Les six saisons attikameks
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.
Recently restored by the Cinémathèque québécoise, Les six saisons attikameks is a captivating anthropological testimony of a traditional nomadic way of life. Thanks to an attentive and patient eye, it gives an account of the knowledge and technology still used today by the older generation of Atikamekw. We present three episodes from this exceptional series, depicting the six seasons of this nation's way of life.
In the presence of filmmaker Pierre Dinel and Ghislain Quitich and Patrice Ottawa, from the Conseil des Atikamekw de Manawan.
Pre-spring means warm afternoons, when the sap flows from the maple trees and the sweet water is collected. Another piece of knowledge passed on to us by the First Nations.
The hunt for big game, the moose call, the butchering, the smoking, the sharing. It's also Atikamekw whitefish fishing, from which this nation takes its name.
They fish under the ice with nets and prepare moose hides to make sinew, which is then used to weave snowshoes.
This restauration was made possible thanks to the support of Telefilm Canada through its Canadian Cinema — Reignited digitization initiative.
This restoration is part of the implementation of a measure in Quebec's Digital Cultural Plan.
