Nicolas Boisclair and Alexis de Gheldere collaborate with Quebecois film star Roy Dupuis for this documentary of passionate environmental advocacy. The film is a convincing critique of Hydro Quebec's Romaine River initiative--a plan to construct four dams along the 500- kilometre waterway. It's also a story of devolution from social democratic ideals to greed and environmental destructiveness. Narrated by Dupuis and framed by the filmmakers' 2008 canoe journey down the river, this movie details the history of Quebec's energy industry, the likely environmental costs of the new project and, most constructively, the plethora of alternatives to hydroelectricity. Solar energy, biomass, biogas, energy efficiency, wind and geothermal power--all are thoroughly examined in terms of cost, applicability, and efficiency, and the case for them is overwhelmingly persuasive. Here's a film that goes well beyond critique to a detailed vision of a better future for the land. The evidence is in the scrupulous research, but the power lies in the filmmakers' journey of dedication, and the beautiful images it produces.
SEEKING THE CURRENT
A film by Nicolas Boisclair and Alexis de Gheldere with Roy Dupuis
« If you pay an electricity bill, you have to see this film ! »
Location: Tillotson Center, 14 Carriage Lane, Colebrook, NH (park by the Post Office)
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2012
Time: 7:00 PM
Admission: By donation, (Please help us TRASH NORTHERN PASS by making a contribution.)
Length: 85:20 minutes
Movie Type: “Road movie” documentary (canoe expedition)
Languages : French, English, with English narration and English subtitles.
Based on an original idea of : Nicolas Boisclair
Writers and Directors : Nicolas Boisclair, Alexis de Gheldere
Director of photography and sound : Alexis de Gheldere
Producer : Denis McCready
Executive Producers: Sylvie Van Brabant and Francine Tougas
Narrator: Roy Dupuis
Editor: Étienne Gagnon
Music: Alexandre Stanké, Pascal Dufour, Yann Perreau
A “road movie” on a river.
A year before Hydro Quebec starts building an 8-billion dollar hydroelectric project, Nicolas Boisclair and Alexis de Gheldere collaborate with Quebecois film star Roy Dupuis for this documentary of passionate environmental advocacy. The film is a convincing critique of Hydro Quebec's Romaine River initiative--a plan to construct four dams along the 500- kilometer waterway.
Packed with an Innu stove, two solar panels and a 2,500-page environmental assessment impact study, they discover a river and the future impacts of Hydro Quebec’s hydroelectric project. Kilometers after kilometers, they open their eyes on a rich and spectacular ecosystem, virgin of any development. For now. During this 46 day expedition, they document a vast region of spectacular beauty and archive stunning images for future generations.
It's also a story of devolution from social democratic ideals to greed and environmental destructiveness. Narrated by Dupuis and framed by the filmmakers' 2008 canoe journey down the river, this movie details the history of Quebec's energy industry, the likely environmental costs of the new project and, most constructively, the plethora of alternatives to hydroelectricity. Solar energy, biomass, biogas, energy efficiency, wind and geothermal power--all are thoroughly examined in terms of cost, applicability, and efficiency, and the case for them is overwhelmingly persuasive.
Can green energies be a real alternative? What is Quebec’s green energy potential? Are these four dams really needed in a territory that already has one of the highest concentration of hydroelectric dams in the world. 48 years after the election that lead to the nationalization of electricity in Quebec, are Quebecers still “Maîtres chez nous”* (Masters in our own home)?
Here's a film that goes well beyond critique to a detailed vision of a better future for the land. The evidence is in the scrupulous research, but the power lies in the filmmakers' journey of dedication, and the beautiful images it produces.
* In 1962, the Premier of Quebec, Jean Lesage and Natural Resources Minister René Lévesque campaigned to get public support for the nationalization of electricity in Quebec. They won the election and launched the most important economic development in the history of the province.
