Les raquetteurs
Encyclopedia
Les raquetteurs is a 1958 Direct Cinema
documentary film co-directed by Michel Brault
and Gilles Groulx
. The film explores life in rural Quebec
, at a convention of snowshoe
rs in Sherbrooke, Quebec
in February of 1958. The film is notable for helping to establish the then-nascent French language
production unit at the National Film Board of Canada, and more importantly, the development of a uniquely Quebec style of direct cinema.
The film incorporates agile camera work and a largely synchronous soundtrack, uninterrupted by any narration, in keeping with the ethos of direct cinema to avoid any imposed "truth" on events onscreen.
, then head of production for the NFB, had been angry that what was to have been a three-minute vignette had quadrupled in length and ordered the film to be used for stock footage
. However, NFB producers Tom Daly and Guy Glover interceded on the young filmmakers' behalf.
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962 in North America, principally in the Canadian province of Quebec and the United States...
documentary film co-directed by Michel Brault
Michel Brault
Michel Brault, OQ is a Quebec cinematographer, cameraman, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He is a leading figure of Direct Cinema, characteristic of the French branch of the National Film Board of Canada in the 1960s...
and Gilles Groulx
Gilles Groulx
Gilles Groulx was a Canadian film director. He grew up in a working-class family with 14 children. After studying business in school, he went to work in an office but found the white-collar environment too stultifying...
. The film explores life in rural Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, at a convention of snowshoe
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
rs in Sherbrooke, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in February of 1958. The film is notable for helping to establish the then-nascent French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
production unit at the National Film Board of Canada, and more importantly, the development of a uniquely Quebec style of direct cinema.
The film incorporates agile camera work and a largely synchronous soundtrack, uninterrupted by any narration, in keeping with the ethos of direct cinema to avoid any imposed "truth" on events onscreen.
Production
Grant McLeanGrant McLean (film producer)
Grant McLean, CM was a Canadian film director and producer. For most of his professional career he worked with the National Film Board of Canada , serving as its acting Commissioner for a period during the 1960s....
, then head of production for the NFB, had been angry that what was to have been a three-minute vignette had quadrupled in length and ordered the film to be used for stock footage
Stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
. However, NFB producers Tom Daly and Guy Glover interceded on the young filmmakers' behalf.