Cycle devoted to the representation of the FLQ in Quebec cinema, programmed by Sylvain Garel, on the occasion of the publication of his extensive book on the subject with éditions Somme toute.
Vu d'ailleurs is one of six segments in Montréal vu par..., a film produced to mark the city's 350th anniversary. Arcand's short film features an elderly woman who, during a curious social gathering, recalls a love affair she once had in Montreal.
On October 10, 1970, four militants members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the Minister of Labour and Immigration. A week later, the police found the Minister's body in the trunk of the car used for the kidnapping. What really happened that week? And why? Hour by hour, day by day, Octobre follows the lives of the five men, trapped as they are in the Armstrong Street house with their doubts, hopes and fears, their inner conflicts and their convictions. Cornered by the authorities, struggling against the implacable logic of events, overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation, one after another, they face their destiny. They decide. Alone. But together.
Denys Arcand
Denys Arcand, born in 1941 in Deschambault, Quebec, is a Quebecois film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer. He studied history at the Université de Montréal in the 1960s. A filmmaker whose style has evolved significantly over the course of his career, he is best known internationally for his two major successes: The Decline of the American Empire (1986) and its sequel, The Barbarian Invasions (2003), the only Canadian film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His work reflects the transformation of Quebec cinema, moving from incisive documentaries to fiction deeply rooted in the socio-cultural realities of the time. He then channelled his disappointment at the result of the 1980 referendum on Quebec sovereignty into themes of personal emancipation. After achieving international acclaim in the early 2000s, he went back to his roots in the mid-2010s, exploring themes he holds dear in films like An Eye for Beauty (2014) and The Fall of the American Empire (2018).
Pierre Falardeau
Pierre Falardeau is a Québécois filmmaker, pamphleteer and Quebec independence activist. He directed his first short film, Continuons le combat, in 1971. During the 1970s, he collaborated with his firend and actor Julien Poulin to produce several documentaries: À mort (1972), Les Canadiens sont là (1973), Le magra (1975), À force de courage (1977), Pea Soup (1978), featuring the iconic "PFK Kid" scene, and Speak White (1980). Frustrated by the limited reach of documentaries in Québec, he transitioned to fiction, creating the now-iconic Elvis Gratton series. Combining three short films made between 1981 and 1985, Elvis Gratton : le king des kings became a cornerstone of Québec cinema. The titular character, an Elvis Presley superfan and a caricature of Québec’s federalist, colonized middle class, instantly became a cultural touchstone. The film later spawned two sequels: Elvis Gratton II: miracle à Memphis (1999) and Elvis Gratton XXX : la vengeance d'Elvis Wong (2004). Falardeau also directed dramatic feature films such as Le party (1989), Le steak (1992), Octobre (1994) et 15 février 1839 (2001).
Photo: Collections de la Cinémathèque québécoise
