Other films on this theme
La mer entre nous
Marlene Edoyan
The Sea Between Us transports us to the city of Beirut in Lebanon, 25 years after the end of a bloody civil war and into the lives of two strong and charismatic women, Hayat & Wafaa. With children of their own, they must now face the challenging task of passing on the civil war’s violent legacy onto a new generation. The film puts a human face on the impact of sectarian division, nationalism and intolerance and shows that hope for peaceful coexistence is cross cultural, universal and part of the human experience. Through the intimate stories and memories of these two protagonists of different backgrounds, we understand why Beirut’s neighbourhoods still feel walled in by invisible boundaries and why achieving forgiveness and reconciliation is so complex in a country that is still broken over religious and political ideology.
Figure d’Armen
Marlene Edoyan
Drawn to the idea of reconnecting with her ancestral homeland, the filmmaker, Marlene Edoyan embarks on a road trip across the countryside and villages of Armenia and the two Armenian-populated territories of neighbouring Republics of Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh. These regions play a decisive role in the social, economic and political life of Armenia. Through songs, stories, poems and chance encounters with villagers, the author learns how Armenians living in the South Caucasus are coping with the advent of independence and “democracy”, two decades after the breakup of the USSR. The effects of a devastating earthquake in 1988, followed by a bloody war with Azerbaijan have made the country very fragile. Each story and experience is unique. As we move through the various territories the issues of border tensions, language, ethnicity and cultural heritage become prevalent. Each community has a battle to fight. The recurrent theme throughout the film however remains the same: the challenge of residing and making a living in one’s homeland. While some are hopeful and proud, others are discouraged and bleak about the prospects of a better…
Une eau la nuit
Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin
Bodies Of Water invites you to hold your breath and let yourself be transported and transformed by water in the company of curious individuals. As night falls, they invade a public swimming pool. These bodies of water, immersed in the watery mass, transgress the limits of their natural environment and metamorphose. They then engage in a contemporary dance that reveals them differently. The aquatic environment makes them supple and light, but also vulnerable and combative. This poetic mass, encompassing and suffocating, unites, separates and constitutes them.
À bras-le-corps
Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin
In a street pulsating with the echoes of protests, À bras-le-corps (Going on Strike) tells the story of the birth of an uprising. As chaos gradually takes hold, the mass of protesters generates a vibrant sense of solidarity, merging into a unified body and transforming into a space of emancipation. Through a choreographic score, the film explores the political nature of inhabiting our bodies and spaces, connecting our present struggles to those of the past and the future.
Mes États*nordiques
Marie-Claude Fournier
Every morning for the past two years, Marie-Christine has welcomed her eleven Inuit pupils into her small classroom in Kangirsuk, Nunavik. Marie-Christine is a Qallunaat (or non-Inuit) who has come to teach in the Far North. This week, however, is different: she’s leaving the North for good. Like the majority of teachers who pass through this territory, she returns to the South after two years. Filmed at the dawn of massive exploitation of the territory’s natural resources, the webdocumentary Mes États*nordiques (My Nordic*States) takes us into this changing world through the eyes of the teacher and a few village Inuit.
La médiation culturelle – Créer ensemble
Marie-Claude Fournier
Four 30-minute programs document projects grouped around four themes: Art, education and citizenship; Art and health; Art and work; Art and sustainable change. These include initiatives by choreographer Pierre-Paul Savoie with elementary school children and photographer Caroline Hayeur at a Montreal chamber of commerce, the École nationale d’apprentissage de la marionnette in Saguenay to break the isolation of people with mental health problems, and the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City for projects with seniors. Culture pour tous, the Université du Québec à Montréal, Canal Savoir and Télé-Québec have joined forces to produce this series of 4 television programs devoted to cultural mediation, an ideal field of action for building bridges between art, culture and society.
La portera
Marie-Claude Fournier
“If I have to clean the stairs, I won’t come back. And that’s what happened… I clean the stairs but I’ve never been back to Monzon.” Palmira is one of Barcelona’s last Porteras. For the past 28 years, she has been plying her trade in a chic building in the Eixample district. In her life, of course, there’s routine, the same gestures, the same jokes, the passage of time, loneliness, but never bitterness. Soon she’ll be out of there like a hermit crab, leaving her old shell behind, with all its dust, to realize her dreams, however simple they may be.
Le hold up de ma liberté
Marie-Claude Fournier
While living in the same HLM, Jay, Jersey and Gerald committed a series of armed robberies that had a serious impact on their teenage life. Now young adults, they show willingness to avoid falling back into the vicious circle of crime. The Hold up of my freedom is the meeting of the three young men with a group of students from their old high school to discuss their history, the obstacles they encountered and share ideas for reflection on their respective experiences. With his sincere and touching testimonies, he draws a realistic and current portrait of youth crime.
Femme centaure
Marie-Claude Fournier
In a stable, writer Marie Hélène Poitras talks about the equestrian world, one that she is always thinking and writing about in stories. Through her work, we discover how this passion is a creative engine.
Dans la cour de Vivianne Gauthier
Marie-Claude Fournier
“I do not regret,” said Vivianne Gauthier sitting on the bed of her room where she has been sleeping for more than eighty years. A singular, strong, disciplined and energetic woman, this choreographer and dance teacher led her life as she saw fit then marking the cultural history of her country Haiti. This film offers an overview of his life through the visit of his house, a “Gingerbread House” where every nook is full of memories. Here is the portrait of an endearing woman demonstrating a face of Haiti that we know too little.
Bow’t Trail
Marie-Claude Fournier
Choreographer Rhodnie Désir travels the Americas following in the footsteps of her ancestors. Alternating interviews, analyses and performances, Rhodnie invites us to reflect on the political nature of Afrodescendant dances and rhythms. From Haiti to Brazil, via Canada, Mexico and the United States, each destination gives rise to a new show: the Bow’t Trail.
L’athlète
Marie-Claude Fournier
The Athlete introduces us to Stevens Dorcelus, a young Montrealer of Haitian descent determined to qualify for the Olympics and prove to his close-knit family that his dream is within reach. The film captures Stevens’ journey over the span of a decade, revealing his remarkable poise as well as some underlying concerns. His need for recognition – both from those closest to him and on social media – is matched by the importance he places on representation and on the role model he aspires to be. Through it all, his determination enables him to overcome setbacks and rise above challenges. The documentary masterfully showcases the tenacity and vulnerability of a charismatic young man who is intent on making his family proud, despite various pressures and obstacles. His pursuit of the podium goes hand in hand with his ambition to inspire youths in his community. Blending elements of a family saga, a sports film and an intimate portrait, The Athlete offers a rare glimpse into Stevens’ journey as he sets out to make his mark.
Joutel
Alexa-Jeanne Dubé
An elderly couple is curiously affected by the discovery of a dead raccoon on their property. They decide to return to Joutel, a ghost town where they lived for years, to bury it.
SDR
Alexa-Jeanne Dubé
BKS is a short fiction film using A.S.M.R. (Autonomous sensory meridian response) video codes to unfold.
Scopique
Alexa-Jeanne Dubé
Scopique is a triptych of erotic art videos uniquely filmed with a drone. The project unfolds through a succession of long takes where we become deeply submerged into the intimacy of two people. Complemented by music and real life testimonies exploring sexuality, Scopique is a unique, voyeuristic and aesthetically beautiful experience.
Oui mais non
Alexa-Jeanne Dubé
One winter evening, Émilie unexpectedly shows up at her neighbour Joëlle’s house. The longer the evening goes on, the more Émilie desires her neighbour, who, for her part, seems impervious to her charms. An exploration of an ambiguous relationship marked by admiration, power plays, maternal tenderness and sexual attraction.
Sucré Seize
Alexa-Jeanne Dubé
Sweet Sixteen presents eight 16 year old girls that unveil themselves through 8 bittersweet monologues. All highlighted in a evocative and poetic setting, the characters deliver on different themes: self-image, eating disorders, anxiety, their first love, their first kiss, friendship, sorority, sex, rape, incest, social media, social and political revolts. Constructed as a symphony form, the piece of work goes through four movements and is musically supported. The strong visual identity forces the movie to define itself somewhere between full feature film and object of art. Sweet Sixteen is a cinematographic adaptation done by Alexa-Jeanne Dubé from the play of the same name written in 2018 by the late Suzie Bastien.
Voice of Sealand
Gynette Mercier
Poetic animated film about the environment. It’s a little star shining in Sealand with bioluminescence and réflexion of the stars in the sky. With my photography and drawings for the power point presentation and my voice in background with recordings of live poetry.
Cherry
Laurence Gagné-Frégeau
Portrait of Marie-Lise Chouinard, this radiant woman imbued with contagious liveliness. An intimate encounter with Marie-Lise through a wish list of activities of her own. Cherry is the epitome of resilience, friendship and hope.
Parvis
Laurence Gagné-Frégeau
A look within Laurie’s journey, throughout a night out with friends, to embrace her identity.
Pidikwe (Rumble)
Caroline Monnet
Featuring indigenous women of various generations, Pidikwe integrates traditional and contemporary dance in an audiovisual whirlwind that straddles the border between film and performance, somewhere between the past and the future.
The End Of Wonderland
Laurence Turcotte-Fraser
The End of Wonderland is a feature documentary on Tara Emory, a veteran artist who works on her own terms in the sex industry. Facing a changing world and eviction from her packed studio, Wonderland, Tara must confront her family history of hoarding, her art, and herself.
Ma cité évincée
Priscillia Piccoli
Laurence Turcotte-Fraser
Montreal, Canada. One of North America’s last remaining affordable cities is now in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis. As a result, the face of homelessness is visibly changing. “Renovictions” are on the rise while demand in homeless day centres explodes. In the Plateau Mont-Royal – a neighbourhood synonymous with gentrification – a 90-unit building named Manoir Lafontaine becomes the symbol of renoviction resistance in Quebec. An intimate portrait of a socio-political crisis, this multilayered film explores the human impact of real estate speculation on the cities of tomorrow.
