April 18, 2016 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
After a screening at the 2016 Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, Simon Rodrigue is proud to present his documentary Quand ferme l’usine (When the Mill Closes) in Trois-Rivières, the city that helped inspire it. Also on hand will be the production team, as well as local people appearing in the film. Produced at the NFB by Johanne Bergeron and Marie-Anne Raulet, the film plays here for one night only (Thursday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m., in Salle Léo-Cloutier at Séminaire Saint-Joseph).
The documentary to be shown at this unique event gives former mill workers Nelson Poirier, Claude Morand and Gérard Germain a chance to tell their stories. They discuss the closing in 1992 of the Canadian International Paper Company’s filtration plant, once the world’s leading pulp and paper mill.
Partly shot in Mauricie, Quand ferme l’usine explores the long-term economic and social effects that the downturn in the industry had on the region. The film also looks at personal and family tragedies triggered by the closing. When a mill shuts down, the repercussions aren’t limited to job losses. Indeed, entire communities may flounder and a common heritage may vanish.
About the event:
- Date: Thursday, May 5, 2016
- Time: 7:30 p.m.
- Free for members and $6 for non-members (tickets sold on-site at the event as of 7 p.m.)
About the film
Quand ferme l’usine is a documentary directed by Simon Rodrigue and produced at the NFB by Johanne Bergeron and Marie-Anne Raulet with executive producer Colette Loumède.
For decades, the pulp and paper industry was a jewel in the crown of Canada’s economy. With so many mills closing, what future is there for the forestry communities that sprang up and prospered around them? Through lucid, inspired interviews with former workers, this film delves into the industry’s glorious past and gauges the true impact of mill closings on local populations as well as on land management.
About the filmmaker
Documentary filmmaker Simon Rodrigue (Hommes-des-Bois: Bûcherons de chantier, 2012) has created several works on the legacy of forestry in Quebec, a subject he spent years researching. Driven by his fascination for this topic as well as issues of identity, he travelled around Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick to collect the stories of many former workers in the pulp and paper industry for his latest documentary, Quand ferme l’usine.
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Associated Links
Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois 2016
Salle Léo-Cloutier du Séminaire St-Joseph
Boréalis – Centre d’histoire de l’industrie papetière
SDC – Corporation de développement culturel de Trois-Rivières
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