The director’s new work will captivate audiences in the mid-1990s, when the young Trogi begins to handle the camera. One morning in October 2023, we witness a scene that is almost like a production in which he sits in the director’s chair and tells the story of his beginnings in his profession.
It’s raining this Saturday, but the team is still in action near the Pavillon Charles-De Koninck on the campus of Laval University in Quebec. When Radio-Canada visits the set, the joy is visible despite the grayness.
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A scene from director Ricardo Trogi’s next film, 1995, 1995, is filmed near the entrance to the Charles-De Koninck Pavilion on the campus of Laval University in Quebec City.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Alicia Rochevrier
Today, explains Ricardo Trogi, we are shooting an opening scene. At the time I was selling books on the road, which meant it wasn’t entirely legal. What you see is me [joué par Jean-Carl Boucher] who saved me from university.
The day before, another segment was filmed in a Belgian brasserie in Old Quebec. “I won’t tell you which one,” the filmmaker teases. Another in the Saint-Roch district, where a door reminded him of a Belgian setting.
This is my appearance on the show La Course Destination Monde. […] We sent eight young people around the world to report. So that was my gateway to cinema.
1995 promises to provide access to the functioning of the legendary Radio Canada broadcast, which has made it possible to train several directors, presenters and other personalities. The scenario particularly touches on a film that caused Ricardo Trogi a lot of trouble during his stay in Egypt.
The filming, which is scheduled to last until the end of December, will therefore take place in several countries. The first scenes were filmed in Montreal last week, followed by a two-day hop to Quebec. More will be filmed in the metropolis before the team flies to Nepal and Morocco.
We will recreate Egypt in Morocco, explains Trogi, because filming in Egypt is not recommended…not recently. When I got there it was complex and I only had one camera. So a team of 30, I can’t imagine that!
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Ricardo Trogi presented his film “The old people are at the top” as part of the World Destination Race from the place where he lived during his visit to China in the mid-1990s.
Photo: Radio-Canada / World Destination Race Archives
Ricardo Trogi got into the habit of showing moviegoers his clumsy side without embarrassment. Since the first film, actor Jean-Carl Boucher has managed to bring the filmmaker back to life at different ages.
“I knew it was important to him,” says the actor, and I wanted to be part of it with him, I wanted to see him tell this part of his life […] We know him as a filmmaker. I find it interesting to see the origins of what led him to tell stories, how he opened up to the world, to see the beginnings of this filmmaker who is now Ricardo Trogi.
Ricardo Trogi in 2001, 2012, 2020?
During filming, the director obviously concentrates on the film in progress. However, he admits that he has no concrete plan to continue his anecdotes.
It’s not a film I would have thought I would make five years ago. A bit like the other films I’ve done. I’ll do one and then [je réfléchis à ce que] I have others that could get into this kind of suite, dynamic or catalog, I don’t know what to call it anymore. It always occupies an important moment in my life. And in this case the race was very decisive.
Since its releases in 1981, 1987 and 1991, it would be difficult to recreate the director-actor relationship with another duo.
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Jean-Carl Boucher in 2017 and 2009 in the film 1981 by Ricardo Trogi.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Alexis Gacon/Go Films
“It’s great,” says Jean-Carl Boucher with a smile. Every time it’s really good. It’s a pleasure to see Ricardo again, we laugh so much with him! After four films we know each other well, we try to make each other laugh. It’s easy. I know he’s the net hitter and I try every time.
We still need to find the right time to embark on another adventure and have the funding to do so. For 1995, filming was scheduled to begin in 2022, but due to lack of sufficient resources, it only started recently.
The film is expected to hit theaters in August 2024.
with information from Alicia Rochevrier