Magnus Isacsson

Ma vie réelle

Magnus Isacsson

Alexandre Bryson, Don Karnage

Montréal-Nord is one of those areas we euphemistically call “disadvantaged.” A place where drugs, poverty, delinquency, suicide and all kinds of dysfunction are depressingly commonplace. This is where the late Magnus Isacsson decided to film 18 months in the lives of four young men aged 17 to 22: Danny, Alex, Mickerson and Michael. Music is central to all of their lives. More than just a pastime, hip-hop is their outlet for coping with their demons. With the help of their teacher, mentor and friend Don Karnage, and driven by a fierce desire to overcome hardship, they learn to be adults. Winner of the award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the most recent Montreal International Documentary Festival, Ma vie réelle is an exceptionally astute document in which listening and generosity gain the power to defeat misery.

Uranium

Magnus Isacsson

This documentary looks at the hazards of uranium mining in Canada. Toxic and radioactive waste pose environmental threats while the traditional economic and spiritual lives of the Indigenous people who occupy this land have been violated. Given our limited knowledge of the associated risks, this film questions the validity of continuing the mining operations. (nfb.ca)

View from the Summit

Magnus Isacsson

This feature documentary takes us back to April 20, 2001, as Quebec City prepares to host the 3-day Summit of the Americas. A 4-kilometre fence has been erected, cutting off the Upper Town from the rest of the city. Thirty-four heads of state from the Americas will meet behind closed doors to discuss agreements for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Those opposed to the FTAA are mobilizing and gathering in Quebec City, too. Several thousand delegates have come to participate in the People's Summit, and tens of thousands will march in protest. Six thousand police officers fill the streets and it looks as if the historic Quebec capital is under siege. The local population fears the worst. Will the Quebec capital become a battleground? Shot in cinéma vérité style by 7 of Quebec's best documentary filmmakers, View from the Summit vividly portrays what happens when passionate and creative protesters clash with the ideologies of those in power.