Month: November 2008

Launching ‘The Battle of Rabaska’

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Last week Martin Duckworth and I launched the original French-language version of our feature doc LA BATAILLE DE RABASKA – THE BATTLE OF RABASKA, in the framework of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal. The film tells the story of the four-year fight by groups of citizens against a projected LNG (liquefied natural gas) import facility on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, opposite the famous Île d’Orléans. The project makes no sense because of its impact on climate change, health and safety for the population in the immediate area, and the protection of the cultural heritage of the region. But business interests and construction unions in the area backed it, and a powerful lobby intervened to push for it on all levels of government. Last October, the provincial government gave the project a green light.

The first screening of our film took place at the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City. It was an emotional event, as many of the people who participated in the struggle were there. They have felt quite abandoned both by politicians and government agencies, and really appreciated having their experience documented and shown on the big screen. Former Quebec Agriculture minister and Mayor of Lévis, Jean Garon, who is seen supporting the project in the film, surprised everyone by stating that ‘the debate never really happened,’ and that ‘the government shut everyone up.’ Other revelations followed at the Montreal premiere a few days later, with former Environment minister Thomas Mulcair (now NDP MP for my riding) stating that there had been undue government interference in the assessment process.

Although the project has received a green light, it doesn’t seem certain that it will actually be built. Rabaska has signed an agreement in principle with the Russian energy giant Gazprom, but there is no final agreement and the gas field which is supposed to supply the project is not in operation. With the economic crisis and reduced energy needs it seems even more absurd than it already was, in a province which has a huge potential for renewable energy sources.

The film, shot over four years, was produced by Yves Bisaillon and Johanne Bergeron at the ONF (National Film Board, French program). It will be in theatres in Quebec City and Montreal starting on December 5th.

Thanks to Jorge Bustos-Estefan for help with this blog.

‘La Bataille de Rabaska’ aux RIDM

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Premières dans les cadres des Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal :

J’achète mon billet. [Billeterie et salles – RIDM]

Pour visionner la bande-annonce et en savoir plus sur le film, visitez le : www.onf.ca/labataillederabaska

VENEZ VOIR LE FILM EN GRAND NOMBRE !

An Essential and Moving Film About Torture

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Photo of Haj Ali, an Iraqi teacher. He was held captive at the Abu Ghraib prison. His left hand is permanently paralyzed due to badly undergone treatments.

My friend Patricio Henríquez, who settled in Canada after he fled Chile due to the coup d’état led by Pinochet, is one of the best documentary filmmakers in the country. His latest film is now out, entitled Under the Hood, a Voyage into the World of Torture (French title: Sous la Cagoule, un voyage au bout de la torture). The documentary was produced by Macumba International in co-production with the NFB. It premiered at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, and is currently showing at the Ex-Centris. It’s a deeply moving film in terms of testimonies, and is highly accomplished on the aesthetic level as well. It brings up essential issues concerning the U.S. foreign policy agenda and the ‘war against terrorism.’ I attended the first screening at Ex-Centris, where Patricio was present and members of the audience were given the chance to say a few words. One of them was Adil Charkaoui, who is originally from Morocco and is presently under the cloud of a ‘security certificate.’ After having been in prison for a long time, he is not allowed to move around freely, and the reasons for these measures are confidential. During the discussion that proceeded the film, some people raised the question of Canada’s complicity in U.S. foreign policy and security tactics. I asked Patricio a few questions.

What was your thought process for the strategies of making this film? It’s not an easy subject matter!

Patricio Henríquez: For this type of film, since it deals with such a vast subject matter within time and History, the approach must bind together a whole array of elements: people, shooting locations, archival sources, information, etc. And even after performing a thorough research, one still doesn’t know everything there is to know when the time comes to start shooting, which limits the possibilities of defining a style. However, it had been clear to me from the beginning that the topic was to be addressed mainly through testimonies. We favoured the shots and the lighting setups that helped to emphasize the personality of the testifiers. We also decided to shoot the interviews with two cameras. One would be in constant movement, very close to the interviewees, thus exploring their corporal expressions to the maximum, while the second one would be set to take medium shots. Inevitably, many decisions regarding the style were taken during the montage, which had an effect on our predilection for orienting the graphical aspect toward the period prints as well as toward images that were mostly impressionistic and which were shot over the course of the montage.

Continue reading An Essential and Moving Film About Torture

Un film bouleversant et essentiel sur la torture

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Photo de Haj Ali : Enseignant irakien, il a été détenu à la prison de Abu Ghraib. Sa main gauche est toujours paralysée, conséquence des mauvais traitements subis.

Mon ami Patricio Henríquez, installé au Canada depuis qu’il a fui le Chili suite au coup d’état de Pinochet, est un des meilleurs documentaristes du pays. Il vient de sortir son dernier film, Sous la cagoule, un voyage au bout de le torture. Le documentaire est produit par Macumba International en co-production avec l’ONF. Aprés un lancement au Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, le film est actuellement en salle à Ex-Centris. C’est un film bouleversant au niveau des témoignages et très fort sur le plan esthétique, qui soulève aussi des questions essentielles concernant la politique étrangère Américaine et la ‘guerre contre le terrorisme.’ J’étais présent à la première projection à Ex-Centris et Patricio a laissé la parole à Adil Charkaoui, marocain d’origine, qui est sujet à un ‘certificat de sécurité’ au Canada. Après un long séjour en prison, il ne peut pas circuler librement, et les raisons de ses mesures sont gardées secrètes. Dans la disucssion qui a suivi le film, quelques personnes ont soulevé la complicité du Canada dans les politiques extérieure et de sécurité des États-Unis. J’ai posé quelques questions à Patricio.

Magnus Isacsson : Quelle a été ta réflexion sur les stratégies de réalisation ? Ce n’est pas un sujet facile !

Patricio Henríquez : Avec ce type de film avec une thématique si vaste dans l’espace et dans l’Histoire, il faut composer avec une grande diversité: personnages, lieux de tournage, sources d’archives, information, etc. Et malgré un travail de recherche poussée, on ne sait pas tout au début des tournages, ce qui laisse peu de possibilités pour définir un style. Cependant, il a toujours été clair pour moi que le sujet allait être traité essentiellement sur la base de témoignages. Nous avons favorisé des éclairages et des prises de vue qui mettaient en relief les personnalités de nos témoins. Nous avons aussi décidé de tourner toutes les entrevues à deux caméras. L’une en mouvement, très proche des personnages, explorant au maximum leurs expréssions corporelles, alors que la deuxième était fixe avec des plans moyens. Forcément, beaucoup de décisions de style ont été prises au montage et nous ont permis d’orienter le travail infographique sur les gravures d’époque ainsique quelques images plutôt impressionistes tournées en cours de montage.

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