Undertaker for Life!

202252 minFilm: Documentary

Direction: Georges Hannan

Production: Christine Aubé (National Film Board of Canada)Denis McCready (National Film Board of Canada)Nathalie Cloutier (National Film Board of Canada)

Script: Georges Hannan

A production of the National Film Board of Canada.

In a society where condolences can be sent by text and funerals scheduled in our free time, grieving is something we athink we can avoid. Is this really the case? Those with a vocation to look after the dead will tell you otherwise. They know because at the end of the day, they spend much of their time watching over the living.

Despite the somewhat frightening name of their occupation, undertakers are actually charming philosophers and keen observers of life. We only see their sombre side, but away from the funeral rites and on camera, they turn out to be amazingly insightful. Their love of life and the living, their dark humour and comforting wisdom are the best remedies against existential despair.

In Undertaker for Life!, Georges Hannan tackles a taboo subject and lifts the veil on an under-appreciated world: that of the artisans of bereavement. By providing behind-the-scenes access to the funeral industry, he demystifies a profession we tend to view as grim. But undertakers are anything but gloomy; they’re funny, generous and dedicated. We would gladly go on vacation with them, but sadly, they never have any dead time.

Alternating between earnestness and humour, the guardians of the shadows confide in each other with disarming frankness and raise questions that are more urgent than ever. As our increasingly individualistic society abandons long-standing rituals, how do we make sense of death, how do we mourn, how do we preserve remembrance? What answers can religions and various practices provide? In short, how can we cope with death in today’s world?

Subtle, moving and often hilarious, Undertaker for Life! shows the flip side of death. Against the backdrop of Georges Hannan’s superb photography and a musical score that’s as unpredictable as it is effective, these benevolent transporters, the undertakers, deliver a truth that transcends time: death, if it cannot be explained, at least allows us to understand life.

Availability


Subject categories


  • Health and Medicine > Coping with Illness and Dying
  • Psychology and Psychiatry > Emotional LifeLife and Death
  • Religion, Beliefs and Ethics > Life and Death
  • Francophone Communities > New Brunswick
  • Social Issues > Rural Life

Credits


participation
Normand Arsenault
Guy Belliveau
Normand Joseph Cormier
Cora Coughlan
Brad Deware
Maxime Doiron
Léonce Dupuis
Serge Dupuis
Cédric Gautreau
Claude Gautreau
Souad H'Mida
Joan Milliea
Jason Morton
Michel Thibodeau
Francis Weil
Jared Woodworth
director
Georges Hannan
researcher
Georges Hannan
scriptwriter
Georges Hannan
collaboration with scriptwriting
Mélanie Léger
editor
Julien Cadieux
principal camera
Bernard Fougères
additional camera
Georges Hannan
location sound recorder
Georges Hannan
production manager
Michelle Paulin
sound editor
Dennis Morton
mixer
Dennis Morton
online editor
Yannick Carrier
graphic designer
Mélanie Bouchard
subtitles
Sette
foley
Sam Mongeau
foley recording studio
Jo Caron Audio
foley recording
Fred Maloney
music rights clearance
laNégo
original music
Dennis Morton
musician
Dennis Morton
Sébastien Michaud
soloist
Cédric Gautreau
organist
Claude Gautreau
marketing manager
Karine Sévigny
line production
Geneviève Duguay
administrator
Geneviève Duguay
Sia Koukoulas
senior production coordinator
Audrey Rétho
technical coordinator
Jean-François Laprise
video technical support
Patrick Trahan
Marie-Josée Gourde
Pierre Dupont
audio technical support
Bernard Belley
legal counsel
Julie Patry
producer
Christine Aubé
executive producer
Denis McCready
Nathalie Cloutier

Awards


  • prix La Vague Léonard-Forest de la meilleure œuvre acadienne, moyen ou long métrageInternational Francophone Film Festival in Acadie
  • Meilleure émission ou série documentaire: SociétéPrix Gémeaux