ALLEYCAT PARADISE

presents
ALLEYCAT PARADISE
A Film by Manon Barbeau
Produced by Nathalie Barton
Gémeaux Awards 2005
(Academy of Canadian Film and Television) :
Best Direction – Documentary
Best Photography – Documentary
Finalist for Best Social Documentary
PRESS KIT
Alleycat Paradise
A film by Manon Barbeau
Short summary
Montreal’s unique grid of alleyways is home to a hidden world of
wanderers, workers, urban wildlife and countless cats.
Alleycat Paradise is a touching, vibrant exploration of a city’s
other life.
Long summary
Montreal's unique grid of alleyways is home to a hidden world of
wanderers, workers, urban wildlife and countless cats. Alleycat
Paradise is a touching, vibrant exploration of this backyard
universe where people work, play, live life, grow old, through
laughter, music, tears, loneliness, joie de vivre.
"The alley is a hidden world, a nameless, labyrinthine asphalt forest,
a little kingdom of ordinary grandeur, a haven for children, lost
souls and alleycats. Four hundred sixty-seven kilometers of urban
pathways connect people of different cultures, weaving an unseen
fabric of universal urban life. This is an invitation to discover the
city's other spirit – wild, free and tender..."
Alleycat Paradise
A film by Manon Barbeau
Canada, 2004, Digital Video, Color, 52’
Written and Directed by
Manon Barbeau
Photography
Philippe Lavalette
Sound Recording
Marie-France Delagrave
Editing
France Pilon
Sound Design
Catherine Van Der Donckt
Benoît Dame
Music
Robert Marcel Lepage
Sound Mix
Jean-Pierre Bissonnette
Produced by
Nathalie Barton
Produced by
InformAction
With the participation of
Canadian Television Fund
created by the Government of Canada
and the Canadian Cable Industry
CTF : Licence Fee Program
Telefilm Canada : Equity Investment Program
QUÉBEC
(Film and Television Tax Credit - Gestion SODEC)
SODEC
(Société de développement des entreprises culturelles – Québec)
Government of Canada
(The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit)
and with the collaboration of
Radio-Canada
and
Télé-Québec
Distribution
La Fête
Alleycat Paradise
A film by Manon Barbeau
MANON BARBEAU
SHORT BIO-FILMOGRAPHY
After graduating in Communication (Cinema) at UQAM University
(Montreal) and writing workshops with Jean Gruault (scriptwriter for
Truffaut), Enrico Medioli (scriptwriter for Visconti) and Robert McKee
(writer of the TV series "The Avengers"), Manon Barbeau wrote the
novel Merlyne (best-seller summer-fall 1991, Les Éditions du
Boréal).
For more than 25 years, she was scriptwriter or script advisor for
Télé-Québec and various production companies. She directed
several films at the National Film Board of Canada, including Les
Enfants du refus global (1998), L’Armée de l’ombre (1999,
Gémeaux Award 2000 for Best Documentary), Barbeau libre
comme l’art (1999) and Alain Dubreuil, artiste-démolisseur
(2001, Golden Sheaf Award at Yorkton). Alleycat Paradise (2004),
a vibrant exploration of a city’s other life, was awarded the
Gémeaux Prizes 2005 for Best Direction and Best Photography for a
documentary.