Cinéma, cinéma
Werner Nold, who recently passed away, is one of the most important documentary editors in Quebec’s history, and a pioneer of direct cinema. We will pay tribute to his work through a series of screenings, also highlighting his contributions as a filmmaker.
Not a retrospective film. Of course, there are excerpts from the most representative films of the NFB's French production over the last twenty-five years. But there's much more: this film is a declaration of love. There are knowing winks, astonishing testimonials. Laughter and emotion, problems and joys... in short, all that is experienced in a true love story. A unique document, for pleasure and memory.
Werner Nold
Born in 1933 in Switzerland, Werner Nold had a prolific career as an editor, working for more than 35 years at the National Film Board of Canada. Not only did Werner Nold edit various notable works (Pour la suite du monde, La vie heureuse de Léopold Z, Le temps d’une chasse), but he also devoted time to teaching, notably at the École normale d’enseignement technique at the Université du Québec à Montréal, in Chicoutimi, and at Florida State University in the United States. He was Chairman of the Professional Quality Commission at the NFB and director of the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois. In 1985, Werner Nold was awarded the Order of Canada. According to Michel Coulombe, in Le dictionnaire du cinéma québécois in 1999, Nold chose editing over directing because he said he preferred “to be a great soloist rather than an obscure little conductor.” Few Quebec filmmakers have supported the development and distribution of cinema with such vigor.
Photo: Collections de la Cinémathèque québécoise
Gilles Carle
Gilles Carle was a Quebec graphic artist, director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He joined the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1960, initially working as a documentalist and a screenwriter, before directing several documentaries, including Percé on the Rocks. In 1965, he made his first feature film, La vie heureuse de Léopold Z, although he had only been authorized to make a documentary. Reprimanded by his employer for this, Carle left the NFB and joined Productions Onyx, where he wrote and directed Le viol d'une jeune fille douce (1968), Red (1970), and Les mâles (1971). He then co-founded Productions Carle-Lamy with Pierre Lamy and went on to direct films such as La vraie nature de Bernadette (1972), starring Micheline Lanctôt, Daniel Pilon, and Willie Lamothe. In the 1980s, he adapted two Quebec literary classics for the big screen: Les Plouffe (1981) and Maria Chapdelaine (1983). His final feature films were produced in the 1990s. Known for his ability to craft complex yet authentic characters true to their cultural realities, Carle’s body of work is filled with tales, fantasy, and social fables imbued with humor.
Photo: Collections de la Cinémathèque québécoise
