Multi-Media Project Tracing the History of Quebec Honoured With Governor General History Award
Two filmmakers with a passion for history have revealed astonishing details about the history of Quebec through home movies made in the 1920’s to the 1980’s. This collective memory project, assembled from a collection of 20,000 reels rescued from barns, basements and attics all over the province, gives Canadians an in-depth perspective of the history of Quebec. “J’ai la mémoire qui tourne” is an unprecedented project that has woven together family films and videos that have been broadcast on television and on a vast website featuring viewer-contributed content and a robust set of educational resources.
Developed by Les Productions de la Ruelle in collaboration with the French television network Historia, this television documentary series traces the history of 20th century Quebec in an authentic and intimate manner through multi-media. The website was co-produced with Marc Beaudet at Turbulent Media. For their revolutionary visual depiction of how Canada’s stories are told in popular media, Canada’s History Society is awarding this year’s The Governor General’s History Award for Popular History: The Pierre Berton Award to J’ai la mémoire qui tourne – Guylaine Maroist and Eric Ruel.
Maroist and Ruel will receive their prestigious award from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada on Monday, December 12, 2011 in Ottawa at 10 a.m. at Rideau Hall. The announcement and presentation of the Pierre Berton Award is included as part of the newly constituted Governor General’s History Awards.
Deborah Morrison, President & CEO of Canada’s History Society commented, “In making their selection for the 2011 recipient, our judges made particular note of the extensive level of participation from Quebeckers who shared their films and family stories, proving once again that Canadians do have a keen interest in the past and understanding where they fit into the story. For me, J’ai la mémoire qui tourne is an imaginative mash-up of old and new technologies, putting a whole new twist on Canadian history that helps to reinforce its continued relevance in contemporary life today.”
In total, seventeen Canadians will be honoured along with Maroist and Ruel at Rideau Hall as part of the Governor General’s History Award presentation.
The Governor General’s History Awards bring together students, teachers, historians, museums and community organizations, writers and media producers to celebrate as well as learn from each other. The day prior to the award ceremonies, recipients will participate in a public history forum at Library and Archives Canada. This year’s forum, “Speaking of History: How History is Explored Beyond the Classroom” is open to the public to attend onsite or online.
