The Quebec Factor: 9 daring directors from La Belle Province
A close look Quebecois directors as part of our TIFF coverage.
Seriously, what's in the water in Quebec? It seems filmmaking talents are pouring out of the province. In recent years, a wave of Quebecois directors have been making astounding contributions to cinema in Canada and around the world.
So, as the 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival gets underway, we've rounded up a list of emerging, established and evolving -- but all outstanding -- Quebecois filmmakers and where you may see their work at this year's festival and beyond.
Find links to the filmmakers' past conversations with Jian below.
Philippe Falardeau returns to TIFF this year to debut his first English-language movie, The Good Lie starring Reese Witherspoon. Falardeau received accolades for his 2011 feature, Monsieur Lazhar, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and won the award for Best Canadian Feature film at TIFF.
The Good Lie is about four Sudanese refugees who flee the civil war in their home country for the U.S., where they meet Carrie (Witherspoon), who works at an employment centre and helps the men find their way in unfamiliar territory. Watch the trailer below.
This year, the legendary Alanis Obomsawin will become the first indigenous Canadian filmmaker to be featured in TIFF's Masters programme with her new film, Trick or Treaty? The Abenaki documentarian was born in New Hampshire and raised in Quebec. She has directed more than 40 films documenting the experiences of Canada's indigenous people over the last four decades.
Obomsawin is a TIFF veteran; her previous submissions include Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993), Is the Crown at War with Us? (2000), and Hi-Ho Mistahey! (2013).
In an interview from October last year, Obomsawin spoke with Jian about the intentions behind her work.
"I make films for us, for the community, and for the world. I want everybody to see these films so that they know what the reality is," she said.
Trick or Treaty? is a critical re-examination of Treaty 9, the 1905 agreement in which First Nations communities allegedly gave up their sovereignty over their land. Watch the trailer below.
Click here to view Jian's interview with Obomsawin, or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
Jean-Marc Vallée returns to TIFF this year with his latest Hollywood production, Wild starring Reese Witherspoon who, according to the programmers at TIFF, delivers "one of the year's best performances".
Vallée cemented his status as a Hollywood filmmaker with Dallas Buyers Club (2013), which premiered at last year's TIFF and received three Oscars including Best Actor for Matthew McConaughey -- his first Academy Award.
In December last year, Vallée spoke with Jian from our studio in Montreal. He talked about how he feels now that he has established himself in Tinseltown.
"As Bill Murray says in What About Bob?: I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful," he said.
In Wild -- based on Chery Strayed's revealing memoir -- the protagonist tries to put her heroin use and sexual recklessness behind her by embarking on a lone 1,000-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. Watch the trailer below.
Click here for the full post on Jian's interview with Jean-Marc Vallée, or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
Concordia University graduate Chloé Robichaud impressed many with her first feature-length film, Sarah préfère la course, the only Canadian film to make the official selection for last year's Cannes Film Festival. It also played at last year's TIFF and was featured as part of TIFF's "Canada's Top Ten Festival" in January.
In May of last year, Robichaud spoke to Jian about her place among the likes of other great Quebec filmmakers.
"When Denis Villeneuve went to the Oscars, or Xavier [Dolan] went to Cannes at 19, for us filmmakers in Quebec, in Canada, I think it felt like an inspiration and we told ourselves, 'Okay, I can do it too, why not me?' So I think right now, we're proud, we're confident and a lot of interesting filmmakers are coming in the next years."
Sarah préfère la course is a comedy-drama and follows the introverted Sarah (played by Sophie Desmarais). After Sarah gets accepted into McGill University's athletic training program, she experiences a sexual awakening stemming from her attraction to her teammate, Zoey. Watch the trailer below.
Click here for the full post on Jian's interview with Chloé Robichaud , or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
The prodigious Xavier Dolan was the youngest director at Cannes this year, where he won the Jury Prize for his latest feature, Mommy, which will play at TIFF.
The multifaceted Dolan will display both his acting and directing chops at the festival. He's in town for Mommy and also The Elephant Song, a film in which he stars. The latter movie is the English-language debut of fellow Quebec director, Charles Biname.
At the young age of 25, Dolan has directed five feature films, all of which have screened at TIFF. His previous works include J'ai tué ma mère ( I Killed My Mother), Heartbeats and Laurence Anyways.
In September 2012, Dolan talked to Jian about his craft, his fascination with impossible love, and how he feels about being judged based on his youth.
"You should look at a film with your guts and your emotions, not your culture and your belief that someone young can't actually understand adulthood or human dynamics beyond their own age."
Mommy centres on a violent and capricious teenager, his relationship with his widowed, single mother, and their enigmatic neighbour who takes an interest in the troubled family. Watch the trailer below.
Click here for the full post on Jian's interview with Xavier Dolan , or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
Jeff Barnaby grew up on the Listuguj Mi'gMaq First Nation reserve in Quebec. His first and only feature film to date, Rhymes for Young Ghouls -- a revenge fantasy involving residential schools -- premiered at TIFF last year. The film was featured as part of TIFF's Canada's Top Ten Film Festival this past January.
Earlier this year, Barnaby spoke to Jian about whether or not he considers himself a political filmmaker, not giving a damn about reinforcing or dispelling stereotypes, and about doing things his own way.
"At the end of the day, you're just gonna strut and you're gonna do your thing and you're not gonna really pay attention to anybody who has anything negative to say about you or your film," he said.
Rhymes for Young Ghouls takes place on a Mi'gMaq reservation in the year 1976. It stars Devery Jacobs as 15-year-old Aila, who plots revenge against the brutal Indian agents who make it a point to torment everyone on the reserve. Watch the trailer below.
Click here for the full post on Jian's interview with Jeff Barnaby , or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
Gabrielle, Louise Archambault 's second feature film, was Canada's official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2014 Academy Awards.The movie was produced by the same creative team behind the Oscar-nominated films Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar, directed by Quebec filmmakers Denis Villeneuve and Philippe Falardeau, respectively.
Gabrielle follows Archambault's acclaimed feature film debut, Familia (2005), which won Best Canadian First Feature at TIFF in 2005.
This past January, Archambault spoke with Jian about how she came up with the premise for Gabrielle, how love is not just for certain people, and working with both professional and non-professional actors in her film.
"The professional actors I did choose, they are people who are gifted actors, but they're very open to others. Compassionate and just open, and [they] really listened to the other... and I think it makes better acting and better actors," she said.
The film's namesake is a musically gifted young woman with Williams Syndrome, played by Marion-Rivard (who has Williams Syndrome in real life). After falling in love with a fellow choir member, Gabrielle seeks to discover intimacy and independence. Watch the trailer below.
Click here for the full post on Jian's interview with Louise Archambault or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
Denis Villeneuve's first foray into making English-language films started strong with two different movies that both premiered at TIFF last year -- and that both star Jake Gyllenhaal. Enemy is an arthouse film bordering on the fantastical and surreal, while Prisoners is a Hollywood blockbuster drama in which Gyllenhaal stars alongside fellow A-listers Hugh Jackman and Terrence Howard.
Other notable titles directed by Villeneuve include Incendies (2010), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Maelström (2000), which won Best Canadian Feature Film at TIFF.
Villeneuve was on Q last September. In his conversation with Jian, he said he was excited to finally get the chance to work in Hollywood.
"American cinema is something that is close to the birth of my love for cinema, meaning that as a kid... I was dreaming to make a movie in Hollywood," he said.
"So when I saw the opportunity... it was too much of a big dream. I said I will try it once, just for the idea of working with those guys who have so much experience."
In Enemy, Gyllenhaal plays a pair of doppelgängers -- one a university professor, the other a movie star. In Prisoners, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard) go to extreme lengths to find their kidnapped daughters. Gyllenhaal plays the detective on the case. Watch the trailers below.
Click here for the full post on Jian's interview with Denis Villeneuve, or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
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The multitalented Robert Lepage is a celebrated playwright as well as a director and actor of cinema, theatre, and opera. Earlier this year, he was awarded the Glenn Gould Prize for his tireless contribution to the arts.
His films include his latest feature, Triptych (2013), which he co-directed with Pedro Pires, Far Side of the Moon (2003), and Possible Worlds (2000), all of which have screened at TIFF. Earlier this year, the TIFF Bell Lightbox honoured Lepage by hosting a retrospective of his films.
This past April, Lepage was in Studio Q to share his outlook on life and the secret to his success: don't plan for anything, and embrace new opportunities.
"I want to be surprised by life, I want to be surprised by art and by collaborations and bump into people I never thought would collaborate with me or that I'd get to meet," he said.
Triptych is based on Lepage's acclaimed theatre production, Lipsynch. It interweaves the stories of three characters who suffer from either psychiatric or physiological trauma, and is an exploration into human communication and relationships. Watch the trailer below.
Click here for the full post on Jian's interview with Robert Lepage , or listen to the audio by clicking the play button below.
1. Philippe Falardeau at the 84th Academy Awards in Hollywood. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)
2. Alanis Obomsawin (CBC)
3. Jean-Marc Vallée at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival. September 2011. (Mike Cassese/Reuters)
4. Chloé Robichaud poses with Sarah Prefere La Course cast member Jean-Sebastien Courchesne at the 66th Cannes Film Festival. May 2013. (Eric Gaillard/Reuters)
5. Xavier Dolan at a news conference in Montreal. May 2014. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters)
6. Jeff Barnaby at a news conference for First Peoples Cinema at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival. September 2013. (Fred Thornhill/Reuters)
7. Louise Archambault (CBC)
8. Denis Villeneuve at the 38th Toronto International Film Festival. September 2013.
9. Robert Lepage in Quebec City. April 2008. (Mathieu Belanger/Reuters)