March 11, 2015 – Saguenay, National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and La bande Sonimage will join the Soirée régionale of the Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay festival, on Wednesday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m., to present the five filmmakers of the second annual 5 Shorts Project. The selected directors, four of whom work in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, are Serge Bordeleau, the team of Philippe David Gagné and Jean-Marc E. Roy, Noémie Payant-Hébert, and Bogdan Stefan.
The 5 Shorts Project is an NFB initiative that explores the short documentary genre by working with artist-run centres or production centres in the various regions of Quebec, this year in partnership with La bande Sonimage, a Saguenay-based organization that supports cinema and video production in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.
The five filmmakers must create a 4-to-5-minute documentary and will have a technical challenge to meet. Although not a collective undertaking, their work will benefit from the synergy of the group and an overall process of reflection. The producers are Denis McCready and Colette Loumède for the NFB and Claudia Chabot for La bande Sonimage.
The NFB’s collaboration with regional artist-run centres will continue in future editions of the 5 Shorts Project, as the centres have extensive production expertise and bring artists from several disciplines together under one roof, precisely the collaborative spirit that the NFB is seeking for the project. It was launched in 2014 with inaugural partner Spira, an indie co-op located in Quebec City.
The five films that came out of the partnership with Spira are currently touring the festival circuit, and three of them will have their world premiere at Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay, taking place March 11 to 15, 2015: At the Beach/À la plage by Quebec City filmmaker Jeremy Peter Allen, Hell Runs on Gasoline!/L’enfer marche au gaz! (to be screened at the Soirée régionale) by Saint-Félicien-born filmmaker Martin Bureau, and Interview with a Free Man/Entrevue avec un homme libre by Saguenay filmmaker Nicolas Lévesque. The producers are Nathalie Cloutier and Colette Loumède for the NFB and Catherine Benoit for Spira.
Quick Facts
• About the five filmmakers
Serge Bordeleau
A trained biologist who turned filmmaker after studying at the UQAM school of media, Serge Bordeleau worked with the Aboriginal people of Abitibi-Témiscamingue before directing his first documentary, Kitakinan – Notre territoire à tout le monde, which won several awards. A filmmaker mentor for Wapikoni Mobile, he also founded the Festival de cinéma des gens d’ici in Val-d’Or and the organization 08 cinéma indépendant.
Philippe David Gagné
Philippe David Gagné holds an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree in cinema. His first film, the documentary Sur la glace, won a number of awards, including the people’s choice and jury prizes at the 15th annual Vidéastes Recherché•es competition. Several of his films have toured internationally, accumulating numerous awards and distinctions. The recipient of numerous SODEC and CALQ grants, Gagné has directed projects for Télé-Québec and TV5 across Canada since 2008. His web series Pick-up: À la rencontre d’un bout du monde, co-directed with Jean-Marc E. Roy, won a 2012 Gémeaux award. His most recent short, Bleu tonnerre, also co-directed with Roy, will be launched in March 2015. He is currently writing his first feature film, Boutefeu, selected for the Atelier Grand Nord 2015.
Jean-Marc E. Roy
Jean-Marc E. Roy’s work swings between documentary and fiction. Since 1999, many of his films have been screened and recognized both locally and abroad. His web series Pick-up: À la rencontre d’un bout du monde, co-directed with Philippe David Gagné, won a 2012 Gémeaux award, and the series Cowboy: Un rêve canadien, also co-directed with Gagné, was nominated for a 2014 Gémeaux. His recent projects include Bleu tonnerre (with Gagné), Puisqu’il le faut, and Nevermind, films which he accompanied on the international festival circuit last year. A huge fan of French-Canadian folk culture, Roy is currently working on his first feature documentary. Raised in Brossard, he moved to Chicoutimi in 2001.
Noémie Payant-Hébert
Noémie Payant-Hébert holds a Master of Arts degree in video, art installation, and set design, and a bachelor’s degree in cinema and video from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Through her work, she seeks to reconcile the cinematic and plastic arts, in a form she calls “grey cinema.” She is also one of four active members and founders of the art collective Cédule 40. She has worked on various film and television productions as a set and prop designer.
Bogdan Stefan
After studying cinema in France and embarking on several creative and audiovisual production projects in Romania, Bogdan Stefan moved to the city of Saguenay in Quebec. The recipient of several screenwriting and film production grants, both in Romania and Canada, Stefan strives to convey his passion for cinema and for cultural and family heritage.
Quotes
“Historically and even more so today, artist-run centres like La bande Sonimage play an invaluable role in their regions. By proposing projects to artist-run centres, the NFB is teaming up with the film community’s driving forces and is directly stimulating creation in that field.”
– Colette Loumède, Acting Director General of the NFB’s French Program
“This project is perfectly in keeping with the artistic vision and projects of La bande Sonimage, a centre dedicated to supporting film production and development in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. The 5 Shorts Project aims to develop the documentary short genre through an emphasis on experimentation and original local perspectives. La bande Sonimage is thus very proud to partner with the NFB on this exciting project.”
– Claudia Chabot, Executive Director of La bande Sonimage
“My interest in documentary has been fuelled by the short format. For this second edition of the 5 Shorts Project, I am thrilled to get a chance to explore this genre with such extremely talented directors.”
– Denis McCready, NFB producer
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Information
Lily Robert, Director, Corporate Communications and Corporate Affairs, NFB
Tel.: 514-283-3838 / Cell: 514-296-8261 / l.robert@nfb.ca
About La bande Sonimage
La bande Sonimage (bandesonimage.org) is a cinema and video production support centre in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region founded in 2009. In fewer than five years, it has undertaken large-scale projects such as a program to award three creation assistance grants annually for filmmakers, implementation of a rental bank for professional film equipment, development of training courses, initiation of several productions in the region by way of film commissions, special projects, and script-development residencies. In 2014, La bande Sonimage received the André-Guérin award in the “Initiative” category from the Régie du cinéma and the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste in honour of its excellent work and resourcefulness. With its reputation now firmly established, the organization has gained a prominent place in the artistic community of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
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, 8 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.
