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His latest feature, Polytechnique, wrapped a week ago. The bad dreams Villeneuve suffered during its filming did not emanate from a tight budget or the logistics of the production, but, maybe predictably, the subject matter.
Almost 20 years after Marc Lépine entered Montreal’s École Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989, and shot 28 people, killing 14 women, Villeneuve is attempting to recount the story on the big screen. “This film was very complicated to do,” Villeneuve says, between sips of a latte at a coffee shop. “We felt a responsibility in every frame. Every shot felt like a moral decision. Each camera angle felt like it had a moral weight to it.”
In Polytechnique, Villeneuve recreates the shooting in detail, telling the story through six fictional characters - three women and three men - all of whom are connected to the massacre. Villeneuve says he was fully aware making a film on this subject would be hugely contentious, but won over his skeptics after committing to a year of research.
“I spoke with victims, to go through the tragedy from different angles: students, teachers, police officers. People were very generous. I spoke with several women who were shot by Lépine and also to men who had been shot by him.” And while Villeneuve did not talk to families of those who were killed, he did meet with their representative, who said the families have given their blessing to the project. “They have been holding events every year to maintain attention on the shooting, but they are perhaps a bit tired of it. They see the film as a way of making sure people don’t forget what occurred.” Currently in the editing process, he says he hopes the film would be ready to submit for screening at September’s Toronto International Film Festival… [Full Story]
