The final instalment of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque spans the decade between 1976 and 1986. The film reveals the turbulent, behind-the-scenes drama during the Quebec referendum and the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. In doing so, it...
In October 1970, members of the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped and murdered Minister Pierre Laporte, part of an unprecedented crisis in Quebec. Fifty years later, Félix Rose tries to understand what could have led his father and uncle to commit such crimes. Thanks to his uncle...
Part 2 of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque covers the years between 1967 and 1977, a colourful decade that saw Trudeau win three federal elections, the 1970 October Crisis and the sweeping rise to power of the Parti Québécois.
Quebec, on the cusp of the 1960s. The province is on the brink of momentous change. Deftly selecting clips from nearly 200 films from the National Film Board of Canada archives, director Luc Bourdon reinterprets the historical record, offering us a new and distinctive perspective on the Quiet...
Made shortly after the referendum on Quebec's independence was held, this documentary illustrates what the politicians' promises were and how the population did not really care nor truly understand what was really at stake, even though just about everyone had an opinion on the subject.
In Part 1 of this 3-part documentary series, director Donald Brittain chronicles the early years of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque. From their university days in the 1950s to 1967 when Lévesque left the Liberal Party and Trudeau became the federal Minister of Justice, Brittain attempts...
A young man, Jean Liber (Paul Guèvremont), who, at the end of his cours classique, decides to leave his rich, happy family and his finance, Pauline (Denise Pelletier), in order to become a missionary in China. This story of his struggle, 'at the crossroads' between love and God's calling, is...
A look at November 15, 1976, the date the Parti Québécois seized power in the provincial elections, a victory that gave rise to an unprecedented outburst of joy at the Center Paul-Sauvé, a place where PQ sympathizers gathered.
Through concerts and interviews, folk-progressive group Harmonium takes Quebec culture to California. This documentary full of colour and sound, filmed in California in 1978, recounts the ups and downs of the journey of the Quebec musical group Harmonium, who came to feel the pulse of Americans...
With his charisma, his energy, his integrity - but also his faults - René Lévesque left an indelible mark in the collective imagination of Quebecers: that of a hero of a people. But how can we measure his legacy, 35 years after his death and 100 years after his birth? From Montreal to New...
Every year in Quebec, 25,000 reports of children being beaten, sexually abused or abandoned are retained by the Directorate of Youth Protection. And nearly 40% of babies who die in the province to die because of the violence of their parents. This explains the fact that nearly 30,000 children are...
This film covers the transitional political period between the election of the Parti Québécois on November 15, 1976, and the Canadian federal election that brought Joe Clark to power. Featuring some of our most colourful politicians, historians, journalists, artists and citizens, this film...
October, 1995. The most important political event in recent Canadian history, the Quebec vote on sovereignty, is about to unfold. During the tense days leading up to the referendum for independence, 23 filmmakers from the NFB's English and French documentary studios take their cameras into the...
This film establishes a parallel between the 1970 electoral campaign in Québec and the 1936 campaign dominated by Maurice Duplessis. It shows the hope but also the uncertainty that existed in 1970. Had the Quiet Revolution really changed things in Québec? Was it possible that a new leader would...
Carl Leblanc records the memories of politician Lucien Bouchard. As a unique witness to Quebec's contemporary history, Bouchard recounts the key events of his career, from his early years up to his time as Prime Minister.
A long and thoughtful look at those desperate days of October 1970, when Montréal awaited the outcome of FLQ terrorist acts. This film puts the October Crisis in the long perspective of history. Compiled from news and other films, it shows independence movements past and present, and their...
With his charisma, his energy, his integrity - but also his faults - René Lévesque left an indelible mark in the collective imagination of Quebecers: that of a hero of a people. But how can we measure his legacy, 35 years after his death and 100 years after his birth? From Montreal to New...
