News

Il était deux fois un jardin [Twice Upon a Garden] Avant-première of the Documentary Film by Philippe Baylaucq about the Reford Gardens - Friday August 14 at 8 pm

2009-08-12

The gardens of Elsie Reford will be transformed into an outdoor cinema on Friday August 14th at 8 pm for the avant-première of the new documentary film by Philippe Baylaucq entitled, Il était deux fois un jardin / Twice Upon a Garden. The film captured the beauty of all seasons of the Gardens visited by tens of thousands of people every summer.

Il était deux fois un jardin [Twice Upon a Garden] takes us inside these world class gardens first cultivated in the 1920’s by Elsie Reford and now nourished by the vision of her great grandson Alexander Reford. Filming started in June 2007 and completed in April 2009 attracted 100 hours of images of lush vegetation. The film covered the gardens in every climactic condition, including a fierce winter blizzard, torrential rains, quiet summer evenings and the last sunshine of the autumn. The film provides an intimate portrait of the gardens and its artisans, beginning with Elsie Reford in the 1920s and including the many visiting designers who take part in the festival and other creators like chef Normand Laprise of Toqué! Restaurant who have contributed to making the gardens one of the leading venues for contemporary design in the world.

The 52 minutes documentary film, directed by Philippe Baylaucq, is produce by Garry Beitel and Barry Lazar of Beitel/Lazar Productions and distribute by reFrame Films Distribution. The film is based on an original idea by cowriter Donna Nebenzahl. The film crew was composed of Marc Gadoury DOP and sound recordist, André Boisvert, Dominique Sicotte, editor, Robert Marcel Lepage, musical adaptation of the Four Seasons by Vivaldi. Kelly Ricard is the voice of Elsie Reford. The documentary film will be available in 2010 in French version with English subtitles and in English version with French subtitles “Twice Upon a Garden”.

Click here to view an extract of the film.

Click here to view the complete press release.