The Memories of Angels

Summary

The Memories of Angels (French: La Mémoire des anges) is a 2008 collage film by Luc Bourdon.[1]

The Memories of Angels
FrenchLa Mémoire des anges
Directed byLuc Bourdon
Produced byChristian Medawar
Edited byMichel Giroux
Production
company
Release date
  • 2008 (2008)
Running time
80 minuntes
CountryCanada

Summary edit

Created entirely from stock footage from over 120 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) films, as an homage to the city of Montreal in the 1950s and 1960s. Bourdon incorporates material from films by such well-known directors as Michel Brault, Claude Jutra, Gilles Groulx, Denys Arcand and Arthur Lipsett.[2][3]

Production edit

Created by the NFB to help mark its 70th anniversary, the idea for the film had originated 15 years earlier, during a conversation between Bourdon and NFB producer Colette Loumède about making a documentary film entirely from other movies.[4] Pouring over the vintage footage, Bourdon chose his hometown of Montreal — also the headquarters of the NFB — to be the central character of the film, since no other actor would appear throughout the film.[2][3]

Accolades edit

The film received the award for best Quebec film at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema.[5] It was also chosen by the Toronto International Film Festival for that year's Canada's Top Ten.[6]

Sequel edit

A sequel film, The Devil's Share (La Part du diable), was released in 2018, using the same format to present a portrait of Montreal in the 1970s.[7]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Alan Jones, "Director Luc Bourdon, the devil Quebec knows". The Globe and Mail, February 15, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Hays, Matthew (October 8, 2008). "Montreal, mon amour". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  3. ^ a b Hays, Matthew. "Montreal, open city". Montreal Mirror. Communications Gratte-Ciel Ltée. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  4. ^ Cisneros, James. "The NFB's Turn to Heritage: Revisiting Montreal in Luc Bourdon's La mémoire des anges". TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies. York University: 29–46.
  5. ^ "CBC archive, Quebec's Luc Bourdon nominated for international award". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. March 27, 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Canada's Top Ten". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  7. ^ "«La part du diable» — Une époque diablement riche". Le Devoir, February 16, 2018.

External links edit

  • Watch The Memories of Angels at NFB.ca
  • The Memories of Angels: A Cinematic Essay, an interview with Luc Bourdon
  • Regional Educational Television Network