Monia Chokri came to speak à Everyone's talking about it for the selection of his film, My brother's wifein Cannes. She also expressed her disappointment that the film We are Gold is no longer showing. On the same show, Christian Bégin argued that he had the right to play a transgender woman.
In fact, Monia Chokri's most recent film as an actress, directed by Éric Morin, is no longer in theaters barely three weeks after its release on March 29.
Monia Chokri doesn't understand why We are Gold can no longer be seen in cinemas. "We got good media coverage and good reviews. After that, the film was released in Abitibi in one theater, in Montreal in two theaters, and in Quebec City in one theater. It hasn't been released in other theaters. You'll have to ask the theater owners.
She wondered what it would take to get Quebec films seen in Quebec. "We need to sell them to Netflix," suggested Dany Turcotte.
We're going to have to sell [our films] to Netflix, because cinema owners don't want to show Quebec films because they don't think it's profitable enough.
Christian Bégin also lamented the short lifespan of too many Quebec films, which are only released in a handful of theaters. His most recent film, released in 2017, An infiltration problemby Robert Morin, also experienced the same problem.
"There are people in Bas-Saint-Laurent who wanted to see it. They asked the director of the La Pocatière theatre to bring him in, otherwise they wouldn't have had access to the film," says the actor.
Monia Chokri added that a lot was based on first-weekend box-office results to decide how long a film would last. "It's hyper-anxious. Everyone who goes to the movies says on Facebook to go the first weekend."
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Christian Bégin maintains he had the right to play a transgender woman
Here to talk about the Lauriers de la gastronomieactor Christian Bégin also discussed his work as a transgender actress in the Télé-Québec series Can you hear me?.
The casting of a non-transgender actor as Pretzel, a drug-addicted transsexual prostitute, was criticized by Florence Ashley, a transfeminist activist, who wrote that the role was transphobic and had set back the transgender cause. She would have liked Pretzel to be played by a trans actress.
I didn't answer her, because there's no room for discussion in such spaces. No matter how much I argue, I'll never be able to convince her. That said, I'm in the business of cultural appropriation. My first job definition is to appropriate someone else's reality. If we start saying that trans people have to play trans people, then black people have to play black people. I don't want to simplify the debate, but we have to listen to what she's trying to tell me and represent the reality of transsexuals more and more.
He explains that he immersed himself in the role and had his entire body waxed to be more believable. "I worked hard. [I don't think it was a caricature or a step backwards. I know trans people who don't want to play trans people. They want to play a female accountant with a family. Not every actor wants to play who they are," he maintains.
Christian Bégin thinks the debate is being sidetracked by ideology.
I believe in the need to better represent the diversity of who we are. We need to see more trans people on TV, more people from visible minorities, but we shouldn't say that these realities have to be embodied by the people who live these situations. I'm against that, I think it's wrong.
Zaz wants to change the world
French singer Zaz was also on hand at the event. Everyone's talking about it. She was in Paris during the Notre-Dame fire and was, like everyone else, shocked by the collapse of the cathedral's spire. While she agrees that it's time to rebuild, she also says she's uneasy about the huge amount of money that has been raised when so many people need it.
In fact, Zaz has launched Zazimut, a mutual aid network to fund local NGOs during her concerts. The heads of these organizations also appear on stage with her. "All proceeds from the boutique are donated to organizations [...], we've also created a festival in Ardèche."
For this final show of the 15th season, other guests included chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard, Woody Belfort, who made a grand entrance, Anne-Élizabeth Bossé, Omar Kahdr and Alexandra Lamy.
Guy A. Lepage also announced that Everyone's talking about it would be back next September for a 16th season.
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