Hathi + Fanfaron, the Little Clown
Rock Demers has been a key figure in the history of cinema in Quebec since the 60s, for his involvement in the promotion, creation and production of films. A co-founder of the Cinémathèque québécoise, he is best known to the public as a producer on the series he initiated, the Contes pour tous. However, we wanted to show with this program the extent of his involvement in cinema that goes beyond Canadian borders, marked by his interest in auteur cinema (he bought the Canadian rights to Charles mort ou vif by Alain Tanner, immediately after its screening at Cannes), in animation (he wrote the screenplay for Faroun, the little clown, directed by Bretislav Pojar), with a predilection for directors from Central and Eastern Europe (Why Havel? by Vojtěch Jasný).
A little clown born in a toy box has funny tribulations and fantastic adventures. This ingenious film is the brainchild of Bretislav Pojar and Rock Demers, and is carried out with energy and humour. The children's film distribution company founded by Rock Demers in 1967 gave its name to this likeable character.
Five thousand years ago, in India, elephants were already being captured and trained; for war, for parades and as religious animals. This film, shot in 1998, shows us the life of young Makbul, who was raised with elephants, some wild, some domesticated, in southern India. Despite his mother's objections, little Makbul decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and become a mahout. The film is part of the Tales for All collection.
Břetislav Pojar
This important animation filmmaker has had a successful career in his native Czechoslovakia as well as in Canada with the National Film Board of Canada and La Fête Productions. Recognized for his talents as a puppet animator, he has also explored other techniques.
Rock Demers
Amazed cinephile, great traveler, Rock Demers left its mark on Quebec’s cinema landscape in addition to children's cinema. Born in Sainte-Cécile-de-Lévrard, he studied pedagogy in Montreal, already showing an interest in knowledge transmission. He then turned to cinema and participated, in 1963, in the founding of the Cinémathèque québécoise along with Guy L. Côté. Shocked by his discovery of Eastern European filmmakers and his meeting with Bretislav Pojar, he worked in the distribution of children’s films by creating the Films Faroun distribution company in the mid-1960s, and a youth section at Montreal’s international film Festival. He then began a career as a producer with Le martien de Noël (Bernard Gosselin, 1971). In 1980, he founded Les Productions La Fête, which saw the birth of his most famous project: the Contes pour tous, a series of films that began with the huge success of La guerre des tuques (André Melançon, 1984). However, Demers does not limit himself to children's cinema, producing works such as Why Havel? (Vojtěch Jasný, 1991) and Le silence des fusils (Arthur Lamothe, 1996).
