What is Éléphant?
For 15 years, Éléphant: mémoire du cinéma québécois
has been gradually digitizing and restoring all the Québec fiction feature films ever made and making them readily available. It is preserving for future generations millions of images of Québec’s history: three-quarters of a century of our lives, our customs, our habits, our architecture and our landscapes. This treasured family album is accessible anytime on illico and Helix (Videotron) and Apple TV.
Éléphant on the Web
The Éléphant website at elephantcinema.quebec is a gold mine of information and indispensable reference source on Québec movies. It lists all Québec fiction feature films, past and present, and contains a wealth of fascinating exclusive content, hundreds of exclusive in-depth interviews with the people who have shaped Québec cinema, trailers, video excerpts, special reports, detailed movie info, on-set stills and film industry news. Visitors can also peruse the catalogue of movies available for rental and order one by clicking on the Vidéotron, Éléphant or Apple TV icon.
Éléphant on the big screen
For people who enjoy the big-screen experience, Éléphant presents a film from its catalogue at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montréal every month. Often, someone involved in making the film—the director, an actor, a producer—will be in attendance and will share tidbits from on and off the set with the audience.
Éléphant around the world
The movies digitized and restored by Éléphant are available everywhere in Canada via the Apple TV app, and also in US, in Europe, and in all African countries where French or English is an official language. All the films are in French and English (dubbed or subtitled). As well, 50 movies from Éléphant’s catalogue are available in all Spanish-speaking countries with Spanish subtitles. Québec movies can therefore be seen at all times almost anywhere on the planet!
TV
On illico on channel 900 and on Helix
(Videotron customers)
Select “Movies,” scroll down to “Browse by collection”. Select the Éléphant tile. You can also search by title or by director.
To go directly to our collection on Apple TV, click on this link.
OTHER
Éléphant website
Find the movie you want to watch and then click on the Éléphant logo below the trailer. You can use the search bar to find a film.
Consult the complete list of movies that are available for rent
Go to our site to see the full list of movies available : https://elephantcinema.quebec/louer/
NON-PROFIT ! With the exception of a small amount to cover part of the platform’s operating costs, all revenues from the distribution of the films on illico goes to the people who make Québec movies
MORE THAN 15 MILLIONS spent by Quebecor since 2007
MORE THAN 150 FILMS SCREENED at festivals and cultural institutions
MORE THAN 250 FILMS AVAILABLE 24/7 on illico, Helix (Videotron) and on the Apple TV app.
NEARLY 400 EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS with the builders of Québec cinema
NEARLY 600,000 USERS and nearly 1,400,000 page views on the Éléphant website in the last two years
I saw a movie on your site that I want to rent, but I can’t find it on illico or iTunes. Why not?
Our website lists all fiction feature films produced or coproduced in Québec from the early days of cinema to the present day – that’s more than 1,600 movies. Of that number, 250 have been digitized and restored. Click on Louer un film (rent a film) to see the list of available movies. Films that are available on Videotron and/or Apple TV have an icon with a link to those platforms.
Can I rent a film directly from the Éléphant website?
All of the 250+ restored feature films in our catalogue can now be rented directly on our website. Find the movie you want to watch and then click on the Éléphant logo below the trailer. For the full list of available films, view or download our 2023 catalogue.
I’m a broadcaster and I would like to screen one of your restored movies at a festival. What should I do?
Éléphant negotiates licences to the films it digitizes and restores only for its own activities. To screen a movie at a festival, event or theatre, you have to contact the rights-holder to obtain their permission, as well as information on the terms and conditions for screening the movie. Write to us at elephant_commentaire@quebecormedia.com for assistance with contacting the rights-holder.
Can I purchase a DVD or Blu-ray copy of one of the movies you’ve digitized?
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide physical copies of the movies our team has digitized and restored. Éléphant holds video-on-demand broadcast rights but not retail sale rights. We provide a copy of each restored movie to the rights-holder, who is then free to decide if they want to produce a DVD or Blu-ray for retail sale.
Do you offer institutional subscriptions for schools and libraries?
We do not currently offer institutional subscriptions to the entire Éléphant catalogue, which is part of illico’s video-on-demand and Helix offering. If someone at your institution has access, you can use a personal iTunes Canada, Apple TV, Helix or illico account to watch an Éléphant movie. Rentals last 48 hours.
How come your movies are not available through public institutions like the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)?
None of the movies that we restore and make available are in the public domain. We have negotiated agreements with the rights-holder for each movie in our catalogue but we don’t hold rights that would allow us to make our movies available for free through a public institution.
I hold the rights to a movie. How can I get it restored?
Éléphant only restores fiction feature films. We digitize feature films that had a theatrical release prior to 2008, with some exceptions. If the movie meets these two criteria, you can email Éléphant’s director, Raphaêl Rainville, at raphael.rainville@mels-studios.com for more information.
We are a media outlet and would like to use video clips/posters/photos from your website for an article or show. Can you help us?
Éléphant can use promotional material for a movie only within the scope of its digitization and restoration activities. You must contact the rights-holder of the movie to use a video clip or promotional materials related to the work or artist. Email us at elephant_commentaire@quebecormedia.com for assistance with contacting the rights-holder.
How do you decide which movies to digitize and restore?
Éléphant digitizes and restores fiction feature films produced before 2008. Films are selected to ensure that our catalogue includes a wide range of works and genres. Digitization and restoration also depend on the availability of prints, which can be difficult to find and sometimes require in-depth research, and on whether agreements can be negotiated with the rights-holders. Eventually, we hope to digitize and restore all Québec movies and make them accessible to everyone.
If Éléphant is an entirely philanthropic project, why does it cost money to rent the movies you’ve restored?
Quebecor does not benefit financially from Éléphant rentals. A portion of this minimal fee covers part of the platform’s operating costs. All revenues go to the rights-holders and the creators of Québec cinema through agreements with various professional associations.