(Image provided by the NFB. Photo: Geneviève Thibert)
October 16, 2018 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
Christine Chevarie-Lessard’s Point d’équilibre (A Delicate Balance) will be released in theatres in December, just in time for the holidays. The feature doc takes a sensitive, behind-the-scenes look at children in the École supérieure de ballet du Québec’s professional training program. It was produced by Chantal Lafleur and Geneviève Thibert (Productions Avenida) and Nathalie Cloutier (NFB), with Colette Loumède (NFB) as executive producer.
Point d’équilibre will have its world premiere at the 2018 Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), taking place November 8 to 19 (information under embargo until Wednesday, October 17, 2018).
About the film
Some children decide to pursue a single dream to the exclusion of all others. The kids entering the professional training program of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec are between 10 and 14 years old. Point d’équilibre takes viewers beyond dancing and into the very heart of childhood—a time of life when words seem incapable of expressing the intensity of our feelings, and when play and the imagination are essential mechanisms for facing adversity and staying motivated. Filmed over the course of a year, the documentary follows the children as they enter this isolated world, capturing the moment when their dream of becoming a ballet dancer meets the reality of the arduous training it requires. The director shows them learning to walk the tightrope of ambition, from which they might fall at any moment.
About the filmmaker
Christine Chevarie-Lessard made her first film at age 16, at a competition called Course destination Brossard. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Communications from UQAM and working as a researcher for several years, she graduated from Quebec’s INIS documentary program in 2011 and dedicated herself to filmmaking. She has directed the short film Quand tout est possible (2011), which won the 2013 Canal D young documentarian competition, La comédienne d’Amérique (2013), and Worcestershire (2015). Her work also includes projects for television such as the documentary Les chiens pisteurs (2014), interviews for CinéTFO, and youth programming (MiniTFO). She produces, directs, and edits videos of all genres for the web. Since 2015, she has organized and led the Dames du DOC film club through Réalisatrices Équitables, whose board she also sits on. Point d’équilibre is her first feature documentary.
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Related Products
Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailers, synopsis: A Delicate Balance
Associated Links
École supérieure de ballet du Québec
Productions Avenida
Montreal International Documentary Festival