Transcultural Film in Québec: North African Diasporas in Bachir Bensaddek’s Montréal la Blanche and Raed Hammoud’s Documentaries on Daech

Guenther, Beatrice

doi:https://doi.org/10.3828/qs.2021.20

Guenther, Beatrice

Quebec Studies (2021), 72, (1), 119–140.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/qs.2021.20
Language: English
Pages: 22

Abstract

This article examines the films of Bachir Bensaddek (Montréal la Blanche, 2016) and Raed Hammoud (T’es où Youssef, 2017 and Les Poussières de Daech, 2020) against the backdrop of an ever-increasing global trend of migration, as is evident in the Bouchard/Taylor report on “Building the Future: A Time for Reconciliation” (2008) and the 2018 Global Compact on Migration (IOM). By problematizing the homogeneity of both “home” and “host” cultures in their cinematic work on “néo-Québécois,” Bensaddek and Hammoud contribute meaningfully to how immigration and integration are inflected through the work of imagination within the Québécois context. The relevance of their transcultural films is evident in their focus on the experiences of the large, more recent group of immigrants to the francophone province from the Maghreb (North Africa). The films multiply strategies for understanding the different challenges facing new Québécois as well as providing insights into what might shore up an intercultural society.

Dans cet article il est question d’examiner les films de Bachir Bensaddek (Montréal la Blanche, 2016) et de Raed Hammoud (T’es où Youssef, 2017 et Les Poussières de Daech, 2020) en étudiant de près les effets de la tendance croissante de la migration globale évidents dans le rapport sur l’avenir du Québec préparé par l’équipe Bouchard/Taylor (2008) ainsi que dans le « Pacte Mondial pour les migrations sûres, ordonnées et régulières (2018) » (OIM). En problématisant l’homogénéité des cultures « d’accueil » et « d’origine », Bensaddek et Hammoud réussissent à faire valoir comment l’immigration et l’intégration sont infléchis par l’imaginaire dans le contexte québécois. La pertinence de leurs films transculturels se voit dans le choix de mettre en relief les Maghrébins en tant que néo-Québécois - un groupe plutôt récent d’immigrants dont les effectifs se sont augmentés surtout au cours des vingt-cinq dernières années. Les films de Bensaddek et de Hammoud présentent de multiples stratégies afin de faire ressortir autant les défis associés à l’interculturalité québécoise que les ressources facilitant un tel projet social.

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Guenther, Beatrice

Quebec Studies