Jacques Parizeau

Gérald Godin's life and work were marked by his deep commitment to Quebec. Forgotten or overlooked, his political and literary legacy's contribution to our cultural heritage is invaluable. From Trois-Rivières to Montreal, from the 1960s to the 1995 referendum, via the October prisons and the songs of his partner Pauline Julien, the film Godin combines archives and interviews to retrace the unique journey of a fighter. A striking portrait of the man nicknamed "le député-poète" A cinematic quilt of modern Quebec, woven from an exceptional blend of archives.

October, 1995. The most important political event in recent Canadian history, the Quebec vote on sovereignty, is about to unfold. During the tense days leading up to the referendum for independence, 23 filmmakers from the NFB's English and French documentary studios take their cameras into the streets and homes of Quebeckers. Culled from 250 hours of footage, Referendum is an emotional portrait of a profoundly divided society. In a collage of powerful moments, the video recaptures the emotions of that time and measures them against today's political agenda. Implicit is the question: What next?

A look at November 15, 1976, the date the Parti Québécois seized power in the provincial elections, a victory that gave rise to an unprecedented outburst of joy at the Center Paul-Sauvé, a place where PQ sympathizers gathered.