Archipelago (2021 film) explained

Archipelago
Native Name:
Director:Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Producer:Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Nicolas Dufour-Laperrière
Narrator:Florence Blain Mbaye
Mattis Savard-Verhoeven
Music:Stéphane Lafleur
Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux
Editing:Félix Dufour-Laperrière
Studio:L'Embuscade Films
Distributor:La Distributrices de Films
Miyu Distribution
Runtime:72 minutes
Country:Canada
Language:French
Innu-aimun

Archipelago (French: Archipel) is a Canadian animated documentary film, directed by Félix Dufour-Laperrière and released in 2021.[1] A poetic essay film that blends diverse styles of animation, the film is a psychogeographic meditation on the islands in the St. Lawrence River,[2] forming a metaphor for Quebec's status as an "uncertain country" defined by the tensions between its status as a province of Canada and the Québécois people's conception of themselves as a distinct nation.[3]

The film is narrated principally by Florence Blain Mbaye and Mattis Savard-Verhoeven, with a shorter narration by Joséphine Bacon of one of her own poems in Innu-aimun.[1] The animation team included Malcolm Sutherland, Philip Lockerby, Jens Hahn, and Eva Cvijanović.[3]

The film premiered in February 2021 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam,[4] and had its Canadian premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in April.[5] It was released commercially on October 19.[6]

Awards

The film won a jury prize at the 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[7]

It received four Prix Iris nominations at the 24th Quebec Cinema Awards in 2022, for Best Documentary Film, Best Editing in a Documentary (Dufour-Laperrière), Best Sound in a Documentary (Olivier Calvert) and Best Original Music in a Documentary (Stéphane Lafleur, Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux).[8]

It was named the winner of the Prix Luc-Perreault from the Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma at the 2022 Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Wendy Ide, "‘Archipelago’: Rotterdam Review". Screen Daily, February 5, 2021.
  2. Martin Gignac, "Poésie animée". La Presse, October 29, 2021.
  3. Chris Robinson, "Enter The Impossible Province: Félix Dufour-Laperrière On His Québec-Set Feature ‘Archipelago’". Cartoon Brew, February 3, 2021.
  4. Mercedes Milligan, "Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s ‘Archipelago’ to Premiere at Rotterdam". Animation Magazine, January 12, 2021.
  5. Patrick Mullen, "Mystic River: Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Archipelago". Point of View, May 4, 2021.
  6. François Lévesque, "Félix Dufour-Laperrière et la femme aux grandes eaux". Le Devoir, October 22, 2021.
  7. Brandon Choe, "‘Flee’, ‘My Sunny Maad’, ‘The Crossing’ Win Top Distinctions At 2021 Annency (sic) Animation Festival – Winners List". Deadline Hollywood, June 19, 2021.
  8. https://ctvm.info/devoilement-des-finalistes-aux-prix-iris-2022/ "Dévoilement des finalistes aux Prix Iris 2022"
  9. https://ctvm.info/rvqc-les-laureats-et-laureates-prix-rvqc-2022/ "RENDEZ-VOUS QUÉBEC CINÉMA : Les lauréats et lauréates des PRIX RVQC 2022"