Greluche: A Documentary Vision Honoured at Fantasia
Some projects take shape over the years. Greluche, Daphnée Côté-Hallé’s documentary short, is one of those journeys. I contributed to its cinematography, a credit shared with Raphaël Ouellet. In July 2025, this collaboration received a Special Mention at Fantasia in the Royal Photo Award category for Best Cinematography in a Short Film.
The film begins with a very personal relationship: Daphnée’s bond with her mother, Isabelle Côté, whose clown character is Greluche. As retirement approaches, she continues to make plenty of room for imagination and play. The documentary seeks to understand what connects the person and her character, and what a daughter receives from her mother’s distinctive world.
For me, contributing to the images of a portrait like this means accompanying a perspective. The camera participates in the encounter, but it must also let the person being filmed live freely. Framing, distance and light become ways to support the director’s story and give presence to what she wants to share.
This project also reminds us of the time documentary filmmaking sometimes requires. The film was shot over five years. In her invitation to a private screening in September 2024, Daphnée spoke of six years of work and detours to bring her first short film to completion. Those two markers describe different stages of the same journey: the time of the images, then the time of creating the film.
My archives also hold traces of the project from 2018, then stills from the film in 2020. Rediscovering them reveals the distance between the early stages and the encounter with audiences. Greluche was later presented at Fantasia in July 2025, where the cinematography was recognized among the award winners.
This Special Mention means a lot to me because it recognizes a collective contribution in service of a deeply personal film. It connects Daphnée’s work, Isabelle’s presence and the perspectives that accompanied the images. It’s a fond memory of independent cinema: a project that took its time, kept its distinctive character and found its place before audiences.
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