Pêcheurs de Pomcoup + Un soleil pas comme ailleurs
Born in 1928 and having passed away a few months ago, Léonard Forest was the first Acadian filmmaker. While he had a prolific and diverse career at the NFB from Montreal starting in the 1950s, Acadia and Acadian identity remained central to his work, as reflected in the films presented in this tribute program. Beyond their cultural, historical, and sociological value, these works showcase the inventiveness, sincerity, and creative freedom of a filmmaker who was also an accomplished poet.
The village of Pomcoup, at the extreme southwestern tip of Nova Scotia, is the oldest Acadian community. The people of this village are almost all descendants of a few families who came to settle on the peninsula over three hundred years ago. For two and a half centuries, Pomcoup was completely cut off from the rest of the world. Today, its people have only one profession: fishing.
A film that bears witness to the Acadian awakening and the unprecedented popular movement that took place in 1972 in northeastern New Brunswick, an area "condemned by the technocrats" but which its people refuse to leave, "because the sun shines there like nowhere else". Scenes of popular protest and violence, in Bathurst and Caraquet. A collective reflection in front of the camera, with a view to the future, by people "deeply involved in their social community", on this land sung by poets.
Léonard Forest
Léonard Forest is a French-speaking Acadian artist, poet, and filmmaker. He pursued a classical education at Collège Saint-Joseph in Memramcook, where he discovered cinema. There, he created a film club that caused a scandal and wrote a cinema column for L'Évangéline. In 1953, he was hired by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), where he served as the Director of General French Production and Director of the French Television Team from 1958 to 1959. He was a key figure in the regionalization of the NFB, leading to the opening of Francophone offices in Acadia and Ontario. Additionally, he oversaw the restructuring of the Social Research Group, which became the "Challenge for Change" program. Forest was also the founding president of the General Union of Cinema and Television. He retired from the NFB in 1983 after working on over 130 films as a screenwriter, producer, director, or editor. His notable works include Les aboiteaux (1955), Pêcheurs de Pomcoup (1956), Les Acadiens de la dispersion (1968), La noce est pas finie (1969) et Un soleil pas comme ailleurs (1972). Since the 1960s, he has also published several poems, essays, and short stories. His poems, characterized by their softness and nostalgia for historical Acadia, contrast with his more militant films, reflecting the spirit of the NFB. The Université de Moncton awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1992, and in 2016, he received a tribute award at the Éloizes for his lifetime achievements.
Photo: Robert Etcheverry
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Léonard Forest : filmer l’Acadie au présent
Léonard Forest est le pionnier du cinéma acadien. Né en 1928, il est décédé au printemps dernier, laissant derrière lui une longue carrière de producteur et réalisateur menée à l’ONF. Nous lui rendons hommage en présentant la trilogie de films qu’il a consacrés à l’Acadie.
