Sylvie Lapointe

A filmmaker, fascinated by the power of the camera and obsessed with the theories of Russian film pioneer Dziga Vertov, decides to get a camera eye to replace the real eye he lost as a child. The visionary quest begins on the operating table, where a surgeon grafts a prototype ocular implant into his eye socket. Seeking a microscopic camera that could be incorporated into his artificial eye so he could secretly film whatever he sees, the filmmaker explores the futuristic technology that could make this possible, while revisiting chapters of his own past.

This film traces the history of the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, from its founding in 1923 to its dissolution in 1969, when it was integrated into the Université du Québec à Montréal. At that time, tensions were rising within the education system: CEGEPs and universities were being occupied by students. In this climate of protest, the students of the École des beaux-arts seized control of their institution and declared self-management, establishing the “Republic of the Beaux-Arts” — a collective creation reinvented day by day; a true living cultural manifesto.

Fernand Dansereau is one of Québec’s most prolific filmmakers, having produced, directed and written more than sixty documentaries, fiction films and television serial dramas.