“Project and donor(s) contributed description follows: “These clips show episodes from Jean-Pierre Marchant’s childhood in the mid-1970s Montreal. His parents were immigrants, recently arrived from Argentina and Chile. Throughout Jean-Pierre’s childhood, they documented the family’s life with a Super 8 camera (and would later switch to video). These clips depict him as a playful child, trips, and well-attended birthday parties. Looking back, Jean-Pierre recognizes that these parties were a big opportunity for the adults to get together and celebrate. The Marchants mostly socialized with people from similar backgrounds, and Jean-Pierre says that “it was important for my parents, who were trying to make a life in a new place, to associate with others who spoke their language.””
Montreal
Video recording from 1971 consisting of a Haitian family and their neighbours shovelling snow and digging out the street. Recording also features children playing in the snow and a tracker snowplowing the street. Project and donor(s) contributed description follows: “On March 4th, 1971, Montreal saw the “Storm of the Century”, a massive snowstorm brought 43cm of snow and 100/km winds to the city. It would take 41 years for this snowfall record to be broken. People lost electricity for as long as ten days. Nadine recalls living on St. Leonard and not being able to see through her patio doors and that the only people who could get around were emergency vehicles and snowmobiles. Of course this major setback meant snow days for everyone, and Nadine’s parents and neighbours got to shovelling. In a predominantly Italian neighbourhood, Nadine suspects her family may have been the only Black family on this street. With no school, five-year old Nadine took pleasure in the Montreal pastime of building snow forts.”
A video clip recording from 1976 to 1978 consisting of a party with adults and children dancing, footage of and from the top of the CN tower, a child playing around the house and pool, and a child playing with a soccer ball wearing a 1978 Argentina Championship t-shirt. Project and donor(s) contributed description follows: “These clips show episodes from Jean-Pierre Marchant’s childhood in the mid-1970s Montreal. His parents were immigrants, recently arrived from Argentina and Chile. Throughout Jean-Pierre’s childhood, they documented the family’s life with a Super 8 camera (and would later switch to video). These clips depict him as a playful child, trips, and well-attended birthday parties. Looking back, Jean-Pierre recognizes that these parties were a big opportunity for the adults to get together and celebrate. The Marchants mostly socialized with people from similar backgrounds, and Jean-Pierre says that ‘it was important for my parents, who were trying to make a life in a new place, to associate with others who spoke their language’.”
A video clip recording from 1976 primarily featuring a child playing in his house and park; the first third of the clip consists of urban and rural landscapes. Project and donor(s) contributed description follows: “Jean-Pierre Marchant’s parents immigrated from South America in the early 1970s before he was born. His mother is from Argentina and his father is from Chile. Jean-Pierre was born in Vieux-Rosemont, Montreal, and spent the first year of his life there before they all moved to (what was then) the suburbs in Saint-Hubert, Longueuil, about 14 km from downtown Montreal. Jean-Pierre recalls day trips with his parents to the United States and Toronto. On this day, the family captures the roads and cityscapes of New Hampshire.”
“Project and donor(s) contributed description follows: “These clips show episodes from Jean-Pierre Marchant’s childhood in the mid-1970s Montreal. His parents were immigrants, recently arrived from Argentina and Chile. Throughout Jean-Pierre’s childhood, they documented the family’s life with a Super 8 camera (and would later switch to video). These clips depict him as a playful child, trips, and well-attended birthday parties. Looking back, Jean-Pierre recognizes that these parties were a big opportunity for the adults to get together and celebrate. The Marchants mostly socialized with people from similar backgrounds, and Jean-Pierre says that “it was important for my parents, who were trying to make a life in a new place, to associate with others who spoke their language.””
