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Simon Rodrigue’s Quand ferme l’usine to premiere on Thursday, May 5 at Séminaire Saint-Joseph (Salle Léo-Cloutier). Presented by the Corporation de développement culturel de Trois-Rivières and Ciné-Campus Trois-Rivières in association with the NFB and the museum Boréalis

PRESS RELEASE
18/04/2016

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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Media Relations

  • Nadine Viau
    NFB Publicist – Montreal
    C.: 514-458-9745
    n.viau@nfb.ca

  • Lily Robert
    Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
    C.: 514-296-8261
    l.robert@nfb.ca

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 7,000 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.