Off Limits

Montreal-based photographer Gilbert Duclos, a curious witness to the city and its inhabitants, has walked the streets of Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, London, Lisbon… and has never given up the photography he loves: an elegant black-and-white, woven from encounters and the unexpected. But one day, for someone who thrives on surprise, he got more than he bargained for. A single photograph drew him into a legal case he could well have done without. The “Duclos ruling,” handed down by the Quebec Court of Appeal, could just as easily have happened in many other countries, since the suspicion directed at photographers is universal. Gilbert Duclos turned it into an exceptionally well-documented and compelling film, questioning all the major players in photography, publishers, gallery owners, press executives, and of course leading photographers, who speak candidly about these issues of fundamental freedom.