We live in a downright scary time. Wars thought of another time rage beneath our helpless gaze. A labor shortage. An exploding healthcare system. A failing education system. A warming planet. abuses. Inflation. growing poverty. A lack of openness. Documentary films refer us to our world, paint a portrait of it and allow us to look at it more closely.
essentials
Photo provided by Picbois productions
We talk a lot about immigration, but apart from the issue of quotas, we often don’t get into the real issues or the rights and place of newcomers. Sonia Djelidi, a human rights activist and concerned citizen we saw in the 2020 documentary Breaking the Code, teams up with Le Devoir journalist Sarah Champagne and director Ky Vy Le Duc to conduct an investigation. It is well known that newcomers often find themselves in precarious jobs. When we cross the fields or spend time in a hospital, we see these workers occupying an essential place while their conditions are ridiculous. A situation that is as unjust as it is unimaginable and that we must remedy.
►January 25 at 8 p.m. on Télé-Québec
Addicted: addictions
Photo provided by Bellmedia
There are many addiction problems. Emotional addiction, drugs, alcohol, gambling, adrenaline, you name it. As part of Bell Let’s Talk Day, Marie-Mai meets people who suffer from it. Also relatives who testify helplessly of people who got away with it. An attempt is made to understand them better, to assess the problems and to highlight their impact. Marianne St-Gelais and Sophie Nélisse are among those who met them.
►January 25th at 7pm on Canal vie and January 27th at 9pm on Noovo
For a culture of consent
Photo provided by Radio Canada
It is said that one in three women in Canada is a victim of sexual assault. Only 5% of assaults are reported to the police. And despite the #MeToo movement, abusers are still rampant and women remain silent. It is disturbing to see how little progress is being made. Directors Jonathan and Jean-Laurence Seaborn investigated. They were interested in Mélanie Lemay, co-founder of the Quebec movement against sexual violence and also testify to the everyday life of the organization Viol-Secours. A work they undertook for four years, as the number of denunciations grew, to initiate a culture shift and bring the unimaginable to light. They give victims a voice, show the importance of social and collective responsibility and paint an optimistic picture of the future in a struggle that is far from over.
►January 21 at 10:30 p.m. on ICI Télé
Rael’s women
Screenshot HERE RDI
Cult movements wreak havoc. Raël has plagued Quebec for decades. His followers were completely devoted to him. Eryka Reyburn followed Sylvie and Martine, two women who spent a long part of their lives (25 years) under the yoke of the man with the hat. They return to the places that limited, isolated, blinded them. This domain of Valcourt where Rael was king. Two intelligent, educated, free women. They are proof that a guru can fool anyone. And that once this way of life gets going, it will take over. These women, like so many other disciples, sacrificed themselves for what they saw as God. Under the guise of science, Rael exploited women and created victims.
►January 26 at 8 p.m. on ICI RDI
Odyssey under the ice
Photo courtesy of Explora
Concerns about global warming. It reaches the ice and disrupts our ecosystems. Photographer Madelinot Mario Cyr, who specializes in the seabed, explores the caves of the four corners of the world with his colleague Jill Heinerth. An expedition into the heart of the beauty of the arctic, the beauty of the world. The ones to be preserved.
►February 4 at 9 p.m. on HERE Explora
African Canada
Photo provided by Radio Canada
A four-episode series combining documentary, fiction and animation, telling the story of Canadian Afro descendants. A story unfortunately marked by slavery, exile, but also resilience and resistance.
►From February 7th at 8pm on ICI RDI
Racism on the Ice
Photo provided by Canal D
As part of Black History Month, this documentary by Hubert Davis, presented at the Toronto Film Festival and co-produced by Drake and LeBron James, looks back on a history of discrimination in the world of hockey. We discover the existence of an all-black league in Nova Scotia between 1895 and 1925. Today they are almost non-existent in the NHL. An environment very much in search of models.
►February 22nd at 10pm on Canal D
Extraordinary mothers
Bianca Longpré and Mélissa Bédard are mothers (or stepmothers) of 10 children together. Mental stress, organization, support, they know what it means to bring up their offspring on a daily basis and how important it is to support them in their development. They wanted to tour Quebec, stopping in fifteen communities to greet 21 outstanding mothers. Women from different backgrounds who inspire, get involved and are always present despite the pitfalls. Moving portraits, but also full of hope and benevolence.
►Coming February 21st on VRAI
The school with a difference
Photo provided by Télé-Québec
More than ever, the pandemic has brought to light the imbalance that persists in our education system and of which our children are the first victims. There is a two speed training. There is a glaring shortage of teachers, specialists even to look after a growing clientele of young people with special needs. Some schools are no longer adequate, with students lagging behind in certain subjects, particularly science. What are we waiting for to make changes to prioritize our young people? In search of solutions, documentary filmmaker Erik Cimon met teachers, former teachers, private and public directors, politicians such as Christine Labrie and Marwah Rizqy, and sociologist Guy Rocher.
►February 22 at 8 p.m. on Télé-Québec
middle class means
Photo provided by Martin Girard
Food prices go up. Houses have reached astronomical prices. Interest rates rise. Isabelle Maréchal wonders how the middle class manages to make ends meet under these circumstances. She leads the investigations, meets with citizens. She also wonders whether our consumption has changed, whether the needs and desires of this clientele have increased and whether a balance is possible.
►March 15 at 8 p.m. on Télé-Québec