Rosanna Leblanc

Set in New Brunswick, "Éloge du chiac" takes the form of an open discussion between a young French-language teacher and her students in Moncton. Through their exchanges, Michel Brault examines the challenges of preserving French in a bilingual region where English predominates, and explores the contested status of Chiac, a local French dialect shaped by centuries of linguistic contact.

Forty years after the documentary Éloge du chiac by the great Michel Brault, this feature film by Marie Cadieux takes up the linguistic and socio-cultural discussion where it left off in 1968. Ordinary citizens, artists and even French specialists declare their love for chiac, this language intimately linked to the Acadian identity that is spoken in southeastern New Brunswick. A fascinating reflection on the future of the Francophonie in Canada and around the world.