“In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore.” – Chapter 34, Article II, Kennesaw, Georgia
Since May 1st, 1982, Kennesaw has been the only municipality in the United States where owning a firearm is mandatory. Here, “An armed society is a polite society.” Quebec photographer Nicolas Lévesque spent a few weeks in this small Southern town with the amendment’s supporters. After meeting with some resistance, the photographer and director found acceptance after passing a “test” at the shooting range. Having grown up in a hunting region, the photojournalist was able to find common ground with the locals, who have been wary of the media since the law was passed.
The result of his report is In Guns We Trust, black-and-white photographs shot in 35mm and a short 12-minute film of the same name, which combines, with a controlled pace and a fitting aesthetic, photographs, interviews and color video. Lévesque now plans to expand the work into a feature film.
Upon his return from Kennesaw, shortly the Newtown massacre, the media took a great interest in the photographer’s work and published several images from it, while the film received numerous awards and nominations in Canada and abroad. It will be screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April. The exhibition In Guns We Trust will be on display through May 10th, 2014, at the Musée Populaire de la Photographie de Drummondville, as part of the series For the Love of Guns with the photographer Christian Lamontagne (KAHEM), where each photographer will offer their own take on the possession of firearms in the United States.
Trailer IN GUNS WE TRUST
IN GUNS WE TRUST (sort movie)
Tribeca Film Festival, New-York
April 18 – 21, 2014
www.tribecafilm.com
EXHIBITION
For the love of guns
Nicolas Lévesque & Christian Lamontagne
Musée Populaire de la Photographie
217, rue Brock
Centre-ville de Drummondville
Unitl May 10, 2014
www.museedelaphoto.ca
Encaisser l’existence
Galerie L’Oeuvre de l’Autre
April 2 – 22 2014
555 Boulevard de l’Université Chicoutimi
Québec
