Karine Godin of Moncton and Mélanie Léger of Shediac are the happy winners of the 2012 Tremplin competition, held each year by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) through its Acadia Studio. The winners were chosen from among eight finalists selected from a total of 20 submissions. Godin and Léger will begin shooting their films in the next few weeks.
Making way for new talent
Tremplin gives emerging francophone filmmakers the chance to make a first or second work under professional conditions. Shooting and post-production will take place over the ensuing year.
The winning proposals
Emma fait son cinema
Léger, whose first film, A Strange Hat, was made in 2009, is a second-time Tremplin participant. This year, her proposal Emma fait son cinéma introduces 13-year-old Emma, who together with her friends creates actual films using just an iPod, a computer and special-effects software. Léger’s film will take viewers into the world of this young artist on the threshold of adolescence. The shoot will take place from August 27 to 29 in the Shediac region.
Born in Shediac, Léger completed her undergraduate training in the Université de Moncton drama school and holds a master’s degree in theatre from UQAM. To date, she has authored some 10 plays, including Roger Roger, Vie d’cheval and Je… adieu, published by Éditions Prise de parole (Sudbury). She is co-director of Moncton’s Théâtre Alacenne, which in 2011 produced the children’s play Banane fête, a work she wrote and directed.
Léger is thankful for the opportunity Tremplin represents: “Making this film will give me the chance to work with a fine young filmmaker, Emma Carroll, as well as her friends and the team at Garderie Annie. Learning isn’t bound by age, so I’ll look forward to learning from my young teachers!” She also praises the enthusiasm and support she received from staff at the NFB’s Acadia Studio: “This contest is a golden opportunity to think outside the box. Despite the cuts to the NFB, I am deeply grateful that programs such as Tremplin have been recognized for their importance and have been maintained.”
CJSE, la radio d’un peuple
Godin’s proposal involves filming a day in the life of four individuals, all of whom listen to CJSE, an Acadian community radio station which broadcasts in southeastern New Brunswick. Each protagonist discovers different facets of their society through the broadcasts they tune into constantly (almost uninterruptedly), day after day; and, though often alone, they’re never isolated. They are members of a French-speaking minority and proud of their origins. They talk back to the radio and the shows’ hosts, taking part in the debates of the day. The film will take place over the course of one day, from sunrise to sunset, with the shoot scheduled from September 11 to 13, 2012.
Born in Petit-Rocher, Godin holds a bachelor’s degree in information and communication studies from Université de Moncton and currently works as a journalist for provincial weekly L’Étoile. She was also a radio host and the head of programming for CJSE’s sister station, CFBO Dieppe. Godin says she will long remember her Tremplin experience: “It’s incredible to receive this kind of support for a project dear to my heart. Documentary filmmaking has always interested me and, through Tremplin, I can freely explore my subject with the support of professionals in the field.”
This sixth edition of Tremplin is a partnership between the National Film Board of Canada and Radio-Canada, which in recent years has broadcast the completed films.
About the NFB
The National Film Board of Canada creates groundbreaking interactive works, social-issue documentaries and auteur animation. The NFB’s award-winning content can be seen at NFB.ca and on apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV. Canada’s public producer and distributor since 1939, the NFB has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including six Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies.
