Films catalogue

Mad Dog & The Butcher - The Last Villains

Thomas Rinfret / 2019 / 94 min. / 82 min. / Canada / FRENCH, ENGLISH / SUBS FRENCH, ENGLISH

Synopsis

The Last Villains (Mad Dog & The Butcher) immerses us in filmmaker Thomas Rinfret’s journey to direct a documentary on the lives of the famed Vachon wrestling family. His protagonist is the last living member of the dynasty: Paul “The Butcher” Vachon. The film features two simultaneous levels of storytelling: the director’s creative illustration of the epic stories told by Paul in his books and the four-year adventure, during which Thomas, camera in hand, follows Paul’s nomadic wanderings across North America.

Cast & Crew

  • Screenplay : Annick Charlebois et Thomas Rinfret
  • Research : Annick Charlebois
  • Original idea : Paul Rollins
  • Cinematographer : Dominic Dorval. Vincent Masse, Richard Tremblay et Thomas Rinfret
  • Editing : Benoît Côté and Thomas Rinfret
  • Original music : Joseph Marchand
  • Illustrations : Marc Tellier
  • Sound : Pierre Bouchard, Olivier Léger, Dany Côté et Thomas Rinfret
  • Sound editing : Jérôme Boiteau, Studio Expression

Genre

Documentaire

Topics

Biopic, Family, Quebec, Sports

Trailer

Biography

A former member of the Canadian downhill ski team, Thomas Rinfret has travelled the world with his sport – not unlike the Vachon brothers. His passion for visual media dates back to 2001, when Thomas co-founded Pléhouse films, originally dedicated to extreme skiing films. Seven films were thus produced with a worldwide distribution. Thomas innovative approach to the sport and his uniquely human and esthetic vision set his director’s work apart.

In 2008 Thomas then turned to studying documentary at INIS in Montréal (Institut national de l'image et du son). Following this program, he was awarded the Louise Spickler Award recognizing the talent. It was the beginning of a career. The following years were spent directing tv shows at CBC/Radio-Canada and documentaries for Télé-Québec among those, Ma Foi (My Faith) his most personal film to date, all shot with a special camera rig he built to be able to filmed himself, his one-hour documentary received 3 nominations at Gémeaux Awards.

Thomas met Annick Charlebois, his script writting partner back in 2014, on a series called L’Espace d’une Chanson, where Thomas talent for image and music editing was noted by one of the producers that brought him on board to direct his first feature documentary : The Last Villains.

Festivals

- 2019 -
First Feature Film Award | Festival de Cinéma de la Ville de Québec, Canada
Audience's Coup de Coeur, Honorable Mention | FICFA, Canada

- 2020 -
In Competition | Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois et Francophone, Canada
In Competition | Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma, Canada
In Competition | Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Canada
In Competition | Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA
In Competition | Les Percéides, Canada
In Competition | CUFF.Docs Documentary Film Festival, USA

Official selection | Festival du Cinéma du monde de Sherbrooke, Canada

- 2021 -
Best Documentary Feature | Cinema on the Bayou, Canada
In Competition | NorthwestFest International Documentary Festival, Canada
Nominated - Best Sports Documentary I ROCKIES AWARDS, Banff World Media Festival, Canada
In Competition | Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, USA
In Competition | Festival du film de Saint-Séverin, Canada
In Competition | Vail Film Festival, USA
In Competition | Cinéfranco Film Festival, Canada

Awards

- 2019 -
First Feature Film Award | Festival de Cinéma de la Ville de Québec, Canada
Audience's Coup de Coeur, Honorable Mention | FICFA, Canada

- 2020 -
The documentary won three awards out of the 4 nominations received at the 35th Gala des prix Gémeaux.
- Meilleure émission ou série documentaire | Biographie ou portrait
- Meilleure réalisation documentaire | Biographie ou portrait 
- Meilleure direction photographique I Affaires publiques, Documentaire, Émission

The documentary was also a finalist for 3 Iris awards at the Gala Québec Cinéma.

- 2021 -
Best Documentary Feature | Cinema on the Bayou, Canada
Nominated - Best Sports Documentary I ROCKIES AWARDS, Banff World Media Festival, Canada

Information

The original version with english subtitles is not available online.

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