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presentation:
Before undertaking our second year of university
dedicated to 16mm film, Stéphan Fortin and I wanted to start by
confronting the difficulties of shooting in Super 8. From the first days
of September, we had gathered friends together to shoot this short
film. I woke up one morning with the whole script in my head: a
spaghetti western with no guns. I called my two childhood friends who
had studied theatre and offered them the text. They accepted. The
Programme d’Aide aux Jeunes Créateurs didn’t yet exist, so I
wrote, naively, to a handful of company directors to ask them for a
little money to pay for the equipment and film. Only Pierre
Péladeau replied (probably because he had been a friend of my
father’s in their youth). I never knew whether or not he’d read the
script, but he sent us a cheque for $150, which was used for the wrap
party.
My only disappointment about this shoot was not
having been able to integrate the close-ups of the girls’ eyes. We
wanted to film them like those of Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson:
that is, menacing.
We’d forgotten that these kinds of westerns were shot in 1.85, or Cinemascope.
The square format of Super 8 gave us an effect that
was
far less interesting...
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I would like to pay tribute here to Diane
Jutras, the camerawoman. One day, after five hours spent under the blimp
with her eye stuck to the camera, shooting wonderful and very steady
360 degree pans, she asked, very kindly, if we could take “a little
break and have a little something to eat.” Her wan face as it emerged
from under the cover was so eloquent that it served as a lesson to me
for the rest of my life: never to trust in my own adrenaline level, and
to think of the crew.
Thanks to Barbara Jane and Studio D at the NFB,
we finished the film in 16mm and thus obtained proper distribution.
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awards and press:
Grand Prize, Film category,
Quebec competition and
Best Actor Award Union des Artistes to Marie-Hélène Montpetit
Festival du Jeune Cinéma de
Montréal, March 1987
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«In
the Quebec section, another obvious choice: By Attrition, by
Jeanne Crépeau and Stéphan Fortin. The precision of
its dialogues, its technical quality, its pursuit of a truly cinematic
form, and very convincing performances by both actresses, all contrbute
in making this short film an excellent filmmaking debut.»
Michel Beauchamp in Le Matin
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credits
Jo (the blonde)
Isabelle Miquelon
Lou (the brunette)
Marie-Hélène Montpetit
screenplay and director
Jeanne Crépeau
director of photography
Stéphan Fortin
camera
Diane Jutras
camera assistant
Chantal Neveu
sound
Richard Lavoie
boom
Cyr-Marc Débien
location manager
Maurice Van Themsche
continuity
Sylvie Lamarre
costumes and sets
Giannina Gouin
make up
Cristina Gouin
shooting stills
Louise Oligny
production assistants
Daniel Bruneau, Josée Cardinal
André Goulet, Marc Langlois
Suzanne Lebrun, Robert Préfontaine
and Robert Tremblay
video images
Maurice Van Themsche
editing
Jeanne Crépeau and
Stéphane Fortin
sound design
Serge Lafortune
titles
Sylvain Fréchette
administration
Cristina Gouin
thanks to
Maryse and Jean-Pierre
Shawn and Serge
Edouardo and Nathalie
Alain and Daniel
Igor and Denis
Marie-Lise and Michel
Myriam and Philippe
Jean-Claude and Johanne
Diane and Jean.
thanks to Kim, Michel and Sylvaine and (not credited) Catherine and Carlos
This film could'nt have been done without the
personnal commitment of every cast and crew member
and the technical assistance of Studio D of the
National Film Board of Canada
production Hétérétrange et
oclite 1985
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