The six-episode NFB-produced documentary series Ramaillages (Gatherings) by Moïse Marcoux-Chabot will be launched online in its entirety on NFB.ca on March 7, free for viewers across the country (nfb.ca/gatherings). Shot in the magnificent Gaspésie region, the series provides fresh insights into regional development. This sensitive and insightful exploration of environmental issues is relevant to people living in rural areas everywhere in Canada. In an NFB first, Ramaillages will be launched online simultaneously with its world premiere at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC) in Montreal (episodes 1, 4 and 5), with the director and some series participants in attendance at the screening. This is also the first 100% NFB-produced documentary series from the French Documentary Studio.
Ramaillages began a preview-launch tour of the Gaspésie on February 14, with screenings in each of the cities where it was shot. The series offers audiences a unique look at the beauty of the people, the language and the land over the course of several seasons. Moïse Marcoux-Chabot, who is personally involved in the initiatives explored in the doc, presents portraits of inspiring people who are active in their communities, and who collectively turn ideals that are part of a growing global movement for land preservation and development into a reality.
Quotes
"There's something happening in the Gaspé. A movement. I'm going to be part of it and I want to document it. I want to be attuned to what Gaspésiens have to say-long-time residents and newcomers alike-the same way Pierre Perrault was with the people of Île-aux-Coudres." - Moïse Marcoux-Chabot, in his pitch to producer Colette Loumède (NFB)
"I started dreaming of a life doing things that don't necessarily have a purpose but that are meaningful […] I don't want a cheap life. I want a good life." - Patrick Dubois (Carleton-sur-Mer), storyteller and series participant
About the documentary series
Ramaillages (Gatherings) by Moïse Marcoux-Chabot (6 × 30 min)
Produced by Colette Loumède at the NFB
Hewing to the direct cinema tradition, Marcoux-Chabot and his participatory camera encounter men and women living in a vast rural region, letting their dreams take root and knitting a tighter social fabric-one stitch at a time.
Episode 1 - TERRITORIES
Dreaming of another way to live
Episode 2 - SEEDS
A tight-knit community
Episode 3 - ROOTS
Going further together
Episode 4 - EMBERS
Choosing sides
Episode 5 - HARVESTS
Imagine. Engage. Achieve.
Episode 6 - COMMUNITIES
Changing things one stitch at a time
About the filmmaker
Born in Bellechasse, Quebec, Moïse Marcoux-Chabot set down roots in Haute-Gaspésie after exploring visual anthropology, independent journalism and documentary film in Quebec City, Montreal and assorted far-flung locales. A self-taught creator, he represented Gaspé in the 2013 Course des Régions emerging filmmakers competition, made waves with the short Lespouère, and now, with the project Ramaillages (Gatherings), is again chronicling experiences of community resilience and resistance in the region.
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