Wetsuit

A body explores its territories, aquatic and sedimentary. The suit, in its rigidity, grips and wraps, constrains, suffocates. But it mocks the cold: the fibers relax, the seaweed dances. "Combinaison humide" stands as a membrane between body and winds, icy water, its waves and its currents. Visibility fluctuates. The weight of the body survives only in the state of motion. Perceptions connect to fluid space, and the body passes through. Athletic fantasy meets saline poetry.

Co-directed by Marc Lepage and Stéphanie Beaudoin, respectively videographer and dance and theater artist, this screendance short film presents a third partner in its own right: the St. Lawrence River. It is on its shores, in Eastern Quebec, that the artists composed the entire soundtrack, from recordings made under and on the water using hydrophones.

This work was created with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts' Digital Originals grant and was presented in the Paraloeil Cinema and Production Center’s 2022 regular program and the Creation marathon dance festival in Trois-Pistoles.

  • Marc Lepage
    Director
  • Marc Lepage
    Writer
  • Stéphanie Beaudoin
    Writer
  • Marc Lepage
    Producer
  • Stéphanie Beaudoin
    Producer
  • Stéphanie Beaudoin
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Combinaison humide
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 31, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    3,900 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    French
  • Shooting Format:
    DIGITAL
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Paraloeil
    Rimouski
    Canada
    February 17, 2022
    World Premiere
    Official selection
  • Marathon de la création
    Trois Pistoles
    Canada
    July 7, 2022
    Premiere basque
    Official selection
Director Biography - Marc Lepage

Portrait photographer and cinematic storyteller, I place people at the heart of my work, where staging and sculpture by light are predominant. Not wanting to remain a spectator or simple witness to a scene, I prefer to build colorful universes presenting the images as fragments of stories. I favor collaborations with dancers, musicians and actors, because their extra-daily presence and their expressive acting naturally lend themselves to the dreamlike worlds I create. I am recognised by the Canada Council for the Arts as a Photographer, Theater artist and an Independent Media Artist.

With video, I make short films exclusively. I seek to induce, in the viewer, the feeling of instability of being thrown into the heart of an ongoing event, the imbalance of having to figure out the key elements of a scene that brought the character into this situation.

My artistic short film body of work include Arnaud Lacourse (2009) which won the National institute of image and sound (INIS) prize for the strength of its scenario, it’s originality and mastery of the cinematic language, De fille en aiguille (2009), La Maudite Quête (2011), Peau d’vache (2020), Combinaison humide (2020), Grovid (2021) and InstaPig (2021).

In theatre, I contributed to the creation of stage projections in video-mapping of the productions Ailleurs si on y est (2017), Le coffre du terrain vague (2018), La maison qui nous habite (2019), Fin septembre, début janvier (2019), Parc-en-ciel (2020), Peau d’vache (2020) et Alors Voilà (2021).

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