Miron: A Man Returned from Outside the World
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
A veritable aesthetic fresco blending portrait, political documentary and experimental cinema, Miron: A Man Returned from Outside the World recounts the people of Quebec’s collective journey through the work of their greatest poet, Gaston Miron. Consisting exclusively of archive material, this cinematographic essay takes on the form of fragmented memories and stands as a contemplation on the survival of threatened cultures around the world.
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
