TORONTO - Director Bernard Emond says he realized instantly that the town of Normetal, Que., was the perfect setting for his new movie "La Donation."
"Sometimes you know that a place is waiting for a movie," Emond said this week at the Toronto International Film Festival.
"There is such melancholy in this setting, in the physical aspect of the town. And also in the austerity of nature, that I knew I had to do a film there. ... I knew the moment I stopped my car in front of the church that this was it."
Emond, a former anthropologist, had been fascinated by a documentary that filmmaker Gilles Groulx made about Normetal some 50 years ago. It depicted the Abitibi region mining town at its heyday, when it had some 3,000 residents.
The mine has since closed, and the population is now about 900.
"La Donation," which opens in Quebec on Nov. 6, tells the story of a doctor (Jacques Godin) who has watched the community shrink during his 40 years working in the Abitibi region.
When the doctor becomes sick, his replacement (Elise Guilbault) must decide whether she is willing to stay on permanently in Normetal.
The film is quietly introspective, with a loving eye for the natural beauty of Abitibi.
Emond says the shoot was "extraordinary" and he rented a house near the town where he wrote some of the script.
"I was pestering everybody. I was pestering the baker, I was pestering the mayor, I was pestering the nurse. I wanted to know everything," he said.
"They were so helpful for everything. Of course, all the extras in the film are people from Normetal (and surrounding villages). ... We felt that they were just happy to have us there. I certainly hope that the film gives an idea of their dignity and their courage."
The townspeople will get a chance to see the film at a festival that opens on Oct. 31 in Rouyn-Noranda.
"La Donation" marks the conclusion of Emond's trilogy about faith, hope and charity (the first two were "La Neuvaine" and "Contre toute esperance."
The director also penned the script for the acclaimed "Necessities of Life," which last year was Canada's submission for a foreign language Academy Award.
The film opens in Quebec on Nov. 6. There is not yet a release date for the rest of Canada.
