Director Geneviève Tremblay has devoted her career and her talent to telling lives other than her own, the lives of Quebec stars. She has just completed a filmed biography entitled Janette Bertrandon the verge of being a hundred years oldan intimate portrait of the popular megastar peppered with archives, available online.
“I have always been curious and in love with human beings, very adventurous, an explorer,” says Mme Tremblay in interview at Duty. Covering the news and varieties is often done quickly. A few minutes on the air and the somewhat peripheral profile is over. The long biographical documentary allows you to prepare for a long time, to know your subjects, sometimes for years. »
The director began university studies in communications before branching out into psychology. Once she graduated, she joined the production team of Shock culture (1999-2004) hosted by Gregory Charles, rare joint CBC and Radio-Canada program celebrating Canadian cultural diversity. “I learned my trade there, with the master of documentary Jean Ménard,” says the director. I learned every step of production, from interviews to scriptwriting, from filming to editing. »
Tares and rumors of stars
The suggestion then came to him to create portraits of emerging artists. “I painted the portrait of the young chef Yannick Nézet-Séguin, which doesn’t make me any younger. » She has also traveled the world to tell the origins of Canadian artists born abroad.
His specialization around biographical documentaries as such began a decade ago for the series Major personality reports of RDI and ARTV. His first work was devoted to Louise Latraverse (2013). She then turned her attention to Roger Tabra, Guy Fournier, Liza Frulla, Serge Postigo, around twenty personalities in total.
“I believe that what sets me apart is really the proximity, the intimacy, the long and deep sharing with the person whose journey I follow. I take the time. I can even shoot scenes alone during a one-on-one. Janette and I saw each other very often and we became friends. I like to show people in their real life context. I like to look for the true and the authentic beyond the image,” says Geneviève Tremblay.
She gives the example of Edith Butler, who enjoyed enormous popular success but was depressed alone at home, to the point of contemplating suicide. She cites the case of Micheline Lanctôt, who was bored to death in Los Angeles and suffered from anorexia.
She especially talks about Janette Bertrand, whom she convinced to show her lover who constantly protects and cares for her. “We see her kissing Donald, talking about their first night of love, about their daily life. Basically, he takes care of Janette all the time, and he’s the one who does everything. »
Shadows
Wouldn’t an ordinary life as a star, without complications, be enough? Is there always a need for glory and sorrow? Is it necessary that “after the break”, the personality necessarily falls “into the hell of drugs”, to use the formula of the old catchy and sensationalist artist bios of the Musicographies from MusiMax?
“No, not for me,” replies the organic pro. Everyone has their dark and bright spots, but every human being can tell interesting stories without being in ups and downs. » She even cherishes the dream of soon launching into biographical documentaries on the lives of “ordinary” people, at least not stars or superstars. “Absurd and fascinating stories are everywhere, in many lives anyway. »
The Quebec director cites the American Liz Garbus as a model to follow. As producer, she supported the film Ghost of Abu Ghraib (2007), on the scandal of the torture of Iraqi prisoners by the American army, and as a director, she has written very strong bios on Nina Simone, Jacques Cousteau and recently Harry & Meghan (2022).
Miseries and grandeurs of biopics
The recent boom in its genre obviously delights the one who contributes to it here. Geneviève Tremblay explains it in part by the technique which makes it possible to shoot inexpensively with discreet equipment. In the documentary Beckham, we learn that David’s father shot and kept more than 1,600 videos of his son from his very first shots to his entry into the professionals. Its archives obviously enrich the production. Mme Tremblay quotes the film Robbie Williams by Ridley Scott, retracing 30 years of career using only the singer’s personal archives, often captured with his own phone.
“People need to see their stars on the same level as them, with their daily problems, their fears and their anxieties. The documentary lifts the veil behind the scenes, the house, the intimate life. Stars know that this is how they will win people’s hearts or stay there. »
She points out that reality TV, another major recent transformation of entertainment media, has strongly contributed to this interest in “the intimate, the true, the authentic”, even the most banal. Social networks have also overstimulated the self-exposure movement for fans who want more. “The more we are seen on all platforms, the more our notoriety increases and the more we sell,” summarizes Geneviève Tremblay.