Director: Jean Pierre Lefebvre – Screenwriters: Lefebvre, Marcel Sabourin – Producer: Bernard Lalonde, Vent d’Est Films, Montreal – Cameraman: Robert Vanherweghem – Diary by: Leo Rice-Barker

Jean Pierre Lefebvre’s portrayal of one man’s passion for flight and the life experience that holds him back is the subject of Aujourd’hui ou jamais (Today or Never), the third film in a trilogy started in 1966. The film completed its 16-day shoot in August ’97 in rural Howick, Que., and was produced on a budget of $1.1 million by Bernard Lalonde of Montreal’s Vent d’Est Films.

The first two films in the cycle are Il ne faut pas mourir pour ca (1967) and Le Vieux pays ou Rimbaud est mort (1977).

1966: Thirty years ago, Lefebvre says an idea for a movie trilogy began with a meeting with actor Marcel Sabourin. That relationship is cemented during the filming of Il ne faut pas mourir pour ca, released in 1967. It was the third film shot by Lefebvre that year and was completed over seven days on 35mm black-and-white film on a budget of $54,000.

Asked about the themes raised in his trilogy, the director says the first film’s central theme is ‘the mother,’ the second addresses the notion of ‘ancestors,’ while ‘the returning father’ is part of the subtext for the final installment, Aujourd’hui ou jamais.

‘The other constant in the trilogy is humor and tenderness,’ says the director.

1967/68: Il ne faut pas mourir pour ca wins the Grand Prize and the Critics’ Prize at the 1967 Canadian Film Festival in Montreal. It also walks off with the Quebec Critics’ Prize and best foreign film award at the 1968 Rencontre du jeune cinema in Hyeres, France.

1976/77: The second film in the trilogy, Le Vieux pays ou Rimbaud est mort, is a dramatic exploration of the French heritage. It is filmed in 1976 as a Canada/France coproduction and entered in official competition at Cannes in 1977.

1996: In the hope of completing his trilogy which began 30 years earlier, Lefebvre and producer Bernard Lalonde submit their project to Telefilm Canada. The agency says it likes the script, but because there is no money, they turn it down. At the time the budget is close to $2 million.

Only a few short months later, and perhaps ironically, Lefebvre is named recipient of the 1996 Prix Albert-Tessier, the prestigious Quebec government award for career achievement in filmmaking. Lefebvre has directed and/or directed, written and produced 25 feature films since 1965.

Spring 1997: The director and Sabourin rewrite the script as a $1.5-million production and the project is resubmitted to Telefilm in April. A month later, Telefilm again refuses to fund the production, telling Lefebvre the quality of his script does not match his talent.

‘I didn’t know what that meant, but at the same time sodec loved the script and had said `Yes,’ [as did] Super Ecran, Tele-Quebec and Armand Lafond [with Prima Film at the time].’

May 1997: Lefebvre continues to defend his script while producer Lalonde proposes a new financial structure, reducing the budget another $400,000 to $1.1 million.

‘We got a yes [from Telefilm] in June, but there was now the risk the film had to be shot in 16 days,’ says the director.

A changing of the guard at Telefilm during the production pitch period only adds to the difficulties, says the director.

July 14 to Aug. 2, 1997: Principal photography takes place in and around the small southern Quebec towns of Howick and Franklin and is completed in 16 days, surely a modern-day record for an ‘institutional’ Canadian movie.

Coscripted by Sabourin, Aujourd’hui ou jamais begins with a series of flashbacks and tells the story of Abel, a pilot who has refused to fly since the death of a friend 15 years earlier. On the very day Abel decides to fly again, the bank forecloses on his tiny airline operation, his old man Napoleon pulls up in a white Cadillac after an absence of nearly half a century, and a mysterious lady aviator literally falls from the sky.

Abel wishes the old boy would get lost again and decides to save his company by selling his beloved airplane.

Lalonde says the film features beautiful vintage aircraft including a 1936 double-winged Tiger Moth and a mid-’40s classic Globe Swift.

Cast includes Sabourin, Claude Blanchard, Jean-Pierre Ronfard, Micheline Lanctot and Julie Menard. Johanne Bergeron is the shoot’s pm, Gilles Corbeil is the sound recordist (Dolby Stereo sr) and dop Robert Vanherweghem shoots on 35mm Fuji color film. The 105-minute film is edited on a Steenbeck by Barbara Easto. The original music is by Daniel Lavoie.

Funding on Aujourd’hui comes from Telefilm, sodec, Remstar Distribution, t-q and French-track pay-tv movie channel Super Ecran.

Sept. 16, 1998: Aujourd’hui ou jamais has its world premiere Sept. 16 in the Perspective Canada section of the Toronto International Film Festival. The director is present.

Oct. 15, 1998: Remstar releases the film in three theaters in Quebec.

Meanwhile, Lefebvre and producer Lalonde have a new feature project in hand, Le Conservateur, a dramatic story about art. They hope to shoot in early 1999. ‘Everything is ready,’ says Lefebvre, ‘it’s been ready for a year.’

Public screenings:

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 10 p.m.

Varsity 7

Thursday, Sept. 17, 2 p.m.

Cumberland/Alliance 1

Press & industry screenings:

See Website for updates: www.bell.ca/filmfest