Montreal – After garnering raves following its world premiere at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC) at the end of February, the feature-length documentary Malartic, directed by Nicolas Paquet, will be released in theatres on April 19 in several Quebec cities: Montreal, Quebec City, Rouyn-Noranda (Abitibi) and Rimouski (Bas-Saint-Laurent). The director will be in attendance at a number of screenings. Made 10 years after Paquet’s documentary La règle d’or (The Golden Rule), Malartic examines the fallout from the largest open-pit gold mine in Canada. Revealing the broken promises of that megaproject, this topical film investigates the corridors of power and questions whether land management is democratic.
The film will also be featured at festivals in Gaspé and Sherbrooke in early April, and there will be community screenings in Quebec.
About the film
Malartic by Nicolas Paquet (88 min)
A franC doc films (bis)/NFB co-production
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/malartic_en
Music: Richard Desjardins
Nicolas Paquet returns to the site of a huge open-pit gold mine in Malartic, 10 years after chronicling the beginnings of the project in 2011’s La règle d’or (The Golden Rule). Clearly, the economic miracle promised to the townspeople was nothing but a mirage. The director explores the glaring contrast between the town’s decline and the wealth of the mining company, along with the mechanisms of an opaque decision-making system in which ordinary people have little say. Part anthropological study, part investigation into the corridors of power, Malartic addresses the fundamental issue of sustainable, legal and fair land management. How can we do things differently and in a better way?
Through eloquent, diversified testimonials, the film lays bare a web of decision-making power that extends beyond the town, assessing the project’s direct impacts on both the land and the people of Malartic. Interviewees include:
- Anne-Julie Asselin, lawyer;
- Anne-Marie Voisard, author, Le droit du plus fort;
- Annabelle Blais, journalist at the Journal de Montréal;
- Robert Wares from the Osisko mining company, which launched the project;
- Geneviève Gariépy, social worker in Malartic;
- Geneviève Brisson, environmental lawyer and anthropologist (Rimouski);
- citizens of Malartic.
About the filmmaker
An independent creator active in the filmmaking community of Quebec’s Bas-Saint-Laurent region for over 20 years, Nicolas Paquet has directed films such as the feature Living Like the Land (Ceux comme la terre) and the short Sugar Shack Tales (Les sucriers), which screened at numerous festivals in Canada and abroad. In 2017, he made Snack Bar Rhapsody (Esprit de cantine), selected for the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), and in 2020 completed Chef.fe.s de brousse, which explores the gastronomical and personal journeys of three chefs who’ve chosen to live and work in small-town Quebec. In his films and through his commitment to regional cinema, Paquet depicts rural realities and gives voice to people who resist the status quo in their day-to-day. Paquet co-founded the production company franC doc films (bis), which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. This is his third collaboration with the NFB as a director, following the short films Mounds (co-directed with Tom Jacques) and Road’s End Chronicle in 2020.
Theatrical release
- Starting Friday, April 19
- In Montreal
Cinémathèque québécoise
Original French version
With the filmmaker in attendance on April 19 (5 p.m. screening)Cinéma du Musée
Original French version with English subtitles
With the filmmaker in attendance on April 19 (7:30 p.m. screening) - In Quebec City
Le Clap Ste-Foy Cinema
Cartier Cinema
With the filmmaker in attendance on Saturday, April 20
- In Rouyn-Noranda
Paramount Cinema
- In Montreal
- Starting Friday, April 26
- In Rimouski
Lido Cinema
- In Rimouski
Festivals
- Festival du cinéma documentaire de Gaspé Vues sur mer – April 4 to 7
- Festival cinéma du monde de Sherbrooke – April 9 to 14
Community screenings in Quebec
- Cinédit in Rivière-du-Loup: Monday, April 22, with the filmmaker in attendance
- Paraloeil Cinema in Rimouski: Tuesday, April 23, with the filmmaker in attendance
- Gaieté Cinema in Matane: Wednesday, April 24, with the filmmaker in attendance
- Ciné-Club in Saint-Maxime de Mont-Louis: Thursday, April 25, with the filmmaker in attendance
Other dates will continue to be added in Quebec.
Watch or rewatch: La règle d’or (The Golden Rule), the first film in Nicolas Paquet’s diptych about Malartic, will be available on the Tënk streaming platform beginning April 19.