CHAPERONS ROUGES
Réalisation : Helen Doyle, Hélène Bourgault. Production et distribution : Spira et G.I.V.
30 min., vidéo ¼ pouce, n&b, 1977.
How rape and other forms of aggression are experienced emotionally by women. How these various manifestations contribute to their oppression. A growing number of "red chaperones" have had enough of being victims, and are determined to change history.
UNE NEF... ET SES SORCIÈRES...
Réalisation : Hélène Roy, assistée d'Hélène Bourgault, Helen Doyle et Nicole Giguère.
53 min., vidéo ½ pouce, n&b, 1979.
Thirteen authors and actresses worked together for a year to stage La nef des sorcières, performed at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in March 1976. Six monologues on situations and contradictions experienced by the women, of which the video presents only excerpts to make room for the comments of the women who took part in this adventure.
C'EST PAS LE PAYS DES MERVEILLES
Réalisation : Helen Doyle et Nicole Giguère. Production : Dansereau, Geoffrion & ass. Distribution : Spira.
57 min, film 16 mm, couleur, 1981.
This film is part of a feminist reflection on women and madness. Alice navigates the murky waters of depression. In the mirror where she searches for herself, a thousand Alices are reflected, experiencing the same anxieties and revolts, each believing herself to be alone in struggling with these contradictory images. On the other side of the mirror, on a giant chessboard, each pawn has a precise role, each character wants to carve out a path. Alice's story is supported by the reflections of a psychiatrist and a social worker, and the testimonies of women who have lived through their madness. The film seeks to identify the cultural factors that often generate and fuel women's discomfort and anger.
DEMAIN, LA CINQUANTAINE
Réalisation : Hélène Roy. Distribution : Spira.
43 min., vidéo ¾ pouce, couleur, 1986.
Une femme, Michèle, vit des émotions et des bouleversements propres aux mutations qui s'opèrent en elle durant la période de sa ménopause. Avec un regard neuf et empreint d'intériorité, elle tente d'apprivoiser cette période mal connue de la vie des femmes. À travers son vécu d'épouse-mère-travailleuse « en cours de recyclage », cette femme en quête d'information et de support collectif aspire à la prise en charge de son bien-être. Son appropriation du présent sera garante des 30 années à venir.
HISTOIRE INFÂME
Réalisation : Nicole Giguère. Production : Michèle Pérusse, Nicole Giguère. Distribution : Spira.
8 min., film 35mm, couleur, 1987.
Based on a song by Louise Portal, this short musical film illustrates several aspects of women's history, integrating fiction, archives and visual effects.
ON FAIT TOUTES DU SHOW BUSINESS
Réalisation : Nicole Giguère. Distribution : Spira.
60 min., vidéo ¾ pouce, couleur, 1984.
From Marjo to Louise Forestier, from Nanette to Sylvie Tremblay, from Diane Dufresne to Louise Portal, On fait toutes du show business explores the reality of women in this world of sounds and songs, rhythms and all that music we generally cover with the label "rock". Fifteen Quebec artists make an original contribution to the evolution of today's music, and share their views on the power they wield as musicians and singers.
LE SOURIRE D'UNE PARFUMEUSE
Réalisation : Françoise Dugré, Johanne Fournier. Distribution : Spira.
30 min., vidéo ¾ pouce, couleur, 1986.
Madeleine has a very special job: she works in a chic bar. Not at the tables, she works in the ladies' toilets, perfuming and applying make-up to these beauties who come to try to please and seduce. She hears confidences, cries and hopes. So she makes up stories... One day, a call from her family shakes her world. Her mother was dying. Madeleine leaves, leaves town...
TOUS LES JOURS... TOUS LES JOURS... TOUS LES JOURS...
Réalisation : Johanne Fournier, Nicole Giguère. Distribution : Spira.
58 min., vidéo ¾ pouce, couleur, 1982.
A reality-fiction document on sexual harassment and the many manifestations of this abuse of male power over women's bodies and freedom. Every day... we have to deal with the most devious and diverse forms of intimidation and harassment. Every day... we have to clench our hearts, we have to clench our teeth... And we're told it's nature! A fatal argument that is beginning to lose feathers as more and more women react and put a stop to this guerrilla warfare.
VIDÉO FEMMES PAR VIDÉO FEMMES
Réalisation : Nicole Giguère, Lynda Roy. Distribution : Spira.
68 min., vidéo ¾ pouce, couleur, 1984.
The short history of Vidéo Femmes in images, texts, video extracts, unpublished archives... A humorous look back at 10 years of work and production by our collective, which has involved some fifty people since its beginnings; a "historical" look too, since we inevitably reflect and speak for the concerns and evolution of our milieu.
MONTAGNAISES DE PAROLE
Réalisation : Johanne Fournier. Production : Conseil des Atikamekw et des Montagnais et Vidéo Femmes. Distribution : Spira.
55 min., vidéo Betacam, couleur, 1992.
Four generations of Montagnais women tell the story of life on the reserves: grandmothers who spoke only Montagnais and lived most of their lives in the woods; mothers who experienced uprooting and Catholic upbringing in convents; young girls who vacillated between the idealization of ancestral life and the lure of work and money.
8 MARS '80 ou DES FEMMES SANS HOMME, C'EST COMME DES POISSONS SANS BICYCLETTE
Réalisation : Johanne Fournier et Odette Mercure. Production : C.V.-Pop Lévis.
50 min., vidéo ½, n&b, 1980.
The Fête des femmes in Quebec City in 1980. They say what they are no longer, what they seek to become. Women are rebellious... beautiful... beautiful...
PHILOSOPHIE DE BOUDOIR
Réalisation : Helen Doyle, Nicole Giguère.
30 min., vidéo ½ pouce, n&b, 1975.
A video-satire on the Salon de la Femme held in Quebec City in April 1975. It was also the very first Vidéo Femmes production.
NAITRE BIEN AU CHAUD
Réalisation : Lynda Roy, Françoise Dugré et Louise Giguère.
38 min., vidéo ½ pouce, n&b, 1981.
A birth experienced in the warmth of home, with the discreet and warm assistance of a doctor and a midwife. A document that testifies to a desire for warmth, a desire to humanize childbirth and a need to demystify traditional medicine.
COMME JEUNESSE SE PASSE
Réalisation : Michèle Pérusse. Production : Vidéo Femmes, Michèle Pérusse.
45 min., vidéo ¾ pouce, couleur, 1983.
Young people have their first sexual experiences... What do they have to say about the way they've been educated about sexuality, and the degree of trust and freedom they've been given? Are they more free than their elders from the many prohibitions that have always weighed on sexuality? The more things change, the more they stay the same. And young people's lives are shaped by the many nonsensical aspects of good social conscience.
LE SIDA AU FÉMININ
Réalisation : Lise Bonenfant, Marie Fortin. Distribution : Spira.
40 min., vidéo Betacam, couleur, 1989.
Three women on borrowed time talk about their emotions and attitudes to this terrible disease that leads inexorably to death. Chantal learned she was HIV-positive during her pregnancy. What will happen to the child she's carrying? Christiane, a businesswoman, didn't think her travels involved risky behavior. Judith had no idea that she would develop the disease when she accompanied her boyfriend, who himself had AIDS, to his death. Is AIDS for other people? Not at all. Chantal, Christiane and Judith wanted to lift the veil so that all women would feel concerned and take this threat seriously.