Documentary Field Notes and Flashpoints: category

Documentary film funding is not what it used to be. With broadcast windows few and far between and cutbacks everywhere, we doc-makers are turning to other sources, using other methods. And one of the new ways is web-based participatory, or crowd funding. This week I am participating in the Cuban Hat on-line pitch in the [...]

« …un super film qui donne le goût de vieillir dans la délinquance! »  Paul Houde  (Montréal Maintenant, 98,5 FM) Mon film LES SUPER-MÉMÉS, sur les Raging Grannies et les Mémés déchainées, a été lancé en tant de film de clôture du Festival de films sur les droits de la personne en mars 2010. Cet été, [...]

The normal progression for a budding filmmaker has generally been from student films and shorty shorts towards longer shorts, and then medium-length films and finally feature length ones. Working on the short films, he or she would learn the ropes, learn how to use equipment and tell a story. Later on, with more resources, would [...]

French would be the logical language for this post, but I’d like to share this content with people outside Quebec. This past week was Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette week. This extremely talented, 31-year-old Montreal director launched a novel, held a vernissage for a photo exhibition, and signed a terrific documentary broadcast on Radio-Canada Sunday night at 10.30. [...]

Louise-Édith Hébert et Marguerite Bilodeau.  Photo Marie-Pierre Savard. Au cours des dernières semaines, nous avons lancé mon film Les Super-mémés, sur le mouvement des Raging Grannies et des Mémés déchaînées. C’est un film produit par Isabelle Couture et Ian Boyd aux films de l’Isle, avec une license cruciale de Canal Vie, et distribué par Vidéo-Femmes. [...]

Louise-Édith Hébert and Marguerite Bilodeau, photo Marie-Pierre Savard Over the past two weeks, we launched my French-language film on the Raging Grannies and Mémés Déchaînées, Les super-mémés. It premiered on the 20th of March as closing film for the Human rights film festival in Montreal, at the Park Cinema, and we had another launch screening [...]

Muriel reading. Photo: Terre Nash Sadly we just learned that our friend Muriel Duckworth, pioneering feminist and peace activist, passed away Saturday morning at the venerable age of 100. I say we, because many of my relatives and friends knew and admired Muriel, a tireless opponent of war and injustice in all forms. You can [...]

Marching Grannies All photos by Alan Auvaart (see below) I just came back from filming the Raging Grannies in action at the protest against the CANSEC arms fair in Ottawa. It is the largest event of its kind in Canada, showcasing all the best new ways to inflict pain, cause death and create mayhem. It [...]

Mémés and Grannies sing in front of Eaton Center Continuing to shoot our film abut the Raging Grannies and their French-speaking sisters, the Mémés Déchaïnées. Last week we joined Louise-Édith Hébert and Anna-Louise Fontaine as they picked up several other Mémés and brought them down to a rehearsal with the Raging Grannies. They then went [...]

Myself and Martin Duckworth filming the Grannies in Vermont. I am still working on my film about the Raging Grannies, the movement of elderly women fighting for peace, social justice and the environment with satirical songs and the occasional guerrilla action. I have decided to edit some of the Grannies’ songs as music videos, and [...]