Recently, Friday night to be exact, I went to a screening of 'Hydro-Lévesque' by filmmaker/artist Matthew Rankin
Here's the synopsis:
On the night of René Lévesque's sovereigntist victory in 1976, a deaf-mute Catholic nun is drawn away from the jubilation by a paranormal cry for help from Winnipeg. Leaving her happy nation behind, the compassionate sister ventures forth to discover a crazed and inconsolable Winnipeg, festering on the brink of mass suicide. Weaving the intricate symbolism of Québec cinema into the degraded abstractions of Winnipeg, Hydro-Lévesque is a loving and emotional Québec nationalist film about Winnipeg's self-destructive urge.
It won the* Special Jury Prize, WNDX 2008 *
The sixteen short minutes of this black and white film made me laugh, think and feel more than any show I've witnessed by Canadian film and television makers (with many times the money and resources) recently. Levesque and Trudeau's ghosts appearing in swirling masses of smoke to the protagonist are fevered. If you come across this wonderful piece of work in your town, seek it out.
Matthew Rankin is part of a group called Atelier - National du Manitoba. You can read more here.
It was a wonderful, inspiring introduction to Winnipeg's film making community, and look forward to more.
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