The Snowshoers

The Snowshoers (French: Les Raquetteurs) is a 1958 Direct Cinema documentary film co-directed by Michel Brault and Gilles Groulx. The film explores life in rural Quebec, at a convention of snowshoers in Sherbrooke, Quebec in February 1958. The film is notable for helping to establish the then-nascent French language production unit at the National Film Board of Canada, and more importantly, the development of a uniquely Quebec style of direct cinema.^[1]

The Snowshoers
French	Les raquetteurs
Directed by	Michel Brault Gilles Groulx
Written by	Michel Brault Gilles Groulx
Cinematography	Michel Brault Gilles Groulx
Production company	National Film Board of Canada
Release date	1958 (1958)
Running time	14 minutes 37 seconds
Country	Canada
Language	French

The film incorporates agile camera work and a largely synchronous soundtrack, uninterrupted by any narration, in keeping with the ethos of direct cinema to avoid any imposed "truth" on events onscreen.^[2]

Production

Grant McLean, then head of production for the NFB, had been angry that what was to have been a three-minute vignette had quadrupled in length and ordered the film to be used for stock footage. However, NFB producers Tom Daly and Guy Glover interceded on the young filmmakers' behalf.^[3]

Release

At the time of its release, Les raquetteurs raised some concerns about its "nonofficial" style, and ruffled some feathers in Quebec for its portrayal of rural Quebecers.^[4]