French singer Renaud sang, “C’est pas l’homme qui prend la mer, c’est la mer qui prend l’homme.” Men don’t take to the sea; it’s the sea that takes men.

In this short film from young filmmaker Laurence Lévesque, it’s clear that the call of the water is a response to motivations far more subtle and profound than a mere rational or financial decision. Working as a fisherman in Quebec, even in 2021, means going long stretches without seeing your family, combatting the elements and punishing meteorological conditions, and working long and grueling hours. But more than that, it’s butting against a Kafkaesque system of bureaucracy, a parallel universe where fishing permits go for millions of dollars and contracting comes to resemble hazing. But the Saint-Lawrence still wields a certain magnetic power, flowing in the veins of those who live on its banks, making everything else seem to fall away. And so, the fishermen continue in a job that resembles nothing less than a vocation, one year at a time.

Naomie Décarie-Daigneault
Tënk's Artistic Director