The act of beauty or the communal dream of Sagitir Ranch

This farm, which includes chickens, rabbits, horses, goats, llamas and many families of humans, is a far cry from the traditional mode of operation.

Young and old who take part in the Sageterre Mission, led by Jean Bedard and Marie-Helen Langley, strive to protect the environment by putting the spirit of community and collectivism at the heart of their approach.

Since 2004, the couple have made their land accessible to people who wish to develop agricultural, social and educational projects, and who aim at food self-sufficiency and social justice in particular.

If we were in the Titanic, and we had the most comfortable and luxurious cabin, the ship would still sink., explains Nicolas Paquet, using the words of Jean Bedard. Ecology, behind its existence Small eco house, harmoniousIt should prompt us to create and strengthen our relations with our neighbours, our friends, thinks the independent director who has lived in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska for 14 years.

These are the articles and novels of Jean Bedard in particular Diary of a refugee countrywhich gave Nicolas Paquet the raw material to make his fifth documentary. I thought he had a different way of presenting the world around us and that there was a lot of beauty in what he wrote.He says.

The movie is intended Appeal to the beauty of the worldNicholas Paquet says: He wanted to convey this vision that the connection we enjoy with others can encourage us more to conserve nature. We do not act out of individualism, but rather out of the need to spread happiness as much as we can.

” I told myself that the environmental message should pass through this connection with nature, not in the message of fear, which has been the attempt of recent years to scare us of the consequences. »

There are many people who are currently wondering if this is really the case [avec la peur] We will succeed in changing our behavior and our way of lifeLifts.

“Everything that is done, happens, or happens on the farm contributes to some extent in this relationship with nature that Jean Bedard highlighted in his writings,” says Nicolas Paquet.

Pictured: Nicolas Paquet

One of the surprises for the documentary filmmakers was to see Sagittaire’s breakthrough in 2019. The farm became a Fund for Social and Agricultural Facilities (FUSA), Which to some extent does not belong to anyone and everyone at the same timeNicolas Paquet explains.

Jan and Marie Helen sold the land and buildings to an organization that had no owner, members, or shareholders. It puts this place in a kind of conservation mode, because everything that is done there should contribute to the well-being of the people. So we can’t make it a profitable business, which will only benefit some people.

” What I like is that it makes a rhetoric of, let’s say, a little revolutionary, because there are a few examples where we tell ourselves ‘we’re going against monarchy’. »

Nicolas Paquet has put the rural environment at the center of his documentaries for twenty years.

Photo: Francois Besant

After Montreal and Quebec Documentary the act of beauty Written by Nicolas Paquet It will be presented at Rivière-du-Loup, Trois-Pistoles and Rimouski in the coming days.