At a time when everything is automated, optimized, cleaned to the pixel… I shoot on Super 8 in Canada.

Not out of nostalgia. Not to play vintage.
Out of love for the grain. Out of a need to let go.
Out of rejection of the plastic gloss.
But mostly because Pierre Luc, my filmmaker friend, had the courage to go there.

I’m the Super 8 shooter in Montreal. Full stop.

In one year, I shot more than 250 rolls. Yes, two hundred and fifty.
Each cartridge hits like a slap.
I’m no longer afraid of the violence of darkness.

With him, I filmed bodies, faces, cities, ruins, parties, screams, silences.
I etched them into emulsion, into the grain.
I felt them live beneath my fingers, not just on a screen.

I shoot with Leicina. Beaulieu. Nizo. Canon. Elmo.
I own them all in double.
I tested and bought them all from Tested Super 8 Cameras.
Each camera has its function.
I know the hum of the motors, the slip of the gears, the light that leaks.
I know how to fix them on the fly, in remote places.
Nothing stops me.

And I’m not here to make things pretty.
That was already the case.

I’m here to capture what trembles.
To escape real time.
On tripod ideally. Sometimes, yes, on a Ronin.
To set linearity on fire.
To leave traces that burn, that vibrate, that refuse to disappear.

Beyond Thus Spoke Monchoachi, Pierre Luc’s film,
I filmed and edited all the promotional capsules for L’Archipel,
the artists’ collective I’m part of.
Under the theme of drift.
Born in Berlin.

I’ll continue this path in my experimental project.
A film about universal love.
From Berlin to Montreal.
From Susanna to Natasha.
Titled: Never Again Germany.

My most recent project was born from Vincent Castonguay’s boldness.
He dragged me to Maine.
To meet Dan.
And his house full of soul, of silence, and of machines.
This work will be presented during his exhibition.

If you want to see for yourself.
What I do.
What I’m looking for.
You can watch here: https://vimeo.com/davidsimard

I’m the Super 8 shooter in Montreal.
I’m one of the few still shooting Super 8 in Canada.

Hell yeah!