Documentary series explores English-speaking life in Quebec’s regions

What is it like to live as an English speaker in the heart of French-speaking Quebec?

A new documentary series dives into this question, focusing on living in the province’s regions of Outaouais and Rouyn-Noranda.

“It was a beautiful experience actually, not only because I was able to travel across you know outside of Montreal, but also to meet community activists, community organizers, everyday people that really have the same sentiment of attachment that I do to Montreal for instance and to my heritage,” said Anita Aloisio, filmmaker and research associate at Quescren.

‘Regional Realities’ shares personal stories about language, identity, and what it means to belong.

“I come from an immigrant background,” said Aloisio. “I am one of those children of Bill 101. So, that whole experience really had a huge impact on the rest of my not only academic ‘parcours’, as they say, but my career choice, because I wanted to talk about the subtleties, the difficulties, the differences in experiencing linguistic policy from a minoritized perspective,” said Aloisio.

The screening was followed by a Q&A led by Anna Hunt, a research associate at the Quebec English-speaking Communities Research Network, to explore the themes presented.

“Out-migration is a big concern to English-speaking communities,” said Lorraine O’donnell, senior research manager at Quescren. “Generally speaking, the more educated an English speaker is, the more likely he or she is to leave the province, which is, you know, in simple terms, a brain drain. Other realities that were touched on in the films are seniors and the importance of English-speaking seniors having access to services in English.”

“In Rouyn-Noranda, the survival of that community really revolves around education and community organization so the education the only English school both at the primary and high school level means that its vitality also has a ripple effects to the rest of the community,” said Aloisio.

The series premiered in Montreal on Wednesday at Concordia University’s 4th space.

The series is directed by Aloisio, who brings her experience from earlier projects like ‘Les enfants de la loi 101’ and ‘Calliari, QC’.

“I’m inspired by all the amazing work that’s being done across Quebec to support Anglophone communities in a way that’s also really interested in being a part of Quebec and it’s not this or that but it’s how can you be Anglophone communities and still celebrate francophone culture and celebrate living in Quebec which is what I was hearing a lot in the films,” said Sophie Wertheimer, Montrealer.