La Galerie is the first fictional short film I have directed. Although it was originally a circus show, it was important for me to create a work in itself, a creation that transcends what is presented on stage, without it being an adaptation of the show. Working with the stage director and the entire Machine de Cirque team has proven to be most stimulating and has confirmed my desire to develop cinematographic projects in collaboration with the many artists in the living arts community in Québec City.
My wish was to take people on a short but rich journey into a world that connects what is real to what is unreal, to make us look at the artwork differently. I wanted the appreciation of the paintings to be less rooted in understanding them and the historical context, but rather in the feelings we experience when we encounter them.
First, I wanted the viewer to slowly enter and discover the singular world in which the characters evolve. The decision to film at night at the Museum was made with this in mind. Then, another part of the short film was shot in a church where I had to create a universe from scratch with my collaborators. We managed to strike a good balance in our representation of the museum’s artwork by transposing them into living art.