QBR.A Quebecor Inc

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 20, 2023 /CNW/ - Éléphant: The Memory of Québec Cinema is pleased to announce that its catalogue of over 250 films can now be accessed directly on its website at elephantcinema.quebec. All the feature films it has digitized and restored are now available in one place, without restriction, from anywhere in Canada. The move marks the 15th anniversary of Quebecor's largest philanthropic project, which was officially launched on November 18, 2008. 

The films in Éléphant's catalogue were already available on Videotron's platforms and the Apple TV app. Now they can also be rented for 48 hours at any time on the Éléphant website. To rent a film, visitors to the site simply locate it using the search bar and then click on the Éléphant logo below the trailer. Several collections, including new restorations, can also be found directly on the homepage.

"With this new service, we can proudly say that the films digitized and restored by Éléphant are more accessible than ever," says Sylvie Cordeau, Vice-President, Philanthropy & Sponsorships of Quebecor. "Preserving Québec fiction films and making them available to as many people as possible has always been at the heart of our mission, and this move is very much in line with that goal. Many of these films can also be seen in any country in the world where French or English is an official language."

Officially launched 15 years ago with an initial catalogue of 25 films, Éléphant: The Memory of Québec Cinema has steadily expanded its offerings. In addition to making films available on video-on-demand, Éléphant presents a monthly theatrical screening at the Cinémathèque québécoise and has partnered with a number of prestigious festivals over the years so that film-buffs can see restored movies the way they were meant to be seen, on the big screen.

"Éléphant has done a colossal job over the past 15 years," says Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor. "Thanks to the concerted efforts of a dedicated team combined with MELS' expertise, hundreds of films from our cinematographic heritage have been rescued from oblivion and can now be enjoyed by new generations under optimal conditions. And when cinephiles visit Éléphant's website to rent a film, they can also access the largest existing database on Québec movies. Every feature-length fiction film from the origins of Quebec cinema to the present day is listed, and there are many exclusive interviews with the people who made them."

See Éléphant's 2023 catalogue for the full list of films.

Éléphant: The Memory of Québec Cinema is a large-scale project to digitize, restore, preserve and make accessible Québec's feature film heritage, fully funded by Quebecor. Since its inception in 2007, Éléphant has restored more than 240 movies, which are now available on its website, on Videotron's illico video-on-demand service (channel 900) and on Helix. The films are also available, in the original version with English subtitles, on iTunes Canada, Apple TV and in all countries where French or English is an official language. As well, more than 50 of the movies are available in Spanish-speaking countries with Spanish subtitles. The Éléphant website at www.elephantcinema.quebec contains the largest existing database and information bank on Québec cinema.

Éléphant: The Memory of Québec Cinema is a philanthropic endeavour from which Quebecor derives no financial benefit. Aside from a small amount to cover a portion of the platform's operating costs, all revenues from distribution of the movies goes to the rights holders and the filmmakers.

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SOURCE Quebecor