Discussion with Victor Norek (Le CinématoGrapheur)
Giants, fairies, magicians, ghosts, dragons, and monsters of all kinds… Here’s what your Cinémathèque has in store this summer! Since Méliès, filmmakers have embraced the fanstastic potential of cinema, creating infinite phantasmagorias and extraordinary spectacles where the unreal becomes real. Step into a world of fantasy and boundless imagination: whatever your generation, the monsters and wonders that once filled your childhood dreams are back this summer 2025!
From Godzilla to Miyazaki, Japan told through its fantasy cinema
Japan has always expressed its own anxieties, whether ecological, social or cultural, through its fantasy cinema. These range from the fears engendered by the use of the atomic bomb on its territory, as seen in Godzilla (Ishiro Honda, 1954), to those of over-industrialization, leading to deforestation and the abandonment of traditions and divinities, as evoked in Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997). In this entertaining talk, you'll discover - through the prism of cinema - the evolution of Japanese society from 1945 to the present day, and how each work, whether dealing with curses, ghosts or mutant mushrooms, fits perfectly into its era.
Victor Norek created the YouTube channel Le CinématoGrapheur to analyze and dissect blockbusters, with the aim of restoring popcorn cinema to its former glory. He is the author of the book Steven Spielberg: L'art du blockbuster and writes for Rockyrama magazine in France. He has been based in Montreal since 2021.
This discussion will take place in French.