Montreal – How has working remotely reshaped the workplace—and our lives? This is the timely question posed by Vancouver filmmaker Julien Capraro in his documentary Work Different, available for streaming free of charge on nfb.ca as of Friday, March 1. This subject has been tackled many times but continues to spark important reflections, and the film shows that we still need to analyze this phenomenon. The transition to working from home may seem abrupt, yet the concept is far from new. The film takes a thorough look at a complex topic, reframing a host of social issues with humour and intelligence as it talks to various experts across Canada and beyond. In examining the new world of work from up close, Work Different helps drive the discussion on a highly topical matter and the social shifts it has generated.
The film will have its world premiere in Montreal at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC) on February 28, followed by its Vancouver premiere on February 29 in association with Visions Ouest Productions, at the 30th Rendez-vous French Film Festival. It will then screen across Canada throughout the month of March as part of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF).
About the film
Work Different by Julien Capraro (50 min 36 s)
Produced by Christine Aubé (Moncton) and Denis McCready (Toronto) for the NFB
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/work-different/
Looking closely at a work model whose roots go back to the 1960s, Work Different examines the origins, impacts, upsides and uncertainties of remote work. With humour (and a touch of retrofuturist nostalgia!), the documentary reframes a host of social issues—human relationships, environmental responsibility, productivity, social acceptability—by talking to experts (like Jack Nilles, considered the father of telework), managers, researchers and workers across Canada and beyond. From Montreal to Los Angeles and Vancouver, Berlin, Ottawa, Whitehorse and Carleton-sur-Mer, the multiple viewpoints expressed put such notions as freedom of choice, family values, governance and corporate culture right back into the heart of the conversation.
Screenings
• World premiere
At the RVQC in Montreal: Wednesday, February 28, 3:45 p.m., Cinémathèque Québécoise, Salle Fernand Seguin.
• Vancouver premiere
Rendez-vous French Film Festival, in collaboration with the NFB and Visions Ouest Productions: Thursday, February 29, at 7 p.m., SFU Woodward’s, 149 West Hastings St. (3rd floor), Vancouver. Special free screening with the director in attendance (original French and English version with English subtitles).
• During the RVF, March 1 to 31
In-person and virtual screenings across Canada. Details: Rendez-vous de la Francophonie 2024 – Events (nfb.ca)
About the filmmaker
A music reporter from Paris, Julien Capraro has been based in Vancouver since 2006. In 2017, he directed his first documentary, The Last Key, which screened at the RVQC. During the Escale Kinomada lab in Quebec City in 2017, he co-wrote and co-directed Maudit Scrabble, a short fiction film. Work Different is his second NFB-produced documentary.