SHOWING AT HUDSON VILLAGE THEATRE
SEPTEMBER 1ST AND 2PM AND 7.30PM

Quebec is different. A linguistic island of French-speakers, it is surrounded by an ocean of English

Quebec’s citizens are divided by different histories, sources of pride and grievances. Young people experience Quebec differently than seniors, who lived through decades of religious and linguistic conflict.  Québécois living in the regions often see Montreal as a foreign metropolis.  Quebec is increasingly the story of immigrants, the distinctly labelled Allophones, who think it is time for old-stock Francos and Anglos to get over their long-lost wars of conquest to deal with the urgent problems of the 21st century.  What We Choose to Remember explores the things that make Quebec so fascinating, frustrating and different.   

Filming began on the 50th anniversary of the October Crisis to capture eye-witness accounts of seminal events that shaped modern Quebec. During the second half of the previous century hundreds of thousands of Anglophones left Quebec.  This is the story of those who stayed and the subsequent waves of immigrants who chose to make this colourful, quirky place their home.   

What We Choose to Remember features a cast of more than 30 characters, whose families arrived in successive waves of immigration. The oldest families arrived during the period of ‘two solitudes’ when Montreal’s population was more than 50% English. They share firsthand accounts decades of political upheaval. The most recent immigrants arrived believing linguistic conflicts were ancient history.   

Twenty hours of interviews were originally filmed for a 6-part documentary series that aired on MAtv in 2021 under the title Waves of Change. A French sub-titled version was broadcast on MAtv in 2022, and the material was adapted into a one-hour documentary special for CBC Television and broadcast in September 2022.  The CBC special is titled Waves of Change: Reimagining Quebec.