At the end of the credits for Animal macula, we read: "Work in progress. By this I meant that the process begun with the film was not yet complete, and that reflection was still evolving.

The opportunity offered by the present Escale allows me to extend the work in another way. The films I've chosen raise fertile questions about our relationship with animals and their representation. One of my preoccupations during the editing of Animal macula was to find a space of freedom or a possibility of liberation for the animals represented by the images. How can we reconcile ourselves to their original strength, so as to reverse the fate reserved for them by the films, while at the same time allowing us to witness their real condition? The four films presented here are, each in their own way, driven by these same concerns.

Ressources by Serge-Olivier Rondeau and Hubert Caron-Guay opens up to the silent grievances of those involved in slaughterhouse production. Karl Lemieux's Western Sunburn brings the beasts to the fore, pulverizing the iconic figures of the American western. Charles-André Coderre's Particles is both a call for liberation and a celebration of living forms. Muriel Pic's Bêtes en miettes plunges into the archives of the last century, seeking to restore a true existence to animals trapped by our hold on them and their representations.

Muriel Pic's literary work has been a source of inspiration for me, especially her book En regardant le sang des bêtes, the last chapter of which is devoted to editing. This luminous text must be read in its entirety. I'll just quote two short sentences:

"Editing thus calls on everyone's divinatory skills, soliciting our capacity to reveal what is latent. [...] It develops in us the ability to recognize what undermines the integrity of beings, and reactivates in man that animal faculty which is the intelligence of peril."

The films in this cycle are driven by this intelligence, which makes them sister films. Although they take place on distant continents, they all invite us to grasp our power to act in the face of animals, their singularity and their destiny.

Work is in progress. You are invited to take part.

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