RIDM - Special Jury Prize for national feature competition
Far from a picture-perfect postcard, this film offers a personal view of the Minganie landscapes in Quebec's Côte-Nord region. Following the rhythm imposed by the elements, Sylvain L'Espérance patiently observes the sea, plants, rocks, and clouds cohabitate and their interactions with the contrasting sunlight. Through visual and sound research of great aesthetic precision, asserts a natural reality that exists only through the artistic gaze cast with the help of a technique that imposes its presence and that of the filmmaker. This feature film embodies the potential and limits of its digital source in an approach that at times turns the material abstract. L'Archéologie de la lumière is a film of infinite detail and is part of the experimental approach of a filmmaker with an infectious curiosity and unique point of view. (HSB)