(26 min) Photography; Quebec; Animation

When Vogue magazine sent a young Lida Moser from New York to Montréal for a photo essay on Canada, it resulted in one of Moser's most significant bodies of work. Animator Joyce Borenstein melds still images, animation and Moser's comments to salute the work of this photographer as she captured a country on the cusp of modernization.

Lida Moser (1920-2014), a New York photographer on assignment for Vogue magazine, travelled throughout Québec in 1950 in the company of Paul Gouin (Cultural Advisor to the Premier) and ethnologist Luc Lacoursière. It was a road trip that she never forgot. Moser created over 1,000 photographs of a society and place on the cusp of modernization. Sixty years later, she recounts this journey to Montréal director and animator Joyce Borenstein who artfully interweaves Moser's photographs with animation and time-lapse imagery. Recordings from archives and Moser's own voice, recorded by Borenstein at initial stages of this work, create a unique portrait of an era while celebrating the work of this talented photographer.

Director: Joyce Borenstein
Producer: Joyce Borenstein, Richard Elson