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A License to Remember: Je me souviens
2002
51 min
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Director Thierry Le Brun sets off across the province of Quebec in his documentary, to learn just what the license plate slogan "Je me souviens" means to Quebecers. Quebec license plates don't sport cutesy tourist slogans like "Canada's Ocean Playground" or "Land of Living Skies." Instead, they draw attention to the past with "Je me souviens" ("I remember"), a motto that cuts to the heart of Quebec history and society. Le Brun rides a dog sled, goes ice fishing, visits an emu farm, joins the Carifiesta celebrations and even gets pulled over by the cops. Along the way he meets …
Director Thierry Le Brun sets off across the province of Quebec in his documentary, to learn just what the license plate slogan "Je me souviens" means to Quebecers. Quebec license plates don't sport cutesy tourist slogans like "Canada's Ocean Playground" or "Land of Living Skies." Instead, they draw attention to the past with "Je me souviens" ("I remember"), a motto that cuts to the heart of Quebec history and society.
Le Brun rides a dog sled, goes ice fishing, visits an emu farm, joins the Carifiesta celebrations and even gets pulled over by the cops. Along the way he meets a cast of characters, both famous and unknown, with wildly differing views on the provincial motto. "Je me souviens" becomes a Rorschach ink blot into which Quebecers peer, each with their own interpretation, showing the concerns of the many communities that make up their land.
Le Brun rides a dog sled, goes ice fishing, visits an emu farm, joins the Carifiesta celebrations and even gets pulled over by the cops. Along the way he meets a cast of characters, both famous and unknown, with wildly differing views on the provincial motto. "Je me souviens" becomes a Rorschach ink blot into which Quebecers peer, each with their own interpretation, showing the concerns of the many communities that make up their land.
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directorThierry Le Brun
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producerAdam Symansky
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story consultantFernand Bélanger
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editorMartial ÉthierFernand Bélanger
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cinematographerJocelyn BelzilePhilippe Falardeau
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sound recordistAlain TremblayIsmaël CordeiroCraig LappGilles CorbeilKaren Feiertag
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participantOctavain BlakeviciTom GarrettJerry SteinMichel PatryBilly Two RiversFlint Tecumseh EagleDale DioneKenneth DeerKarine FredetteLise LepageMichel BelainskyYves LeblancGaston DeschênesMartha SingerPierre SénécalRené-Daniel DuboisHeather Keath-RyanAlden TicehurstRichard StoddardDenis-Pierre BoileauDenise RoyJean-Guy MartelBernard HoulePierre FalardeauJulien PoulinJanette BertrandDominique BélangerPierre-Marc GendronGérard LétourneauJean-Yves GagnonJean-Claude PlourdeAnne TrépannierDaniel DuguayMyrtha DominiqueCarol ZimmermanJohn KalinaGeorges KonanJune MayersFusinato Sesto
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rapLoco Locass
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translatorLinda Gaboriau
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additional cinematographyStefan NitoslawskiAlexandra GrimanisLuc Saint-Laurent
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production managerKarina GomaPaule GagnierAndrée LachapelleJulie PerronKarina Mariano
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researchThierry Le Brun
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library researchKatherine KasirerChristiane TalbotYves ChartrandColette LebeufRenée Bourgault
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narration - writerThierry Le Brun
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post-production coordinationClaude CardinalLinda Payette
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sound editorAndré Chaput
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foleyChris Piggins
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narration recordingPatrick ViegasGeoffrey Mitchell
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re-recordingJean Paul Vialard
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online editorDenis PilonSylvain DesbiensDenis Gathelier
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animation cameraPierre Landry
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title designGaspard Gaudreau
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subtitlesJoan Irving
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digital editing servicesClaude ChevalierDanielle RaymondPhyllis LewisOchelle GreenidgeChaz Oliver
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studio administratorMarie Tonto-Donati
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studio administrator - assistantAndrée LachapelleSia Koukoulas
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executive producerSally Bochner
Ages 9 to 17
School subjects
In our increasingly multi-ethnic classrooms, this documentary will surely generate impassioned debates about language and Québécois identity. To unravel the motto “Je me souviens,” and identify what it refers to, is to open a Pandora’s box containing all sorts of memories that are different for everyone. Anglophones, allophones, First Nations, “old-stock” francophone Quebecers and more recent arrivals—everybody has their own interpretation. This documentary is a perfect tool for Humanities or Diversity and Pluralism courses, and will be just as useful in History and Citizenship Education.