Rebel with a Camera
Encyclopedia
Rebel with a Camera is a 2006 documentary by Quebec film director Denys Desjardins
produced
by the National Film Board of Canada
(NFB). The title is a reference to the film Rebel Without a Cause
come from? Who were its predecessors and what did they create? Compelled by the urge to get closer to the people in front of the camera, cinema vérité sprouted in a context of unprecedented creative freedom. Avant-garde techniques and the pioneering filmmakers behind them, notably National Film Board of Canada
icon Michel Brault
, set the stage for a new movie-making philosophy born in the ‘50s and ‘60s, a philosophy whose influence lives on in virtually every facet of today’s media.
Denys Desjardins
recounts the story of a collective of rebel artists who revolutionized shooting and production methods within the backdrop of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution
. Interviews with forerunners Michel Brault
, Roger Blais
, Wolf Koenig
, Denys Arcand
, Marcel Carrière
, Roman Kroitor
, Terrence McCartney Filgate, Fernand Dansereau
, Claude Fournier
, Jean-Claude Labrecque
, Jacques Giraldeau, and others, revisit a pivotal turning point in the evolution of modern film.
Denys Desjardins
Denys Desjardins , is a film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and teacher for more than fifteen years. After completing studies in literature, film and communications, he directed several acclaimed films.-Career:...
produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
by the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(NFB). The title is a reference to the film Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
Synopsis
Where does cinéma véritéCinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
come from? Who were its predecessors and what did they create? Compelled by the urge to get closer to the people in front of the camera, cinema vérité sprouted in a context of unprecedented creative freedom. Avant-garde techniques and the pioneering filmmakers behind them, notably National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
icon 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...
, set the stage for a new movie-making philosophy born in the ‘50s and ‘60s, a philosophy whose influence lives on in virtually every facet of today’s media.
Denys Desjardins
Denys Desjardins
Denys Desjardins , is a film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and teacher for more than fifteen years. After completing studies in literature, film and communications, he directed several acclaimed films.-Career:...
recounts the story of a collective of rebel artists who revolutionized shooting and production methods within the backdrop of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions...
. Interviews with forerunners 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...
, Roger Blais
Roger Blais
Roger A. Blais, was a Canadian geological engineer and academic. He helped develop a number of prospecting and exploration technologies....
, Wolf Koenig
Wolf Koenig
Wolf Koenig is a Canadian film director, producer, animator, cinematographer, and a pioneer in Direct Cinema at the NFB.-Early life:...
, Denys Arcand
Denys Arcand
Georges-Henri Denys Arcand, is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004 for The Barbarian Invasions...
, Marcel Carrière
Marcel Carrière
Marcel Carrière is a Canadian film director and sound engineer.-Biography:Marcel Carrière joined the NFB in 1955 after studying electronic engineering and developed his skills as a sound engineer while working on wildlife films, the Candid Eye series and the work of the newly formed French Unit...
, Roman Kroitor
Roman Kroitor
Roman Kroitor is a Canadian filmmaker who is known as an early practitioner of Cinéma vérité, as co-founder of IMAX, and as creator of the Sandde hand-drawn stereoscopic animation system...
, Terrence McCartney Filgate, Fernand Dansereau
Fernand Dansereau
Fernand Dansereau is a Canadian film director and film producer.-Biography:After five years working as a reporter for the Montreal daily Le Devoir, Dansereau joined the NFB in 1955. He was a founding member of the NFB's French Unit and until 1960, he wrote and directed several feature films and...
, Claude Fournier
Claude Fournier
Claude Fournier L'Héritier was a French personality of the Revolution, nicknamed l'Americain .-Early activities:...
, Jean-Claude Labrecque
Jean-Claude Labrecque
Jean-Claude Labrecque, is a director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the Quebec Film Office and the National Film Board of Canada.-Career:...
, Jacques Giraldeau, and others, revisit a pivotal turning point in the evolution of modern film.
Award
- Awarded by the Quebec Film Critics Association for Best medium length Documentary of 2005.