Visible, la différence ?

May 15, 2006

Monday, May 15, 2006
8 pm, NFB Cinema
1564, rue Saint-Denis, Montréal, tel. 514-496-6887

In French. Moderator: Magnus Isacsson

The face of Quebec, and especially Montreal, has changed dramatically over the last 30 years. Until recently, the various cultural communities were not generally well covered by the local news media or well represented on the silver screen. In the last few years, a series of programs have been put in place in an attempt to correct this situation. Our panelists will examine the audiovisual representation of cultural minority groups, undellining their hard-won successes as well as remaining obstacles. They will also comment on the efficacy of existing programs aiming to correct past problems. Are they a solution or do they encourage ghettoization? Relevant clips from the participants’ films will be presented within the framework of this discussion.

Léo Kalinda has worked for Radio-Canada (radio) since 1976 and is currently part of the Dimanche Magazine current affairs team. He has has won the Grand Prix International from the CIRDEF (Conseil International des Radios et télévisons d’expression française). This year, Mr. Kalinda directed Mères courage, a documentary about the incredible resilence of Rwandan women survivors ten years after the genocide.

Yanick Létourneau, a filmmaker who directed Chroniques urbaines (2003), a film about hip hop youth culture in Quebec. In 2000, Mr. Létourneau co-founded Périphéria Productions with Diego Briceño-Orduz. This production company encourages young filmmakers and intercultural exchange.

Mahalia Verna, who evaluates documentary projects for the Montreal NFB production studios, will also participate in the discussion. Ms. Verna works with the French program administration to create and implement cultural diversity initiatives that encourage the development and the integration of new talent from ethnocultural and native communities into the Canadian audiovisual world.

Judith Brès recently directed the documentary Petites Mères, a film that looks at the phenomenon of teenage mothers in Quebec’s Haitian community. In 2001, Ms. Brès founded Poulp Productions, a production company focused on social problems within specific communities.

Docu-mondays is a series of screenings and discussions designed to promote relection on the creative process in documentary film production, organized by the RIDM (Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal) and filmmaker Magnus Isacsson (Enfants de Choeur, Maxime, McDuff et McDO, Vue du Sommet) with the collaboration of the National Film Board of Canada.

Free admission!
Passes available at the NFB Cinema.

For more information: 514-499-3676