| Les raquetteurs | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Michel Brault Gilles Groulx |
| Written by | Michel Brault Gilles Groulx |
| Cinematography | Michel Brault Gilles Groulx |
| Studio | National Film Board of Canada |
| Release date(s) | 1958 |
| Running time | 14 min 37 s |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | French |
Les raquetteurs is a 1958 Direct Cinema documentary film co-directed by Michel Brault and Gilles Groulx. The film explores life in rural Quebec, at a convention of snowshoers in Sherbrooke, Quebec in February of 1958. The film is notable for helping to establish the then-nascent French language production unit at the National Film Board of Canada, and more importantly, the development of a uniquely Quebec style of direct cinema.[1]
The film incorporates agile camera work and a largely synchronous soundtrack, uninterrupted by any narration, in keeping with the ethos of direct cinema to avoid any imposed "truth" on events onscreen.[2]
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Grant McLean, then head of production for the NFB, had been angry that what was to have been a three-minute vignette had quadrupled in length and ordered the film to be used for stock footage. However, NFB producers Tom Daly and Guy Glover interceded on the young filmmakers' behalf.[3]
At the time of its release, Les raquetteurs raised some concerns about its "nonofficial" style, and ruffled some feathers in Quebec for its portrayal of rural Quebecers.[4]