Cinema Quebecois documentary

This major documentary series consisting of thirteen 60 minute themed episodes, charts the evolution of Quebec cinema from its origins to the present day.

The theme of the 6th episode is The Territory, and features several commentaries by Roy. He also appears in other episodes of the documentary discussing Maurice Richard and Mémoires affectives, and there are extracts of these films, plus Manners of Dying and Les États Unis d'Albert. The official website is very comprehensive and highly recommended.

Episode synopsis (from the Téléquébec website)

Since Albert Tessier's very first films in praise of the country life, and those of Father Maurice Proulx which drew on the adventure of colonisation in Abitibi, our filmmakers have never stopped scouring the region of Quebec to show its scale, its character and its diversity. The documentary proves to be an exceptional tool for capturing not only the appearance of physical localities at a point in time, but also their human geography, two dimensions which are interrelated with the land. Rural or urban, the landscape changes rapidly, too often to the rhythm of the interests of local economic and political agencies. The [Montreal] neighbourhood of Little Burgundy is defaced, the boreal forest is devastated - man changes his environment and films quickly become archives "fixing forever things that no longer exist", according to Frédérick Back, author of The Man who Planted Trees and The Mighty River. "You can conquer the physical territory, but its soul is still there to say 'Here is my home'," says Pierre Perrault, and also Alanis Obomsawin, Arthur Lamothe, Maurice Bulbulian and Richard Desjardins, all of whom have devoted part of their work to the Native Americans dispossessed of their lands. Physical territory, spiritual territory, intellectual territory, "the territory determines childhood memory," says Lucie Lambert who is fond of filming her North Coast birthplace. According to her, our fictional cinema has helped to draw a map of space and mood where outdoor and indoor scenery are tightly woven. "The atmosphere of the places where I film influences my acting," says Roy Dupuis who offers by way of reflection a Native American maxim: "We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

YouTube clip - (50s)

YouTube clip (1min 53s)

Being At Home With Claude

"It's a story of a city and Montreal is a real city! It's a metropolis, a city full of life. When I arrived from Abitibi, I adored it. I arrived at fourteen years of age and I ate it up! It was good for me to grow up in the country and I was happy there - but I loved the city very much.
Yes, the film by [Jean] Beaudin, with the words of René Daniel [Dubois], is a real story of the city. I feel the opening scene is perfect. Never before had we seen the city portrayed in that particular manner."

Roy's speech translated by MarciaLouise

The Native Civilisation

"It's not just me who says it, but sociologists tell us the Native Civilisation is a more sociable world. For example, their political system is based on a circle, not on a pyramidal system. The Chief is not on the top of the pyramid, he is in the middle of the circle. He must represent the people, the clan. Their idea of ownership of property, for them - today, not so much for the youth - but for the "elders" <<said in English>> ...it's difficult to find the word in French...not the wise men, a bit like the wise ones, anyway, the older people...
For example, when we arrived over there with the project to adopt rivers, we met a woman carrying a teepee with her husband and they asked me, "What do you want? Adopt a river? It can't be done! A river is much greater than you - you can't adopt a river!" So, that's their thinking. You cannot own property. It's an illusion. You can divide up portions of land but it's all still whole after your death.
One of the most wise sayings of the Natives, if you want to begin today to understand their culture, is:
'We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.'
It's in their stories. It is another way of thinking, another way to live, yes, another civilisation."