This text is part of the special Cinema section
Already recognized in Canada and abroad, the Mel-Hoppenheim School of Cinema, firmly rooted in downtown Montreal, wants to broaden the horizons of its students and push back the walls of its classrooms even further. Annie Gérin, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University, has made this ambitious project one of the cornerstones of her mandate.
“It’s urgent, it’s big, and we want it to work”, sums up the dean to show the seriousness of her approach and its strategic importance for Concordia, but also for the Quebec audiovisual industry. It is suffering from a labor shortage that was rife well before the start of the pandemic, and it is not enough to have a pool of workers: they must also be qualified to meet the the most demanding standards, both for Quebec and foreign productions.
This school bears the name of the founder of Panavision (Canada), Mel Hoppenheim, who died last July after a fruitful career also marked by his contribution to the birth of the National Institute of Image and Sound (INIS). In 1997, Mel Hoppenheim donated $1 million to support film students at Concordia, and he’d be thrilled to hear that more of them will soon be coming through its doors. The film school wishes to welcome a greater number of students from 2024, particularly in the production sector.
This horizon of course seems very close for the one who was also acting dean at UQAM, “but we are staying the course and we will adapt along the way”. The pandemic is no stranger to his determination. “When I took office [en 2020], in an establishment whose rules I did not know, we were all in the midst of crisis management. What really motivated me was having long-term projects like this. »
A project that does not necessarily involve new constructions… or rather here: that of bridges between the university environment and the cinematographic environment.
“The need for labor is present, underlines Annie Gérin, so we didn’t want to wait long. But now is not the time to submit to the diktats of industry. “We have a great reputation, our film students are technically very well trained, but we are a fine arts faculty. Our mission is to create an intellectual and cultural succession for Quebec. It’s also a place to explore, make mistakes and meet people from other artistic disciplines. »
Grow outside the walls
During her numerous meetings, whether held in Los Angeles, Toronto or, of course, Montreal, Annie Gérin insists on the importance of collaboration and partnerships, “the best possible”, adding that she present precisely as a partner. “We don’t try to meet everyone’s needs, because we know our strengths, but also our weaknesses. For example, our partners can obtain state-of-the-art equipment; us, not always, because we wouldn’t make it [sur le plan financier] or else, with Grandé Studios, the idea is to organize master classes with prestigious names in the industry, for the benefit of all. »
While she was sorry to see entire sectors of the cultural industry disintegrate under the weight of the pandemic and the confinements, Annie Gérin also suspected that these upheavals were going to transform the professional trajectory of qualified workers. Hence the idea of launching different micro-programs “thus making it possible to welcome students with atypical backgrounds, and others who want to improve their skills”. The dean sees these microprograms designed in the midst of a pandemic as university gateways, but also as laboratories, because “other departments of the faculty are creating them at the moment”.
At a time of cultural diversity, the dean wants that of her faculty to be reflected in industry. “There is a gap between our students and the film industry, and we have work to do! It’s good to welcome them, but if they can’t fit into the job market, they’ll drop out. We must support them in their academic career, but also in their professional transition. »
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