ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the works of the Vidéo Femmes collective, founded in 1973 by feminist videographers Helen Doyle, Hélène Roy, and Nicole Giguère. The chapter focuses on this collective’s work because of its highly effective and original use of video as a tool which allows documentary and fiction to coexist harmoniously. Its use of video gives prominence to women’s voices by allowing them to speak directly to the camera through performance and testimony. The chapter offers an account of the collective’s original and groundbreaking work, which emerged during a pivotal period in Québec culture and politics. Furthermore, the importance of the chapter and its archival research is accentuated by the fact that many of the works of Vidéo Femmes are currently unavailable or kept for eventual digitization within the Cinémathèque Québécoise in Montréal. Their work remains difficult to access, which explains the desire to revisit their output in the 21st century.
