Follow the steps of Jeanne Mance to the Museum of Civilization!

Posted on: 08/08/2011

Follow the steps of Jeanne Mance to the Museum of Civilization!

Gatineau, Quebec, August 2, 2011—The Canadian Museum of Civilization invites you to a special celebration on August 8 to mark the 370th anniversary of Jeanne Mance’s arrival in New France. 

Thanks to the magic of the Canada Hall, you can return to New France for a screening of the documentary film La folle entreprise, sur les pas de Jeanne Mance. A discussion with the filmmaker, Annabel Loyola, will follow.

Thisfirst-ever full-length film about Jeanne Mance earned its director the 2010 Médaille de la Société historique de Montréal. Fascinated by the life story of Jeanne Mance (1606–1673) and her role as co-founder of Montréal, documentary filmmaker Annabel Loyola wanted to examine what prompted a seventeenth-century woman—who was not married, a widow or a nun—to depart for an unknown land and spend the rest of her life in a hostile environment.

Film and Discussion
La folle entreprise, sur les pas de Jeanne Mance
Monday, August 8
7 p.m. (In French)
Canada Hall, New France Square
The filmmaker will talk about the film, followed by an open discussion. Tickets: $10—available at the Museum Box Office, or by calling 819-776-7000 (service charges apply). Admission includes a glass of wine or Perrier.

Film Synopsis

A woman of the present day examines the life of a woman from the past: Jeanne Mance, co-founder of Montréal.

Annabel Loyola was born in Langres—a small ancient town in France’s southern Champagne region—and the same place where Jeanne Mance had been born some four centuries earlier. Langres-Paris-Montréal is their shared itinerary. When she first moved to Montréal, Loyola learned that Jeanne Mance not only co-founded the original small fortified town and its first hospital, but also saw the community grow to become the second-largest French-speaking city in the world, and the largest French-speaking city in North America. Some called Mance’s project “crazy.” But what a project it was: the creation of a humanitarian society, independent of royal and religious authority, where people were encouraged to help and care for one another. 

Loyola’s film weaves together archival images, engravings, seventeenth-century paintings, manuscripts and antiquarian books, as well as baroque music and period sound effects which blend with a modern soundtrack. Building a bridge between past and present, the film encourages reflection and contemplation.

Media Information:

Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: 819 776-7167

Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: 819 776-7169

Fax: 819 776-7187