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Cinema graduate Nicolas Renaud is the winner of the Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award at Hot Docs 2013 in Toronto, for his film BRAVE NEW RIVER (Fr.: LA NOUVELLE RUPERT). This award was given by the jury for the Canadian Spectrum program to a director for a first or second feature-length documentary.

http://www.hotdocs.ca/news#hot_docs_2013_award_winners_announced

Hot Docs is the largest documentary film festival in North America.

Brave New River is a trip along the Rupert River just after it was diverted for a new hydroelectricity project in James Bay. Unlike conflicts of the past, the indigenous Cree now join other workers to take part in the transformation of their land. The film explores the nuances and contradictions of this new situation. It chronicles the paradoxes of development, the meeting between two worlds and the various relationships people have with the river, whether for work, food, science, electric power... or cultural identity.

"Witnessing the contrasting imagery of a pre- and post-dam river environment, questions of modernity's quest to control nature arise, while Renaud's sensitive portraits and reflective observations provide a comprehensive understanding of identity, history and responsibility. Not since One More River has a film captured the complexity and beauty of nature's gifts and the human issues of how it should be received." - Alexander Rogalski, Canadian programmer HOT DOCS

Other cinema graduates who worked on the project are Kyle Stanfield (sound design) and David Pieropan (production).

It was produced by MC2 communication media.

The film is released at Cinéma Excentris from May 17 to 24 (Fr.v. La nouvelle Rupert, i.e. with French subtitles on English and Cree dialogues).

Watch the trailer: 

http://vimeo.com/nouvellerupert/trailer

Nicolas Renaud studied in Film Production 1995-1998 and went back to complete his BFA in 2003. He also writes about film and the arts, has exhibited video installations, curated film programs at the Cinémathèque québécoise, and has been PT teacher of Film Aesthetics, Film History and FFAR courses at Concordia. He is completing part-time a Masters in Sociology.