette mobilisation dont ce film se fait écho.
Un homme sage-femme
Louis Maltais loves challenges. At 27, this ex-circus artist begins his training to become the first male midwife in Quebec. During 4 years, the movie follows Louis on his initiatory journey. Beyond midwifery, it tells a universal tale. A tale of transformation, about a man who, despite ordeals, doubts, and misconceptions, is determined to live out his passion.
Xalko
Official selection in competition – Montreal International Documentary Festival 2018 This film looks at Xalko, a kurdish village in Turkey, threatened by exodus. Deserted by its men who have gone to Europe or America, Xalko still survives thanks to those who keep the fort: mothers and children who do what it takes to keep it alive. It looks at migration from those left behind.