NFB launches Repêchage initiative in collaboration with UQAM. Talented trio from UQAM's Cinema program selected by NFB French Program's Documentary Studio to create a professional film
News Release
November 5, 2015 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB), in collaboration with Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), is launching an initiative called Repêchage that will allow three graduates of the university’s School of Media (École des médias) to produce their first professional film at the NFB. Director Loïc Darses, director of photography Charlotte Lacoursière, and editor Philippe Lefebvre have been chosen to create a documentary with support from Colette Loumède, Executive Producer at the NFB French Program’s Documentary Studio, whose producer credits include Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd (dir. Patricio Henríquez), Where I’m From (dir. Claude Demers), and The Invisible Nation (dir. Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie).
“This is an invitation to excel, and a gesture of support for the future of local emerging filmmakers and professionals,” said Loumède. “To that end, a collaboration with UQAM was a given. The training provided at this major French-speaking university institution is in keeping with the spirit of this new initiative, which aims to put together a ‘dream team’ from three specialized areas—directing, cinematography and editing—to create an original work. These three young filmmakers, one from each of those areas, are now on the way to producing an exceptional work at the NFB,” she concludes.
“Here at the UQAM School of Media, we were immediately excited about the NFB’s project,” said Professor Diane Poitras, who heads the school’s Cinema program. “In choosing UQAM, the NFB acknowledged the excellence of our Cinema curriculum, a unique program that enables future filmmakers to develop expertise in directing, cinematography and editing. It is an honour for our university to join forces with the NFB in nurturing the talent and creativity of emerging practitioners in cinema and, more particularly, documentary filmmaking.”
The three young creators were chosen following a rigorous selection process that began with a shortlist of nine final-year students suggested by professors Paul Tana and Diane Poitras of the UQAM School of Media Cinema program. Each candidate then met one-on-one with producer Colette Loumède to talk about their experience and motivation.
To celebrate the launch of this promising initiative, a casual get-together will be held at 5 p.m. on November 20, 2015, at the headquarters of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM, the Montreal International Documentary Festival), at 3450 Saint-Urbain St. in Montreal. Documentary filmmakers and other NFB artisans, along with several UQAM graduates and teaching staff, will celebrate along with the Repêchage trio.
Loïc Darses’ final-year film at UQAM, elle pis son char, will have its world premiere at the upcoming 2015 RIDM Festival, where it has been selected in the International Short Film Competition.
Quick Facts
- About the three Repêchage recruits
Loïc Darses, director
Loïc Darses directed the documentary elle pis son char as his final-year film for UQAM’s Communications (Cinema) program, from which he’ll be graduating at the end of 2015. The film has been selected to screen in the International Short Film Competition at the 2015 RIDM festival. He has also been an instructor for the Festival du nouveau cinéma’s Les P’tits Loups film camp and a critic for Ciné-Bulles magazine.
Charlotte Lacoursière, director of photography
A recent graduate of the UQAM Cinema program (2015), Charlotte Lacoursière made her mark as a director of photography for short films produced at UQAM that have won acclaim on the national and international festival circuit, among them Emmanuelle Lacombe’s Gas and Wine Taste the Same and French et fèves au lard, and Charles Boisseau’s Casse-tête.
Philippe Lefebvre, editor
During his studies in the UQAM Cinema program from 2012 to 2015, Philippe Lefebvre contributed to several films as an editor, including shorts that he directed himself (Slush N’ Guns and Tirez sur le messager) and others by Emmanuelle Lacombe (Gas and Wine Taste the Same, French et fèves au lard), along with Marguerita, a documentary by Paul Tana, who teaches cinema at the university, and vignettes for the documentary series Sortons danser! He also has a Certificate in Screenwriting from UQAM.
–30–
Associated Links
Université du Québec à Montréal
UQAM School of Media
Charlotte Lacoursière
NFB French Program
Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal
Stay Connected
Online Screening Room: NFB.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/nfb.ca
Twitter: twitter.com/thenfb
Media Relations
For the UQAM
Maude N. Béland
Media Relations Consultant
Tel.: 514 987-3000, ext. 1707
E-mail : beland.maude_n@uqam.ca
For the NFB
Marie-Claude Lamoureux
Publicist, NFB
Tel. : 514-283-9607
Cell. : 514-297-7192
Twitter : @MC_ONF
E-mail :m.c.lamoureux@onf.ca
Lily Robert
Director, Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs
Tel.: 514-283-3838
Cell: 514-296-8261
E-mail: l.robert@nfb.ca
About the NFB
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) creates groundbreaking interactive works, social-issue documentaries and auteur animation. The NFB has produced over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 14 Canadian Screen Awards, 11 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
About Université du Québec à Montréal
UQAM is the country’s largest communications teaching hub. Each year, its students and graduates prove themselves nationally and internationally in such fields as cinema, journalism, TV production and interactive media. Its excellent reputation is due among other things to the quality of its programs and of the teaching staff at its School of Media, the reputation of alumni such as Jean-Claude Lauzon, Anne Émond and Denis Villeneuve, and its close collaboration with the professional community. The René Malo Chair in Cinema and Cultural Production Strategies at UQAM supports training of young cinema artisans and producers, contributes to the advancement of knowledge, stimulates creativity and innovation, and plays an active role in Quebec’s leadership in arts and culture. www.uqam.ca
Search for related information by keyword
National Film Board Society and Culture Arts, Music, Literature