A number of popular artists to be featured at the Soirées-rencontres events at Opticentre St-Jean-Baptiste

The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion is pleased to present the 2024 lineup for its popular Soirées-rencontres evenings. Once again this year, prominent figures from Quebec’s cultural scene will take turns on the stage of the Opticentre St-Jean-Baptiste (145, Harwood Boulevard), starting with Émile Proulx-Cloutier on February 22nd at 7:30 p.m., followed by Ingrid St-Pierre on March 21st, Kim Thùy on April 25th, and Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette on May 30th, with the latter event being part of MOSA - La fête des mots. Hosts Amélie Boivin Handfield and Marjorie Vallée will share the hosting duties for these four public interviews.

Émile Proulx-Cloutier has been a fixture in Quebec television for many years. Recently, audiences were able to see him in “Avant le crash”, “Les moments parfaits”, “Plan B”, “Faits divers” and “Boomerang”, as well as in numerous films including “L’Arracheuse de temps”, “Le déserteur”, “Mathusalem”, “L’Autre maison”, “Mont Foster”, “Nous sommes les autres” and “La Bolduc”. He has also often worked behind the camera, directing short films and documentaries. As a singer-songwriter, he has released two albums: “Aimer les monstres” (2013) and “Marée haute” (2017). He has also performed in theatre productions such as “Ubu roi”, “Marie Stuart”, “Tout est encore possible”, “Musique inquiétante”, “Frères” and “La Bonne Âme du Se-Tchouan”. Recently, he wrote and directed “Grosse-Île: 1847 (dans les mots de ceux qui l’ont vécu)” and co-created “Pas perdus : documentaires scéniques” with Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette.

With her debut album “Ma petite m’amzelle de chemin”, in 2011, Ingrid St-Pierre showcased both the innocence of youth and a pure, selfless passion for music. This earned her a nomination for Revelation of the Year at the ADISQ awards. Her second album, “L’escapade”, released in October 2012, solidified her delicate tone and her ability to craft stories into musical vignettes. “Tokyo”, released in 2015, introduces grand orchestrations, adding a new dimension to her narratives. In 2019 came “Petite Plage”, her exploration of new territories and an electro sound. Following her instrumental album “Ludmilla”, released in March 2022, she returned to a more intimate style with her sixth album “Reines”, released in February 2023.

Kim Thúy fled Vietnam with the Boat People at the age of ten and settled with her family in Quebec. With degrees in translation and law, she has worked as a seamstress, interpreter, lawyer and restaurant owner. She has received several awards, including the Governor General’s Literary award in 2010, and was one of four finalists for the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2018. Her books (“Ru”, “Mãn”, “Vi”, “Em” , “À toi…”) have sold over 850,000 copies worldwide, and have been translated into 31 languages and distributed in 43 countries and territories. The film adaptation of her first novel “Ru” is currently in theatres throughout Quebec.

Director, author, screenwriter and activist Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette has produced over twenty film works, written seven books, and contributed to the creation of three documentary stage productions. She directed the fiction feature films “Le Ring”, “Inch‘Allaha”, “La Déesse des mouches à feu” and “Chien blanc”, as well as several documentary feature films, including “Les Petits géants” and “Se souvenir des cendres”, both of which won de Gémeaux Award for Best Film. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette is the author of the novel “La femme qui fuit” (translated for some twenty countries, voted Bestseller of all categories in 2016, and selected among the ten best Quebecois novels of all time). Then came “Femme Forêt” and “Femme Fleuve”, which have gained recognition both locally and abroad. Her travel chronicles “Embrasser Yasser Arafat”, her children’s books “Nos héroïnes” and “Nos fleurs”, and her debut novel “Je voudrais qu’on m’efface” - now adapted for television, continue to shine. With Émile Proulx-Cloutier, Anaïs co-created three documentary stage productions, including the recent “Pôle Sud” and “Pas Perdus”. She is co-founder of the Mothers Out Front movement, which advocates for protecting the environment and the health of children.

The soirées-rencontres events are free of charge and open to everyone. No registration is required. Guests are welcome to arrive at the Opticentre St-Jean-Baptiste starting at 6:30 p.m. and enjoy the bar service.