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National Library News |
by Kevin Burns,
Head, Seven Stories and member, Board of Directors, Friends of the National Library of Canada
Without Sir Wilfrid Laurier there would not have been an "Enlightened Screen" series. It was in 1996, while we were working on a celebration to mark the centenary of Laurier’s election as Prime Minister that Tom McSorley, Director of the Canadian Film Institute, and I started talking about innovative film programs. Under contract to the Department of Canadian Heritage, we arranged to screen films that had been featured at the Canadian premiere, in 1896 in Ottawa, of Thomas Edison’s Vitascope projector. That screening was the second recorded public demonstration of "the movies" in Canada. The first, a month earlier, took place in Montreal in June 1896 and featured a rival projection system invented by the Lumière brothers in Paris.
Laurier’s prime ministership coincided with the arrival of cinema. A hundred years ago, films were essentially fragments that lasted about a minute: horse-drawn fire trucks racing by, a train arriving at a station, people playing with a garden hose, or a dancer performing a "butterfly" dance. By the time of Laurier’s death, in 1919, the cinema was well on its way to becoming one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world. These initial film fragments had evolved into authored "photoplays".
 Atom Egoyan with admirers. |
Cinema in Canada has remained a predominantly imported art form. Today, Canadian film-makers still fight for screen time in an industry where films from the United States are so dominant that Canadian films occupy less than five percent of screen time in Canada. Even so, Canada’s cinematic history is rich and impressive, and one of the latest developments in this remarkable story of endurance and innovation is the emergence of a group of writers who work in both literary and cinematic forms. For example, Governor General’s Award-winning novelists Mordecai Richler, Carol Shields and Guy Vanderhaeghe are currently engaged in adapting their novels for the screen.
 Left to right: Tom McSorley, Kevin Burns, Michel Marc Bouchard. |
After our Laurier experience, Tom McSorley and I developed "The Enlightened Screen", a series of film presentations followed by discussions with writers. Our focus: Canadian writers working at the cusp of cinematic and literary adaptation. The Friends of the National Library of Canada commissioned the Canadian Film Institute to implement the series in the fall of 1997.
On January 22, shortly before his highly acclaimed film adaptation of Russell Banks’ novel The Sweet Hereafter was nominated for two Academy Awards, Atom Egoyan spoke to an overflow crowd at the National Library. That evening, some 200 disappointed people were turned away from the box office. Egoyan was clearly surprised by the enthusiastic response he received and described "The Enlightened Screen" as "a very important series". Following the film presentation, McSorley guided him on a journey through the themes in his films and enquired about the challenge of adapting someone else’s novel. Then audience members asked questions. Among other things, they wanted to know how Egoyan chooses the music in his films and whether he considers it important for a director to assume a moral stance in a film. Egoyan said feelings govern his music choices, and he adamantly refuses to judge any of the characters in his films.
As he made his exit, Egoyan was "scrummed" by people wanting him to sign film scripts. "Toronto is too cool for anything like this!" he joked during a sudden encounter with a lobby full of fans and two crews of student journalists hoping for unscheduled interviews.
Egoyan was not alone in his appreciation of an opportunity to talk with an audience. On November 13, Michel Marc Bouchard described how he adapted his play Les Feluettes into the movie Lilies. Both versions contain a complex play-within-a-play about two schoolfriends who meet to settle an old score after being separated for years. Bouchard spoke about learning to write within the strict limitations of a production budget. "After a tough phone call with the producer I would write ‘two horses’ instead of ‘eight’," he confided.
 Brad Fraser (photo: Raoul). |
Attending "The Enlightened Screen" gave Brad Fraser the occasion for his first visit to Ottawa. The audience was given a rare glimpse -- through production photographs -- into Fraser’s acting career in Edmonton before he became better known as a playwright. Following the screening on March 19, Fraser spoke about the apparent dilution of his highly charged play, Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, into a relatively "safe" feature film, Love and Human Remains. Although he values the experience of having worked with acclaimed director Denys Arcand, Fraser told his audience: "One day I’m going to shoot that film according to my original script." He also spoke about his embarrassment when students approach him and say they are studying him in their courses. "I’ve become a text!" he admitted with some concern.
Jacques Godbout is one of Canada’s foremost filmmakers, novelists and essayists. Forty years ago, he joined the National Film Board. In Le Sort de l’Amérique, his most recent NFB production, Godbout captures his spirited encounter with playwright René-Daniel Dubois as they look at different ways of interpreting the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the deaths of Generals Wolfe and Montcalm, and the birth of Upper and Lower Canada. Godbout’s exploration of history and myth was the only documentary in the series and it generated a highly animated discussion on February 19. Godbout enjoyed himself, saying it was "a great, enriching experience". 1
The film that launched the series on October 16 was David Adams Richards’ adaptation of his novel For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down. Before meeting his audience, Richards said he was concerned that the conversation might drift or get bogged down. To his surprise, the discussion was both energized and informed, focussing on the different ways he tackles scenes as a novelist and as a screenwriter. Richards said he was intrigued by the experience of talking with people who were so familiar with his novels that they were able to describe different nuances in the way he presented the same characters on the page and on the screen.
When we first discussed the series, this kind of exchange is exactly what Tom McSorley and I hoped "The Enlightened Screen" would produce. Our intent was simple: to put writers in conversation with their readers and their audiences, recognizing that, increasingly, established Canadian writers are also creating works for television and film. As Tom McSorley later reflected on the series, "It’s about making the connection between the collection in the Library and writers at an important time of cultural transition. A convergence, if you like, as more and more of our writers are writing for more and more media. Our foremost novelists are now writing for the screen as well as for the page."
Last-minute changes in Anne Wheeler’s production schedule prevented her from taking part, but when renovations to the auditorium of the National Library are complete early in 1999, we intend to schedule her in what we hope will be "The Enlightened Screen: The Sequel".
Note
1
The National Library holds the manuscripts of Jacques Godbout.
Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1998-07-27).