After several nuanced portrait films of Quebec cultural figures, Simon Beaulieu, also a screenwriter, follows a trajectory that brings his work closer to the essay film. In addition to screening his films, the carte blanche we offer him showcases the diversity of his influences and the eclecticism of his tastes.
In the presence of Simon Beaulieu
Gérald Godin’s work and life were strongly influenced by his deep-rooted commitment to Quebec. Whether his political and literary contributions to Quebec’s cultural heritage were forgotten or simply unknown, they nevertheless remain incredibly valuable. From his childhood in Trois-Rivières to his life in Montréal, from the 1960s to the 1995 Referendum, including the prisons of the October Crisis and the songs of his long-time partner, Pauline Julien, Godin the film is full of archives and interviews that trace back the unique life of a fighter. A striking portrait of the one we called the deputy-poet. A cinematographic quilt of modern Quebec, woven using an exceptional array of archives.
Simon Beaulieu
A filmmaker and screenwriter, Simon Beaulieu has written and directed three feature-length documentaries exploring the issues of the artist’s engagement with society and the survival of Quebec culture: Lemoyne about the painter Serge Lemoyne in 2005, Godin about the writer and politician in 2011, as well as Miron: A Man Returned from Beyond the World in 2014, an exploratory documentary about Quebec poet Gaston Miron that screened at many international festivals. In 2019, he co-wrote the screenplay and dialogue for Maxime Giroux's The Great Darkened Days (La grande noirceur). That same year, he directed a fourth feature film, White Noise (Le fond de l'air), in which he explores the form of experimental essay to address the Anthropocene and the environmental crisis.
Photo: Frédérick Pelletier
