April 26, 2017 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

On Wednesday, May 3, at 7 p.m. at the Cinémathèque québécoise, the public is invited to a special screening of Santiago Bertolino’s feature documentary Freelancer on the Front Lines / Un journaliste au front (NFB), followed by a discussion to mark World Press Freedom Day. The event was organized by the NFB in close collaboration  with UQAM’s École des médias, and guest speakers will include the film’s director, Santiago Bertolino, and UQAM journalism professor Guillaume Lavallée, author of Drone de guerre: Visages du Pakistan dans la tourmente. The discussion will be hosted by André Lavoie, Le Devoir film critic and freelance journalist. After the screening, the film will continue its theatrical run in Montreal at the Cinémathèque québécoise and will also be playing at the Cinéma Le Clap in Quebec City starting May 3.

About the film

Produced at the NFB by Nathalie Cloutier and Denis McCready with executive producer Colette Loumède, Freelancer on the Front Lines follows McGill graduate Jesse Rosenfeld across Egypt, Israel, Palestine, and Iraq to reveal the complex realities of a freelance journalist in a warzone. The documentary captures the ups and downs of a new and unconventional kind of journalism in the digital age and takes an inside look at the importance of diverse, independent, and analytical news sources in an ever more convergent media landscape.

About the guest speakers

Santiago Bertolino

A citizen of the world who was inspired by direct cinema, politically engaged filmmaker Santiago Bertolino co-directed Red Square on a Blackboard with Hugo Samson (winner of two Gémeaux awards in 2014). He also co-wrote Olivier D. Asselin’s Pipelines, Power and Democracy and co-wrote and co-directed Seules, les pierres n’arrêteront pas l’occupation with Steve Patry, a film that demonstrated his early interest in the Middle East.

Guillaume Lavallée

Journalist Guillaume Lavallée was an Agence France-Presse correspondent in Sudan and Pakistan and a special correspondent in many different countries. He has taught journalism at UQAM since September 2016. His recent book Drone de guerre: Visages du Pakistan dans la tourmente was published by Éditions du Boréal.

André Lavoie

André Lavoie holds a master’s degree in film studies from Université de Montréal. He is a film critic (in particular with Le Devoir since 1998), a magazine contributor (Coup de pouce, Sélection du Reader’s Digest), researcher (Infoman, Vox pop, Rappelez-moi Lise), and presenter.

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Related Products

Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailer, credits, synopsis: Freelancer on the Front Lines

Associated Links

Cinémathèque québécoise
UQAM’s École des médias
Cinéma Le Clap