April 26, 2016 – Moncton – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has a strong presence at the 2016 Éloizes, the signature francophone cultural event in Atlantic Canada, held every second year. This year’s Éloizes take place in Dieppe, New Brunswick, from May 4 to 8.
The NFB is a key player in many of the activities taking place throughout the week. We are also very pleased to note that three directors who have recently collaborated with the Board are up for awards. They are filmmakers Renée Blanchar, Francine Hébert and Stéphanie David. The latter two were winners of the of the 8th Tremplin competition (in French) for up-and-coming directors.
This year’s Éloizes will also feature a tribute honouring prolific director and producer Léonard Forest, who helped lay the foundations for the NFB’s presence in Acadie.
Three finalists in the running for Éloizes
Three directors who have had films produced with the NFB over the last few years are in competition at the 2016 Éloizes. Francine Hébert (Cafétéria/Cafeteria, Tremplin, 2015) and Renée Blanchar (Les héritiers du club/A Place that Matters, 2014) are nominated in the media arts category, while multidisciplinary artist Stéphanie David, director of the documentary Le goût des belvas/Bittersweet Blues (Tremplin 2015), is a finalist in the Discovery of the Year category.
The public is invited to see the finalists’ films and participate in a discussion with the filmmakers as part of Cinéma Éloizes, taking place at the Centre des arts et de la culture de Dieppe. Le goût des belvas (Bittersweet Blues)(25 min) by Stéphanie David and Cafétéria (Cafeteria) (25 min) by Francine Hébert will screen on Friday, May 6, at noon. Renée Blanchar’s Les héritiers du club (A Place that Matters) (90 min) will be shown on Saturday, May 7, at 10 a.m.
Great visibility for the winners of the 2015 Tremplin competition!
Young filmmakers Francine Hébert and Stéphanie David will be participating in numerous events throughout the week. On May 5 at 8:00 p.m., Hébert will be part of “À la rencontre des imaginaires. Cercle des créateurs” (“Encounters with the imaginary: the artists’ circle”), a panel discussion at the Centre des arts et de la culture de Dieppe bringing together artists from a number of different disciplines. For her part, Stéphanie David will be involved in activities for youth at schools throughout the region, presenting workshops for students on life as an artist.
It should be noted that the 9th annual Tremplin competition, presented by the NFB in collaboration with Radio-Canada, has just announced its two winners for 2016: André Roy of Dieppe and Julien Capraro of Vancouver. Details on the competition are available at concourstremplin.com.
HOMAGE TO LÉONARD FOREST
One of the much-anticipated events of this year’s festival is the tribute to filmmaker Léonard Forest. It will take place at the 14th Éloizes Awards ceremony, to be held Saturday, May 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Centre des arts et de la culture de Dieppe.
A pioneer of francophone cinema in Acadie, Mr. Forest joined the National Film Board in 1953 and in 1974 founded French Program’s Studio Acadie. It would go on to serve as a veritable nerve centre for Acadian cinema.
During his prolific career of more than 30 years at the NFB, Léonard Forest participated in the production of some 130 films, earning credits as a screenwriter, director, editor and producer. His many films about Acadie include several classics, most notably Les Acadiens de la dispersion, La noce est pas finie, Un soleil pas comme ailleurs (A Sun Like Nowhere Else) and Les aboiteaux (The Dikes), for which he wrote the screenplay. In 2006, the NFB released a box set of his greatest works.
On the afternoon of the day preceding the awards ceremony, filmmaker Renée Blanchar will host a discussion on Léonard Forest’s body of work. It takes place on Saturday, May 7, at 1:00 p.m. at the Centre des arts et de la culture de Dieppe. A screening of excerpts from the following films by Léonard Forest will follow the discussion: Mémoire en fête (Walls of Memory), Un soleil pas comme ailleurs (A Sun Like Nowhere Else), Pêcheurs de Pomcoup, Les Acadiens de la dispersion and Les aboiteaux (The Dikes).
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Associated Links
2016 Éloizes
Tremplin competition (in French)
Centre des arts et de la culture de Dieppe
Radio-Canada
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