Fifteen years after he followed a dozen students from a high school in Loretteville, a suburb of Quebec, for the film West of Plutowhich he co-directed with Myriam Verreault, director Henry Bernadet returned to the stage, this time to meet a group of teenagers from Montreal’s Saint-Michel district.
In “Gamma Rays”, his new film that he shot over two years in the midst of a pandemic, Henry Bernadet gives a voice to several young people with a migrant background whom he met while organizing acting workshops at the Georges Vanier Secondary School has . Through talking to them and getting to know them, the filmmaker came up with the idea of writing a script inspired by their personality and their reality, mixing documentary and fiction.
“Originally the film was supposed to be a neighborhood fresco [Saint-Michel et Villeray]but not just among young people,” explains Henry Bernadet in an interview with the Journal.
“I knew I wanted to make a film to meet people from cultures other than mine. When I arrived in Montreal, I moved to Villeray, a very multicultural neighborhood. I was fascinated by the different cultures around me and wanted to learn more about the people in the neighborhood. But when I met these young people, something clicked. I found them so interesting that I wanted to write a film about and with them.”
Henry Bernadet makes no secret of this: the approach recommended for gamma rays is very similar to that used for west of Pluto about fifteen years ago. However, the end result is very different.
“I don’t see Gamma Rays as a sequel to West of Pluto, but there are certainly similarities and connections between these two films,” notes the director.
“But at the same time it’s completely different because it’s a different world. To the young people west of Pluto, we were like big brothers and sisters. I knew this environment very well because it was my old high school. But that’s a completely different world. To these young people I am like a stranger. They still love me even though I filmed with them for hours!”
“But my greatest satisfaction is that they really liked the film. They are proud of it. That was the most important thing for me.”
Photo provided by Les Films Opale
Quebec identity
Henry Bernadet admits that processing gamma rays was lengthy and complex. By shooting his film in several blocks over a period of two years, the director had packed together dozens of hours of material.
“The film is a crossover of several stories, so I spent a long time looking for the right balance,” he emphasizes. I wanted to avoid one story taking up more space than another. It was also important to me that documentary and fiction fit together harmoniously and that the film offered a sensual and visual journey through the neighborhood.”
By pointing his camera at the young people in his film, Henry Bernadet wanted to see how they answered certain simple questions, such as what they like in life or whether they feel Quebecois. Some of her answers were difficult for him to accept, particularly those on Quebec identity.
“One of the things that surprised me the most is that they don’t feel like Quebecers at all,” he admits. It tore me apart and it actually hurt me. I found that very difficult to hear. It disappointed me. But at the same time they have ties to Quebec. To me they are completely Quebecois, but to them it is less obvious. Its a lot to do.”
Gamma Rays, in cinemas from November 10th.