Synopsis
For a year, thirteen authors and actresses teamed up to stage La nef des sorcières, played at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montréal in 1976. In addition to excerpts from the six monologues on the situations and contradictions experienced by the women, the film presents the comments of the participants in this adventure.
A word from Tënk
In 1975, Nicole Brossard and Luce Guilbeaut were hard at work on La nef des sorcières, a groundbreaking theatrical work with contributions from five pre-eminent feminist writers. The two playwrights, at the time very close to director Hélène Roy (co-founder of the Vidéo Femmes collective), asked her to accompany the development of this major project and step backstage at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde to film the collective’s rehearsals and shows. Well aware of the project’s scale, Hélène Roy began filming a documentary dedicated to the creative process of this experimental work, capturing what are today the only available images of the piece. Accompanied by Helen Doyle, Nicole Giguère and Hélène Bourgault, she shot over 52 reels including rare accounts that remain relatively unknown to this day.
Julia Minne
PhD student and programmer
