THE STATUE OF ROBERT E. LEE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE / CANADA / LOUISIANA PREMIERE

On August 11 and 12, a show of force by neo-nazis and white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, to oppose the removal of the statue of General Robert E. Lee, leads to violent clashes and leaves to several deaths and many wounded. On August 23, the Town Hall decides to cover the statue with black as a sign of mourning. On August 28, we leave for Virginia to shoot the shrouded statue as a departure point for a reflection about the historical and political implication of the raging debate on the fate of the Confederate statues in the U.S.A.

This film is part of the Vidéographe 50th Anniversary Program: The Vidéographes--Behind The Frames.


Director Biography

Director of more than 40 films, including two features (La Plante humaine, 1996, Bazin’s Film, 2017) Pierre Hébert worked at the National Film Board of Canada from 1965 to 1999. He is now an independent artist and his filmmaking work has taken a multidisciplinary scope (live animation performances with musicians, video installations, collaboration with choreographers, drawing, and actions on the web). He also writes about cinéma (L’Ange et l’automate, 1999, et Corps langage, technologie, 2006). Since 2010, he pursues the Places and Monuments project combining animation and documentary, for which he received in 2012 the prestigious carreer grant of Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. He recently resumed doing direct scratch animation for which he was well known in the 80’s and the 90’s. In 2005, he was recipient of the Quebec «Albert Tessier» Cinema award for his complete works, and in 2018, he is awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.