“It’s not confusing, when I watch the credits, I want to cry! “, dropped Dany Turcotte, in front of a café in the Petit Dep, a popular place in Griffintown.
These words illustrate the long and difficult path he had to take to get to the film. The Last Closet – Aging cheerfula documentary he had wanted to make for many years.
Already, in August 2018, during a meeting, he had told me of his desire to talk about the reality of LGBTQ+ people who have reached the “3e age” and who, once in residence, sometimes have to go back into the closet. “What’s amazing is that this generation fought for us,” he says. These men and women have had difficult lives. It is a kind of homage that we pay them. »
This film, directed by Christian Lalumière and for which Dany Turcotte is the interviewer, introduces us to men who have decided to live in a residence for the elderly specially designed for the LGBTQ+ community, Mireille and her friends who live in Joliette, Michel and her roommate Gilles, as well as Carole, a transsexual who was once chief of police (I’ve already told you about her in a column).
The steps to get to the final result were numerous and trying, I told you. First there was the pandemic, then the volte-face of a broadcaster (RDI) which decided that it was dissociating itself from the project. Through all of this, Dany Turcotte was looking for a producer who would have the audacity to carry this project at arm’s length. “I talked about it in every interview I did,” he says.
After hearing it at There are people at mass, Marie-France Bazzo raised her hand. She and her production team raised the money to create this badly needed film. “We are going to tell each other, you have to have money aside to do such a project. It takes so much time that it’s not profitable,” adds Dany Turcotte.
Finally, Radio-Canada will present this documentary that everyone should watch. Not only because it tackles an unknown reality, but also because it is a kind of educational tool, if not a denial.
We also see Julien Rougerie, a member of the Fondation Émergence, giving a conference (To make aging happy) to people at a seniors’ residence to teach them about the history and struggles of LGBTQ+ people, but also to answer questions that some have long had about those who represent approximately 10% of population.
There is a passage that literally threw me to the ground: the one where we learn that the vast majority of residences for the elderly to whom we offer the presentation of this conference refuse to follow up on it. We answer that “there are no people like that in their residence”. And if we insist a little, we ask the Fondation Émergence not to call back.
We therefore have to go through the network of community organizations to unearth here and there small groups of people who want to learn more about this reality. “It’s a shame because it would be important for the general public, but also the staff of residences for the elderly, to hear about LGBTQ+ people”, laments Dany Turcotte.
This situation deserves to be denounced. Who are these directors or “recreational animators” who decide what is good or not good for the residents they represent? Let us at least let the Fondation Émergence team come on site. It will then be up to people to decide whether or not to come to the meeting.
This closed-mindedness of the residences, the film crew also experienced it when the time came to recruit participants for the film. “We sent a memo with my photo to the residences, says Dany Turcotte. We had zero feedback. I also contacted all the gay people belonging to this generation who are part of the UDA. They all refused to participate in the film. »
Finally, it is our national Janette, once again, who took the torch. Her exchange with Dany Turcotte confirms the leading role this woman has played in combating prejudice about the LGBTQ+ community.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVES
Dany Turcotte
The subject of this film emanates from a reflection that Dany Turcotte had regarding his own aging. “When people around you leave or get sick, you start thinking differently,” he says. As a gay person, I wonder if I’m going to grow old like the others, if I’m going to be welcomed like the others? »
Dany Turcotte was to interview Laurent McCutcheon for this film. The man who set up the Fondation Émergence in 2000 is a mentor for Dany Turcotte. He died in July 2019. “I was supposed to interview him on Monday, but he wrote to me on Friday to tell me he was going to die in an hour. »
Dany Turcotte is not afraid to say it, he has become a true activist for the rights of LGBTQ+ people in recent years. “All of this is thanks to Laurent. I can’t wait for her husband to see the film. »
Dany Turcotte really enjoyed the experience of the documentary. He wants to do more. Subjects such as the reality of sexual refugees or cultural communities interest him. “I have ideas in the fridge, others in the freezer. I hope to get them on the stove soon. »
Is he still tempted by “traditional” television projects? Nothing is less sure.
“I like to do part-time television. Have a full-time show, I’m not sure. Anyway, I don’t think it interests the producers either. We’re more young,” he laughs, referring to the recent Gala Les Olivier (the interview took place the day after the gala).
The Last Closet – Aging Gay, on ICI Télé, Thursday, April 6 at 9 p.m. The film will then be offered on ICI Tou.tv.