My Radio

This feature documentary tells the story of the Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur Congregation which was formed in 1924 when 53 French-speaking nuns separated from their unilingual English community, forming a new religious community that immediately began to campaign for the preservation of Acadian language, faith and culture. Convinced that education was essential for Acadian women, in 1943 the Congregation founded Collège Notre-Dame d’Acadie, where young women were able to study in French for the first time in New Brunswick.

This short documentary links family memories to the evolution of Acadian French. Bittersweet Blues reveals the dilemma that Acadians face: do they adopt normative French in order to be better understood, or proudly continue to use their own language, which reflects the colourful flavour of their own authentic culture?

This film was made as part of the Tremplin program, in collaboration with Radio-Canada.

This feature documentary pays homage to the special character of an enduring people: the Acadians. Two hundred years after Expulsion of the Acadians by the British (1755–1764), Acadian culture is still very much alive. But why do Acadians—whose ancestors founded the first colony in North America—have to keep making a racket to tell the world they're still here?

In this documentary short, summer trippers line up for the famous local fried clams and whole families dig for the white mollusc in the tangy air of the sandbars. But as the clams dwindle, so do these tableaux from Maritime culture. For commercial fishermen it's the end of a livelihood; for others, it's the death of a tradition. Can this really be the end of a resource that used to be as plentiful as the air we breathe? In French with English subtitles.

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

This feature fiction film describes Acadia from a new and humorous angle. In a small village in the Acadian region of Nova Scotia, a couple living out of wedlock and a broad-minded priest scandalize the village gossips. They suspect that a treacherous act is about to be committed. Suspense builds, stoked by the clacking tongues of a trio of suspicious housewives.

In Acadie, the only “real” tea is King Cole, blended in New Brunswick for the past 100 years. Traditionally drunk with a spot of Carnation condensed milk, it recalls simpler days when people would take the time to stop and smell… the tea.

Infusion is a playful look at this tradition, its many symbols, and the memories it stirs. Some say a cup of tea promotes frank discussion and helps clear up misunderstandings; others swear they can read the future in the leaves left at the bottom. Perhaps there really is something magical about tea…

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

This short documentary is a portrait of Sylvie Mazerolle, a young woman for whom dance is as vital and fundamental as breathing. Tracking her process, the film also takes a look at dance in her home province of New Brunswick. In French with English subtitles.

This documentary was made as part of the Tremplin program, with the collaboration of Radio-Canada.

WARNING: This film discusses the topic of childhood sexual assault. Viewer discretion is advised.

Why be silent about the most serious matters? Doesn’t silence perpetuate suffering? From the 1950s to the 1980s, Catholic priests sexually abused many young boys in the francophone towns of New Brunswick. These scandals only came to light when the victims were in their fifties, provoking shock and outrage in the media and the public. Why did the affected communities keep silent so long, preferring secrecy to justice and truth? Profiting from their positions of influence to impose a “pious silence” on their parishioners, authority figures built an abusive system that tells us as much about the type of oppression specific to the Acadian population as it does about the blanket denials issued by the Catholic Church. Called to confront the power of this collective silence, veteran filmmaker Renée Blanchar meets with survivors in an attempt to untangle the deeply rooted reasons for this secrecy. With The Silence, she takes us as close as she can to the humanity of these broken men, revealing the forces that, today as in the past, have the power to unite or divide Acadian communities.

Traditional Acadian lobster trapping meets global-village pop culture in this amusing parody of the popular MTV reality show "Pimp my Ride." Join host Bubs and his gang on Bell-Côte wharf as they set out to renovate and modify old fisherman Albény's trusty boat.

Part documentary, part drama, this film presents the life and work of Jack Kerouac, an American writer with Québec roots who became one of the most important spokesmen for his generation. Intercut with archival footage, photographs and interviews, this film takes apart the heroic myth and even returns to the childhood of the author whose life and work contributed greatly to the cultural, sexual and social revolution of the 1960s.

This short documentary looks at how an entire community mobilized to improve the cafeteria menu at a primary school in Cocagne, New Brunswick. Rallying behind this noble cause, residents put their shoulder to the wheel, promoting products from local farmers over those of multinational corporations. Everyone gets involved to make healthy eating a common goal as well as a learning opportunity.

This film was made as part of the Tremplin program, in collaboration with Radio-Canada.