IPDO | Les Films Outsiders

À LA LUMIÈRE
DU SOIR

Documentary feature length | 80 minutes | 2025

Directed by Fernand Dansereau

Produced by Ginette Petit

Director of Photography Julien Fontaine

Sound Stéphane Barsalou, Olivier Calvert and Jean-Paul Vialard

Editing Dominique Sicotte

Original Music Francine Beaudry

Production Manager Sylvie Lapointe

Research and Coordination Lucette Lupien

Financial Partners ACIC (National Film Board of Canada) – Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec – Canada Council for the Arts – Les Films OUTSIDERS

SYNOPSIS

At 97, Fernand Dansereau, filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter, continues to explore life’s essential questions: the meaning of existence, spirituality beyond religion, the fear of death, and the future of humanity. In this intimate documentary, he shares the wisdom drawn from his long journey, while inviting other voices to join him in this search for meaning, always pushing the reflection further.

Featuring Janette Bertrand, Guy Rocher, Denys Arcand, Marcel Sabourin, Francine Beaudry, Joséphine Bacon, Micheline Lanctôt, and Lucette Lupien.

Fernand Dansereau

Fernand Dansereau is a leading figure in Quebec cinema and television, widely recognized for his intellectual rigor and spirit of innovation. After five years as a union columnist for Le Devoir, he joined the Office national du film du Canada (NFB) in 1955, where he held several key positions, including animator, screenwriter, director, producer, and Head of French Production.

He played an important role in the rise of direct cinema with landmark works such as Pour la suite du monde, Bûcherons de la Manouane, and Voir Miami. He has produced around fifty films and directed more than seventy himself. Since 1969, he has worked in the private sector. A prolific filmmaker, he has directed award-winning films such as Alfred J..., La canne à pêche, and Le festin des morts.

In the 1970s, he co-founded In-Media and explored collective creation. Among other projects, he directed Faut aller parmi le monde pour le savoir (presented at the Festival de Cannes), Simple histoire d’amours, Thetford au milieu de notre vie, and later, in 2007, the moving La brunante.

On television, he left a strong mark with series such as Les Filles de Caleb, Le Parc des Braves, and Shehaweh. His documentaries, including Quelques raisons d’espérer, Les porteurs d’espoir, and his trilogy on old age, reflect his ongoing social and environmental commitment.

As a writer, he has published several books, including the novels Le cœur en cavale (Boréal, 2003), Le cœur en colère (Édilivre, 2025), as well as an art book titled Raconter les heures (Vidéo-O-Forme, 2022). A multidisciplinary artist, he also devotes time to painting, with exhibitions organized by the City of Saint-Bruno in 2019 and at Galerie Valence Art in 2023 and 2024.

The recipient of numerous honours, including the Prix Albert-Tessier, a Prix Jutra Hommage, and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, he has been named a Companion of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec, a Member of the Order of Canada, and an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec.

With À la lumière du soir, at the remarkable age of 97, Fernand Dansereau delivers a final, deeply moving film, offered as a lasting gift to his loyal audience.