August 23, 2016 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) returns once again to the Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec (FCVQ), this time with an advance screening of the feature documentary Waseskun (NFB), directed by Steve Patry, and the Quebec premiere of the animated short Oscar (MJSTP Films/NFB), by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre. In addition, Martin Bureau’s documentary short L’enfer marche au gaz! (Hell Runs on Gasoline!, Spira/NFB) will screen in one of the festival’s Ciné Pop-up programs, which transforms shipping containers into portable micro-theatres placed in various locations throughout Quebec City. Also showing at FCVQ is the 1980 short film Speak White (NFB), directed by Julien Poulin and Pierre Falardeau, which will screen as part of a tribute to Poulin.
This sixth edition of the FCVQ takes place September 14 to 24, 2016.
Waseskun (80 min) – Advance screening
An empathetic look at daily life at Waseskun, a rehabilitation facility for Indigenous male offenders. Incorporating spirituality and traditional medicine in its therapeutic process, Waseskun’s philosophy is that healing does not come from erasing one’s past, but by regaining one’s cultural identity and traditional values. Waseskun chronicles the difficult journey of these men, who have survived hell within their own families and in society, as they struggle for social reintegration. Produced at the NFB by Nathalie Cloutier.
About Steve Patry
Steve Patry is a documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on society’s most marginalized groups. After studying film and working on two co-productions, he became a videographer for Funambules Media, produced several socially engaged reports, and directed two short films. He then spent three years working on De prisons en prisons, his first feature documentary. Released in 2014, the film received a special mention from the jury at the Montreal International Documentary Festival and was nominated for a Jutra Award for Best Documentary Feature. In it, Patry follows the daily lives of three former inmates, demonstrating his skill as a sensitive, discreet and bold filmmaker—attributes Patry continues to develop through his second feature film, Waseskun.
Oscar (12 min) – Quebec premiere
World premiere at LA Shorts Fest (September 1–8, 2016)
Oscar blends animated sequences and archival footage in its touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson at the twilight of an exceptional career, as he wistfully meditates on the price of fame and the impact of the artist’s life on relationships with family members. From his beginnings as a young prodigy in Montreal’s Little Burgundy district to his triumphs on the international scene, this animated documentary by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre explores the profound solitude of an artist constantly on tour. Set to the tunes of Peterson’s sometimes catchy, sometimes melancholic compositions, the film tells a heartfelt story about a life in jazz. Produced by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre and Jocelyne Perrier for MJSTP Films and Marc Bertrand for the NFB, with the collaboration of Télé-Québec.
About Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
Filmmaker and Gaspé region native Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre founded the independent production company MJSTP Films in 2004 to produce her own films, which lie at the intersection of animation and documentary. Two major themes consistently emerge from her work: motherhood, which she tackles in Post-Partum (2004), Passages (2008) and Femelles (2012); and artistic creation, explored in McLaren’s Negatives (2006), The Sapporo Project (2009), Jutra (2014), Flocons (2014) and Oscar (2016). Saint-Pierre’s work has garnered more than 55 international awards over the course of her career. Jutra, the first MJSTP Films co-production with the NFB, was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival and won three prestigious Canadian awards (a Gemini, a Jutra and a Canadian Screen Award). Saint-Pierre is a graduate of Concordia University and is currently pursuing her PhD in artistic studies and practices at UQAM. Oscar is MJSTP Films’ second co-production with the NFB.
Hell Runs on Gasoline! (7 min) – FCVQ Ciné Pop-up program
Bureau transforms a race at the Saint-Félicien speedway into an infernal nightmare that’s followed by an eerie calm. This short film is in the Ciné Pop-up selection of 2015 grants for Quebec City filmmakers, and was one of the films created for the first edition of the 5 Shorts Project (Projet 5 courts), an NFB initiative in partnership with the Spira co-op, based in Quebec City. Producers are Nathalie Cloutier and Colette Loumède for the NFB, and Catherine Benoit for Spira.
About Martin Bureau
Martin Bureau crafts critical takes on geopolitical themes through his paintings, video installations, and documentaries. In 2009, he co-directed the documentary Une tente sur Mars, nominated for a Jutra as well as the award for best documentary at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois. In 2013, he co-directed his second documentary feature, Playa Coloniale, which received a special jury mention at the Vues sur mer festival in Gaspé.
Speak White (6 min) – Tribute to Julien Poulin
The short film Speak White, directed at the NFB by Julien Poulin and Pierre Falardeau in 1980, is part of an homage to Poulin taking place on Friday, September 16, at the Salle d’Youville in the Palais Montcalm, beginning at 3:30 p.m. It is being shown with the feature drama Camion, directed by Rafaël Ouellet. In Speak White, the Michèle Lalonde poem of the same name is read by Marie Eykel over a montage of shocking photos and an evocative soundtrack, creating a condemnation of the dominant classes’ economic and cultural imperialism and human exploitation.
–30–
Associated Links
Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec
MJSTP Films
Spira
Projet 5 courts
Stay Connected
Online Screening Room: NFB.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/nfb.ca
Twitter: twitter.com/thenfb