Marc-André Girard is a young Montreal-based film director and creative who works on commercials, TV shows and wrote two theatre plays, 40 OUEST and Presto. He is an author of several short films including Mauser, YUL and 12 Weeks - a short which is expressing the unspeakable loss experienced by a mother who suffers a miscarriage in a mall’s restroom. 12 Weeks was selected at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2016 and has been acquired and broadcast on Air Canada flights as part of the "Québec Gold" category.
In his recent work, 8328 short film / court métrage, the author tells a simple yet powerful story of two characters, all in a seemingly ordinary setup:
For Raymond, the house at 8328 seemed like one of the others ... until he knocked on his door. Meeting a little boy dressed as Spiderman and a man with a heavy past, two people to whom life does not make gifts. Apart from small wooden sculptures!
Starring Guy Thauvette and Alex Dupras, the film guides the viewer through many different emotions in a short time: there are expectations, surprises, there is humour - and a great wisdom. The short can be interpreted as a story of judgement, patience and forgiving, presented in a captivating form.
The visuals, sound, post-processing and acting are all simple and don't leave room for any confusion. The story is well-told: the sudden shift of tone leaves room for the viewer's imagination. But this all would be incomplete without the author's sensitivity and empathy - something he demonstrated in his previous work, too:
I want to tell stories in my own way - no matter what medium is used,
Marc-André said in an interview for Phi Centre. A common element present throughout the author's work is a focus small stories that might not shock or seek the viewer's attention as "first plan" but are brought to light by chance.
The story of Raymond and Hugo isn't an easy one: both characters reveal only part of it. In 8328, Marc-André managed to create the perfect balance between a gripping situation, crisp dialogues and moving characters. The film was produced by Pixcom Productions: the image is the work of Philippe Arsenault, editing by André Roy and with music by Alex Mc Mahon.
The result includes an untold question: how little or how much should we know before concluding any situation? Watch this thought-provoking piece!
8328 short film / court métrage
Follow Marc-André Girard on his Vimeo channel | Instagram | Twitter | website.
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