MONTREAL, April 29, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - For the second consecutive year,
a film restored by Éléphant: The memory of Québec cinema will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics
section, which celebrates restored, digitized versions of masterpieces
of world cinema. This year, the honour falls to Les Ordres (1974) by Michel Brault. The Cannes Festival will be held from May 13
to 24, 2015.
"Quebecor is pleased to see that Éléphant's film restoration expertise is being recognized abroad, and
particularly at Cannes, one of the most prestigious film festivals in
the world," said Pierre Dion, President and CEO of Quebecor. "Being
selected for Cannes Classics is an exceptional opportunity to showcase
the quality and richness of Québec's cinematic heritage before the
largest possible audience, which is precisely the mission and purpose
of Éléphant. Hats off to the entire team!"
Michel Brault won the best director award at the 1975 Cannes Festival
for Les Ordres. This year, the Québec classic returns to the big screen at Cannes in a
fully restored and digitized version. Les Ordres has in fact been restored three times by Éléphant, first in 2009 under the watchful eye of Michel Brault himself, and
twice since to apply new techniques and preserve the digital file. All
the restoration and digitization work was done by Technicolor Creative
Services in Montréal under the direct supervision of Éléphant directors Marie-José Raymond and Claude Fournier.
Since last year, three films restored by Éléphant have been selected for screening at major international festivals: Léolo by Jean-Claude Lauzon was shown at Cannes Classics in 2014 and the
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, and Les Bons débarras by Francis Mankiewicz was presented at the Lumière Film Festival in
Lyon. In July 2015, Les Bons débarras will also be screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in
the Czech Republic. With the extraordinary exposure received by these
films, it is no exaggeration to say that Éléphant is bringing our classic movies back to life, to the delight of
movie-lovers everywhere.
Preserving Québec's cinematic heritage for future generations
The aim of Éléphant: The memory of Québec cinema, launched by Quebecor in 2008, is to digitally remaster all the
fictional feature films in Québec's cinematic heritage and make them
readily available. To date, more than 200 movies have been restored and
digitized, and more are being added to the catalogue regularly. The
films are available on Videotron's illico video on demand service,
illico mobile and illico.tv. Since November 18, 2013, movie buffs have
also been able to access part of the catalogue through iTunes Canada,
and since April 15, 2014 through iTunes Europe and iTunes Africa in
countries where French or English is an official language.
Except for a small amount to cover a portion of the platform's operating
costs, all distribution revenues go to the rights holders and the
filmmakers. Éléphant: The memory of Québec cinema is a philanthropic project from which Quebecor derives no financial
benefit.
Visit our website: http://elephant.canoe.ca/
Follow us on Twitter: @elephantcineqc
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/elephantcineqc
About Quebecor
Quebecor, a Canadian leader in telecommunications, entertainment, news
media and culture, is one of the best-performing integrated
communications companies in the industry. Driven by their determination
to deliver the best possible customer experience, all of Quebecor's
subsidiaries and brands are differentiated by their high-quality,
multiplatform, convergent products and services.
Quebecor (TSX: QBR.A, QBR.B) is headquartered in Québec. It holds a
75.36% interest in Quebecor Media, which employs close to 11,300 people
in Canada.
A family business founded in 1950, Quebecor is strongly committed to the
community. Every year, it actively supports people working with more
than 250 organizations in the vital fields of culture, health,
education, the environment and entrepreneurship.
To download the photograph of Michel Brault, click here.
To view five excerpts from the film, click here.
SOURCE Quebecor
