Le son des Français d’Amérique
To coincide with the exceptional circumstances of hosting the annual congress of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), we are offering a program highlighting the strengths of our collections and our mandate: animated film gems, world premiere commissioned works, newly restored features, documentaries devoted to heritage questions and the reuse of archives.
The series Le son des Français d'Amérique is a invaluable treasure of North America's Francophone musical heritage, and a milestone in the history of documentary filmmaking in Quebec. The 27 episodes offer an overview of many musical manifestations linked to oral culture and the Francophonie on the North American continent, along with their decisive European roots and influences. This immense work of undeniable historical and anthropological value was added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2017. Filmmaker André Gladu, producer Anouk Brault, the Cinémathèque québécoise, Éléphant : mémoire du cinéma québécois and the National Film Board of Canada worked together to restore all 27 episodes of the series.
In the presence of filmmaker André Gladu.
Chicoutimi carpenter Louis Boudreault epitomized the typical Quebec fiddler. He relates how he learned his trade and his introduction to music by his father, Idas. Having learned the dance music of the Lac Saint-Jean region from his great uncle Thomas Vaillancourt, he explains how good fiddlers learn by connecting with the dancers.
In Vieille Mine, Missouri, USA, there is a French-speaking community descended from 18th century French and Quebec voyageurs and traders. But the big companies from the South took over the mining industry, the use of French was forbidden in school and the people eventually forgot their songs. The elders try to make us understand, with the last words they have, how they lived and why "c'est pu comme ça anymore".
Johnny à Dennis à Alfred Comeau is how Acadians identify one of their own, for there are Comeau's all along St. Mary's Bay in southwest Nova Scotia. In the Comeau family, it is also a way to name three generations of living fiddlers. But it is only the youngest who will be able to live off his talent.
This restoration is part of the implementation of a measure in Quebec's Digital Cultural Plan.
