Synopsis
Magie blanche recounts moments in a young girl’s day, on her 13th birthday, a Friday the 13th… This film was produced as part of the 2nd Montreal Super 8 Festival, whose very simple rule was to shoot a single 50’ reel, with no post-editing. Special effects and editing were therefore created in camera, as the film was being shot.
A word from Tënk
I will always remember this shoot, which took place on a summer day at my Aunt Rosanne's in Aylmer in 2005. I was thirteen at the time. Nervous about being in front of the camera, I nevertheless went along with it thanks to the encouragement of my mother, Claudie Lévesque, the director. I think it was this shoot that subconsciously sparked my desire to pursue artistic projects. My mother knew how to instill in me a love for experimenting, for playing with form while telling stories. That’s also part of the magic of cinema.
This film represents for me an adolescent’s desire to believe in something: chance, fate, karma, magic, in order to escape reality and open up a vast horizon of possibilities. Being thirteen means feeling the need to be free while still having anchors. It’s the need for a bit of magic to break the monotony of everyday life. With her Super 8 camera, Claudie Lévesque captures, with playfulness and depth, this transition from innocence to reason in an intimate and mystical film. Magie blanche is a film without editing or retakes, leaving ample room for spontaneity and the beauty of imperfection.
Marion Lévesque-Albert
Filmmaker and production accountant
