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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 …

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A License to Remember: Je me souviens

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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 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.
  • director
    Thierry Le Brun
  • producer
    Adam Symansky
  • story consultant
    Fernand Bélanger
  • editor
    Martial Éthier
    Fernand Bélanger
  • cinematographer
    Jocelyn Belzile
    Philippe Falardeau
  • sound recordist
    Alain Tremblay
    Ismaël Cordeiro
    Craig Lapp
    Gilles Corbeil
    Karen Feiertag
  • participant
    Octavain Blakevici
    Tom Garrett
    Jerry Stein
    Michel Patry
    Billy Two Rivers
    Flint Tecumseh Eagle
    Dale Dione
    Kenneth Deer
    Karine Fredette
    Lise Lepage
    Michel Belainsky
    Yves Leblanc
    Gaston Deschênes
    Martha Singer
    Pierre Sénécal
    René-Daniel Dubois
    Heather Keath-Ryan
    Alden Ticehurst
    Richard Stoddard
    Denis-Pierre Boileau
    Denise Roy
    Jean-Guy Martel
    Bernard Houle
    Pierre Falardeau
    Julien Poulin
    Janette Bertrand
    Dominique Bélanger
    Pierre-Marc Gendron
    Gérard Létourneau
    Jean-Yves Gagnon
    Jean-Claude Plourde
    Anne Trépannier
    Daniel Duguay
    Myrtha Dominique
    Carol Zimmerman
    John Kalina
    Georges Konan
    June Mayers
    Fusinato Sesto
  • rap
    Loco Locass
  • translator
    Linda Gaboriau
  • additional cinematography
    Stefan Nitoslawski
    Alexandra Grimanis
    Luc Saint-Laurent
  • production manager
    Karina Goma
    Paule Gagnier
    Andrée Lachapelle
    Julie Perron
    Karina Mariano
  • research
    Thierry Le Brun
  • library research
    Katherine Kasirer
    Christiane Talbot
    Yves Chartrand
    Colette Lebeuf
    Renée Bourgault
  • narration - writer
    Thierry Le Brun
  • post-production coordination
    Claude Cardinal
    Linda Payette
  • sound editor
    André Chaput
  • foley
    Chris Piggins
  • narration recording
    Patrick Viegas
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • re-recording
    Jean Paul Vialard
  • online editor
    Denis Pilon
    Sylvain Desbiens
    Denis Gathelier
  • animation camera
    Pierre Landry
  • title design
    Gaspard Gaudreau
  • subtitles
    Joan Irving
  • digital editing services
    Claude Chevalier
    Danielle Raymond
    Phyllis Lewis
    Ochelle Greenidge
    Chaz Oliver
  • studio administrator
    Marie Tonto-Donati
  • studio administrator - assistant
    Andrée Lachapelle
    Sia Koukoulas
  • executive producer
    Sally Bochner

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Education

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.
A License to Remember: Je me souviens
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