Undertaker for Life!

202252 minFilm: Documentaire

Réalisation: Georges Hannan

Production: Christine Aubé (National Film Board of Canada)Denis McCready (National Film Board of Canada)Nathalie Cloutier (National Film Board of Canada)

Scénarisation: Georges Hannan

A production of the National Film Board of Canada.

In a society where condolences can be sent by text and funerals scheduled in our free time, grieving is something we athink we can avoid. Is this really the case? Those with a vocation to look after the dead will tell you otherwise. They know because at the end of the day, they spend much of their time watching over the living.

Despite the somewhat frightening name of their occupation, undertakers are actually charming philosophers and keen observers of life. We only see their sombre side, but away from the funeral rites and on camera, they turn out to be amazingly insightful. Their love of life and the living, their dark humour and comforting wisdom are the best remedies against existential despair.

In Undertaker for Life!, Georges Hannan tackles a taboo subject and lifts the veil on an under-appreciated world: that of the artisans of bereavement. By providing behind-the-scenes access to the funeral industry, he demystifies a profession we tend to view as grim. But undertakers are anything but gloomy; they’re funny, generous and dedicated. We would gladly go on vacation with them, but sadly, they never have any dead time.

Alternating between earnestness and humour, the guardians of the shadows confide in each other with disarming frankness and raise questions that are more urgent than ever. As our increasingly individualistic society abandons long-standing rituals, how do we make sense of death, how do we mourn, how do we preserve remembrance? What answers can religions and various practices provide? In short, how can we cope with death in today’s world?

Subtle, moving and often hilarious, Undertaker for Life! shows the flip side of death. Against the backdrop of Georges Hannan’s superb photography and a musical score that’s as unpredictable as it is effective, these benevolent transporters, the undertakers, deliver a truth that transcends time: death, if it cannot be explained, at least allows us to understand life.

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Catégories de sujets


  • Santé et Médecine > Personnes face à la maladie et la mort
  • Psychologie et Psychiatrie > Émotions et SentimentsVie et Mort
  • Religion et Philosophie > Vie et Mort
  • Francophonie canadienne (à l'exclusion du Québec) > Nouveau-Brunswick
  • Société > Vie rurale

Générique


participation
Normand Arsenault
Guy Belliveau
Normand Joseph Cormier
Cora Coughlan
Brad Deware
Maxime Doiron
Léonce Dupuis
Serge Dupuis
Cédric Gautreau
Claude Gautreau
Souad H'Mida
Joan Milliea
Jason Morton
Michel Thibodeau
Francis Weil
Jared Woodworth
réalisateur
Georges Hannan
recherchiste
Georges Hannan
collaboration au scénario
Mélanie Léger
monteur
Julien Cadieux
caméra additionnelle
Georges Hannan
preneur de son
Georges Hannan
gérant de production
Michelle Paulin
montage son
Dennis Morton
mixeur
Dennis Morton
monteur en ligne
Yannick Carrier
sous-titres
Sette
enregistrement du bruitage
Sam Mongeau
studio d'enregistrement du bruitage
Jo Caron Audio
prise de son au bruitage
Fred Maloney
musique originale
Dennis Morton
musicien
Dennis Morton
Sébastien Michaud
soliste
Cédric Gautreau
organiste accompagnateur
Claude Gautreau
agent, marketing
Karine Sévigny
production déléguée
Geneviève Duguay
administrateur
Geneviève Duguay
Sia Koukoulas
coordonnateur principal de production
Audrey Rétho
coordonnateur technique
Jean-François Laprise
support technique audio
Bernard Belley
conseiller juridique
Julie Patry
producteur
Christine Aubé
producteur exécutif
Denis McCready
Nathalie Cloutier

Prix et récompenses


  • prix La Vague Léonard-Forest de la meilleure œuvre acadienne, moyen ou long métrageFestival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie
  • Meilleure émission ou série documentaire: SociétéPrix Gémeaux