Summer Crisis
Filmmaker Alain Chartrand and his editor Yves Chaput recently passed away. To pay tribute to them, we present two films that reflect their collaboration and camaraderie.
In the summer of 1969, Bernard Lortie, 19, a Gaspé fisherman’s son, arrives in Percé to find work. He meets Paul, Jacques and Francis, Quebec separatist activists who have come to open the "Fisherman’s House". They aim to offer lodgings to young travellers and politicize them during their stay. A motley crowd of Quebecers from all over the province soon flock to Percé: artists, hippies, rockers, hitchhikers and their ilk, shaking up the municipal council and many merchants. André Duguay, who operates a local camping site, is especially upset. The group's request for a food license is rejected but they decide to defy the authorities. Won over by the trio's ideas, Bernard gets increasingly involved in their project, even participating in the occupation of a local radio station to defend Gaspé fishermen. Relations between the activists and local authorities degenerate and the "Fisherman's House" is attacked by the town's fire truck. Bernard and his new friends return to Montreal where, the following year, they join the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) and play a pivotal role in the October Crisis.
Alain Chartrand
Born in 1946 in Longueuil, son of union activist Michel Chartrand and writer Simonne Monet-Chartrand, Alain Chartrand took his first steps in cinema by taking on various small jobs before becoming an assistant director. He simultaneously directed his own short films in 8 mm before making his first feature film, Isis au 8, in 1972. He has been involved in several organizations and has actively advocated for the unionization of his profession over the decades. As a filmmaker, he found success with Ding et Dong, le film in 1990. It was followed by films such as Le jardin d'Anna, Un homme de parole (about his father), Une vie comme rivière (about his mother), and his last film, La maison du pêcheur, in 2013. He also made a mark on television by directing several series, including Chartrand et Simonne and Simonne et Chartrand, dedicated to his parents.
Photo : Simon Bujold, Jacques Gratton | Collections de la Cinémathèque québécoise
