Labor

A Man Leaning

A major poet of the late 20th century, Thierry Metz (1956-1997) worked as a laborer or seasonal worker in the Lot-et-Garonne region. He transformed each stage of his life into poetic material. The film sheds light on the tragic intensity of his brief existence and the radical nature of his artistic commitment.

Dust Away

After working on major cleaning projects in New York, immigrants share their experiences. Their voices traverse dreamscapes, reflecting on the American dream, the reality of being undocumented individuals, the dangers of this labor, and the dust that still lingers in their lungs decades later.

Where The River Widens

Inspired by the friendship and the work of fishermen, Zack Greenleaf sings the mig'mag culture of his Gesgapegiag village, "where the river widens.”

Human, Not Human

Otto spends night and day blurring faces on Google Streetview for a cent each. It's the kind of work he and his friends around the world can find on the Amazon Mechanical Turk, the crowdworking platform. Alongside his turker friends, Otto sinks into a robotic world that raise the question of humanity. 

Entre elle et moi

Madeleine Dansereau was the first female jeweler in Quebec. She began her career at the age of 47, just as doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer. Her daughter, filmmaker Mireille Dansereau, reflects on their relationship over the last twenty years while maintaining her film career as a backdrop.

Portraits by Alain Cavalier - L'opticienne

Each portrait of this series consists of an interview between Alain Cavalier and a woman working in a rare or disappearing profession. At their place of work, they talk about their craft and the techniques they use, their training and their history, their tastes and their daily lives. These intimate documentary portraits reveal astonishing personalities and surprising work environments. Here, i...

Portraits by Alain Cavalier - La matelassière

Each portrait of this series consists of an interview between Alain Cavalier and a woman working in a rare or disappearing profession. At their place of work, they talk about their craft and the techniques they use, their training and their history, their tastes and their daily lives. These intimate documentary portraits reveal astonishing personalities and surprising work environments.

Il passo

Gabriele is thirteen and has a strong will to prove himself. He chooses to spend the summer in the mountains to look after cattle and returns home a new person. Dotted with feats of strength and unexpected moments of tenderness, _Il passo_ is an unusual coming-to-age story, set in a world bound to disappear.

A Steady Job

Each month, a multitude of nurses from the South of Italy cross the country to try their luck in an open competition in the great cities of the North. There are just few positions for the thousands of candidates. The majority of them try several times a year. To save money, they travel at night on a bus that drops them off at dawn at the exam site. Each of them has her own story, her own hopes ...

Dreaming Under Capitalism

Twelve people recount and then interpret their memories of a dream about work. These mistreated souls describe their subjective suffering at work in a poetic and political way. Bit by bit, the dreamers and their dreams portray a world dominated by neoliberal capitalism.

Chef.fe.s de brousse

This documentary follows three Quebec chefs who got off the beaten track to offer gastronomy that brings us together and reflects who we are. In the forest, fields, and along the St. Lawrence River, they pick startling ingredients and lay the territory’s fruits right on the plate. By doing so, these gourmet creators draw a mentality shift toward the flowering of a kind of culinary art in harmon...

Snack Bar Rhapsody

Along the countryside roads, little white cabins attract hungry people. Craving for their “poutine” and French fries, they keep coming back to their “cantine”, as snack bars are called in Quebec. Run by women working long hours every day, every summer, those places embody a strange summer ritual, a tradition standing against the fast food chains.