Louise Harel

This film lifts the veil on the inner workings of women in politics, where everything happens far from microphones and official images. Through intimate and unfiltered testimonies from emblematic Quebec political figures, the film reveals the obstacles, struggles, and power dynamics that mark their journeys, while highlighting those who, despite resistance, forge new paths and redefine the contours of power.

October, 1995. The most important political event in recent Canadian history, the Quebec vote on sovereignty, is about to unfold. During the tense days leading up to the referendum for independence, 23 filmmakers from the NFB's English and French documentary studios take their cameras into the streets and homes of Quebeckers. Culled from 250 hours of footage, Referendum is an emotional portrait of a profoundly divided society. In a collage of powerful moments, the video recaptures the emotions of that time and measures them against today's political agenda. Implicit is the question: What next?