François Beauchemin

Filmes

Café Désirs
Cinematography
Since the early 1990s, when a bloody civil war broke out in Algeria between the government and Islamist militants, the concept of haram—the forbidden—has demanded the rigid separation of men and women. Café Désirs is a fascinating look at a generation of young, single Algerian men as they come of age in the ancient city of Constantine, trapped between strict religious virtue and sexual desire. Three eloquent guides take us into the male-only world of cafés and hookah lounges, to talk openly about their lives, their frustrations with work and the social dangers of living in a sexually repressed society. It's a world especially fraught for those pursuing same-sex relationships, which are illegal and severely punished. Café Désirs is an engaging and complex exploration of male sexuality and gender politics in a country still struggling with the aftermath of civil war and colonialism.
View from the Summit
Director of Photography
This feature documentary takes us back to April 20, 2001, as Quebec City prepares to host the 3-day Summit of the Americas. A 4-kilometre fence has been erected, cutting off the Upper Town from the rest of the city. Thirty-four heads of state from the Americas will meet behind closed doors to discuss agreements for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Those opposed to the FTAA are mobilizing and gathering in Quebec City, too. Several thousand delegates have come to participate in the People's Summit, and tens of thousands will march in protest. Six thousand police officers fill the streets and it looks as if the historic Quebec capital is under siege. The local population fears the worst. Will the Quebec capital become a battleground? Shot in cinéma vérité style by 7 of Quebec's best documentary filmmakers, View from the Summit vividly portrays what happens when passionate and creative protesters clash with the ideologies of those in power.
Juke-Bar
Camera Operator
With the arrival of a new juke-box in a snack-bar, the cockroaches' life becomes suddenly a little more animated.
Juke-Bar
Director of Photography
With the arrival of a new juke-box in a snack-bar, the cockroaches' life becomes suddenly a little more animated.
Tinamer
Director of Photography
Tinamer is 27 years old when her mother dies. The funeral of this last one makes her relive certain events of her childhood which marked her forever.
Contrecoeur
Director of Photography
Contrecoeur is a film using fantastic realism to talk about psychology, drift and love. Three characters must define themselves in an enclosed space, a truck trapped in a snowstorm, and dream of somewhere else to find each other.
20 Years Later
Director of Photography
This film is about the Moroccan Jews who have come to Québec since 1956. It explodes the myth of Jewish unity, showing the Moroccans caught between the Ashkenazy Jews, English-speaking and long established, and the French-speaking Québécois. The film asks whether the Sephardic Jew can be Jewish and Québécois at the same time.
Games of the XXI Olympiad
Director of Photography
Edited from almost 100 km of film footage shot during the Games, this feature documentary is a breathtaking portrait of the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Much more than a simple record of the Games, the film approaches each event with the intention of revealing the athlete - whether winner or loser - as a unique individual.
Ti-Cul Tougas, ou, Le bout de la vie
Director of Photography
In this Canadian character study, a petty thief steals $5,000 from a marching band and heads to the US with his ditzy girl friend and another couple.
La piastre
Director of Photography
Robert decides to drop everything and go back to his homeland, accompanied by his daughter and a couple of friends.