Head of the production company Qu4tre par Quatre Films, Joseph, in the early 2000's, also produced commercial works, plus various short and feature-length films, including La moitié gauche du frigo (The Left Half Side of the Fridge) by Philippe Falardeau, Un crabe dans la tête (Soft Shell Man) by André Turpin and the documentary Beckett’s Prisoners by Michka Saäl.
Spoutnik
Daniel Bélanger | 2002
Videoclip of Dans un Spoutnik, from the album Rêver Mieux.
Prisoners of Beckett
Michka Saäl | 2005
Prisoners of Beckett is the meeting of two worlds that never usually converge. One is comprised of poetry and freedom, the other silence and obscurity. It's a true story, which begins in a high security prison in Sweden, where a young actor, Jan Jonson, decides to stage "Waiting For Godot" with a cast of five prisoners.
Their performances turn out to be so unique and genuine that Beckett grants them the right to perform his play and follows the enterprise from his Parisian retreat. Soon everyone is gripped by feverish enthusiasm: the prison governor, an exceptionally bizarre character for the post, and Jan Jonson convince the authorities to let the five actors step outside the prison walls and perform in a real theatre in Gothenburg. An extraordinary concession followed by an even more spectacular event!
Beckett's Prisoners is a film and a puzzle, half tragedy half farce, which reconstructs this adventure and sets off in search of its heroes today.
Regular or Super, Views on Mies van der Rohe
Co-directing: Joseph Hillel et Patrick Demers | 2004
Can a gas station be considered art? If designed by Mies van der Rohe, true giant of modern architecture and head figure of Bauhaus, it can be. His obsession with purity and simplicity and his adherence to his belief that “less is more” influenced the way he combined form and function, creating a connection to the outdoors and an architecture that is less removed from life and more reflective of how we actually live.
The jazz-infused soundtrack and inspired cinematography bring van der Rohe’s work to life in a film that truly captures the spirit of the man and his brilliant contributions to 20th century architecture. With commentary from architects such as Elizabeth Diller, Rem Koolhaas, Phyllis Lambert and Stanley Tigerman.
Snooze
Stéphane Lafleur | 2001
Short film, 9 minutes
« Le premier qui touche par terre est mort».
Voyage immobile d’un jeune homme entre le rêve et la réalité.
André Turpin | 2001
Alex, a young photographer, continually seduces. He pleases everyone, without ever having any of his own ideas, passions, or conflicts. His existence is completely empty, dependent on the need to please others. While in Montreal, he has an adventure with a journalist, Marie, who is in the company of his best friend. This friend, Sara, is deaf. The film won the Jutra Awards for Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Score, Best Direction, and Best Film. It was nominated for Best Canadian Film at the TFCA Award, for Best Actor and more at the Jutra Awards, and for Best Motion Picture at the Genie Awards.
Left Half Side of the Fridge
Philippe Falardeau | 2000
Left Half Side of the Fridge won the Claude Jutra Award at the Genie Awards, as well as Best Actor at the Jutra Awards. It also won Best Canadian First Feature Film at the TIFF, and was nominated for three more awards at the Jutra Awards.
Patrick Demers | 1999
Improvised experimental fiction. A young couple on its way to their country house encounter an unexpected guest. Tension. Discharge won Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival.
