Hervé Demers is a French Canadian filmmaker and photographer. He holds a PhD in Art and Visual Culture, specializing in post‑documentary practices. His award-winning films were selected by over a hundred international competitions and festivals, including Clermont-Ferrand, Hot Docs and True/False. Retrospectives of his body of work were presented in South Korea, Ukraine and Morocco. He was a jury of numerous film festivals, including the 35th edition of the Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF).
Project statement: Une fois la poussière retombée
My research-creation project is the second phase of a documentary investigation into the deindustrialization of the former mining town of Asbestos, located in Quebec. Following the completion of a film on this same theme in 2020, I am now seeking to expand the narrative, aesthetic, and political scope of this interdisciplinary documentary investigation through the creation of a photo book. I have been developing this research-creation project in close collaboration with the Asbestos community for the past ten years. As an introduction to my approach, I’d like to share a link to an interview I gave to the British platform Directors’ Notes, where my 16-minute film can be viewed in its entirety. https://directorsnotes.com/2024/07/01/herve-demers-once-the-dust-has-settled/
You will then find a selection of images from the ongoing photo book project at the following address: https://hervedemers.com/asbestos
In summary, I propose continuing this documentary photographic investigation by engaging in dialogue with the members of DéPOT, whose intellectual and logistical contributions could prove decisive for its success (and its impact).
