Belle Famille
At the end of 2021, filmmaker Serge Giguère obtained the highest distinction given to a filmmaker in Quebec. What a great opportunity to rediscover a generous work, marked by the concern for portraiture (Oscar Thiffault), the immediate consideration for social issues (Depuis que le monde est monde; À force de rêver) and a precise, meticulous attention given to what we called the "real". We will present several new copies that we restored, in the presence of the filmmaker.
Belle famille is a documentary that follows the life of a Montreal garbage collector and his family between 1970 and 1976. Gérard Duffault, a colorful and articulate character, leaves his very modest home in Saint-Henri, Montreal, with his wife and children to build a house in Ormstown with salvaged materials.
Serge Giguère
Serge Giguère is one of the greatest creators of documentary films from recent decades in Quebec. He was the recipient of the Governor General's Award (2008) and the Albert-Tessier Award (2021). Camera assistant for Pierre Perrault, Arthur Lamothe and Jean-Claude Labrecque, he became cameraman for Gilles Groulx (24 heures ou plus) then Jean Beaudry and François Bouvier (Jacques et novembre), Silvia Van Brabant (Remous ; Seul dans mon putain d'univers), Maurice Bulbulian (Chroniques de Nitinaht), Carole Lagagnière (Un toit, un violon, la lune) and Lucie Lambert (Paysage sous les paupières). In 1974, he founded Les films d'aventures sociales du Québec with Robert Tremblay, who co-directed three films with him, including Belle famille (1978). He then directed a series of five films on some of Quebec's most popular cultural figures and the film À force de rêves (Jutra for best documentary, 2007). His most recent film, Les lettres de ma mère (2018), is one of his most inventive and personal.
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Il y a plusieurs voies possibles à emprunter pour aborder le cinéma de Serge Giguère. L’une des plus évidentes a trait à la musique et notamment à ces deux films que Giguère réalise entre la fin des années 1980 et le début des années 1990 et que nous avons numérisé, restauré ces derniers mois : Oscar Thiffault et Le roi du drum, consacré au percussionniste et batteur Guy Nadon («le plus grand des mauvais batteurs», affirmera, pince-sans-rire, le jazzman montréalais Vic Vogel).
