The Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) has chosen 14 medium- and feature-length documentaries to receive support under a new round of its production assistance program.

Several of the selected works touch on nature and humanity, including Dans la forêt (Into the Forest) from screenwriter and director Pascale Ferland, about the connection of animals and humans to the forest. It’s produced by Les Productions des Films de l’Autre, with Les Films du 3 Mars attached as the distributor.

Les Productions des Films de l’Autre is also producing Espace de jeu (Playground), which is described as a documentary essay about early childhood and will be filmed in a daycare. The screenwriter and director is Jean-François Caissy, and the attached distributor is Les Films du 3 Mars.

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is named as a producer on two titles, including Rediscovering Reality, which explores human consciousness and is directed by Van Royko and Marie-Philippe Gilbert. The screenwriters are Royko and Mark Slutsky. EyeSteel (Blues) Productions is the other producer, and the attached distributor is EyeSteelFilm.

For The Visitors, the NFB and Metafilms are the producers, while Carol Nguyen is the screenwriter and director. The NFB is also attached as distributor on the doc, about the filmmaker’s family and their return to Vietnam for the first time after 40 years of exile.

While the NFB is not a producer on Michel Brault, l’instinct de vue (Michel Brault, the Instinct of Sight), the doc does focus on one of its late filmmakers — the titular director, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer who died in 2013. Frédérick Pelletier is the writer-director behind the film, which is produced by Corporation de développement et de production ACPAV and has Noble Arts attached as distributor.

Producer Picbois Films also has two films among the selections, including L’hiver de force (Winter Force), directed and co-written by Amélie Dussault. Centred on three farms’ winter growing season, the film is also written by Mylène Péthel and has Télé-Québec attached as a broadcaster.

Picbois Films is also producing La bataille de Saint-Léonard (The Battle of Saint-Léonard) from screenwriter and director Félix Rose. TVA Group is set as the distributor of the film, about a linguistic crisis in Quebec’s history.

Quebec is also a focus of Novembre from writers and directors Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier and Karine van Ameringen. The look at Montreal urban inhabitants between autumn and winter is produced by Les Glaneuses, with Coop Spira as distributor.

Then there’s La petite histoire d’un déracinement (The Short Story of an Uprooting), about an extinct bean variety found in Quebec, from screenwriter and director Alexandre Chartrand. Films Babel is producing, with Les Films du 3 Mars as distributor.

Other films that focus on this country include Casques bleues, les femmes et le maintien de la paix (Blue Helmets, Women and Peacekeeping), about Canadian police and military women enlisted for international peacekeeping missions. It’s from screenwriter and director Louise Leroux and producer Les Productions Shootfilms, and has Télé-Québec attached as a broadcaster.

Manufacturing the Threat by writer-director Amy Miller looks at what’s described as a deeply disturbing event in Canadian history involving police coercion. Wide Open Exposure Productions is producing, with Diffusion Multi-Monde as distributor.

Rounding out the selections, there’s Canot: retour vers le futur (Canoeing: Back to the Future) by writer-director Bruno Boulianne, which follows an ice canoe enthusiast. Les Productions de l’Épaule is the producer of the film, which has Les Films du 3 Mars attached as distributor.

Two young men of North African origin who have a passion for bull racing in the south of France is the focus of Canada-France copro Fragments d’une jeunesse française (Fragments of French Youth) by writer-director Jérémie Battaglia. Producing is Les Films Exterior Jour (Quebec) and Productions du Lagon (France), with Les Films du 3 Mars as distributor, and France 3 and Al Jazeera Media Network as broadcasters.

And À pied (On foot) is by writer-director Vali Fugulin and producer Couzin Films. Maison 4:3 is attached as distributor on the story of the history and importance of walking.

A total funding amount was not disclosed. A spokesperson for SODEC tells Playback Daily that the amounts of their subsidies in film productions will be listed in the organization’s annual activity report, due out in September.

Photo: Pixabay