It's April 20, 2001 - and Quebec City prepares to host the three-day Summit of the Americas.

The oldest walled city in North America, Quebec City has recently acquired a new line of defence - but one that isn't making all its residents feel secure. For the Summit, a four-kilometre fence has been erected, cutting off the Upper Town from the rest of the city.

Six thousand police officers fill the streets. Helicopters buzz ominously overhead. It looks as if the historic Quebec capital is under siege.

The Summit's high-profile guests are arriving. Thirty-four heads of state from the Americas - Cuba excluded - will meet behind closed doors to discuss agreements for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

Support for the FTAA is by no means unanimous, however. Those opposed are mobilizing and gathering in Quebec City, too. Several thousand delegates have come to participate in the People's Summit, intended as a response to the dignitaries' invitation-only gathering, and tens of thousands will march in protest. Meanwhile, militant anarchists are preparing for confrontations with authorities, as well. Officials are concerned that some protestors will attack the security barricades. The local population fears the worst. Will the Quebec capital become a battleground?

In VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT, seven film crews provide us with an extraordinary view of the Quebec City summit - on both sides of the barricades.

On the inside, there's Thomas d'Aquino, president of the Business Council on National Issues, representing Canada's 150 largest corporations - an ardent proponent of free trade with his own view of democracy. Also in attendance is Richard Feinberg, former summit consultant to the US State Department, promoter of the democracy clause and confessed fan of summitry.

Outside the barricades, the focus is on three activists: Graciela Rodriguez, an Argentinean exiled in Brazil for the past 25 years and a prominent figure in the Continental Social Alliance, which seeks an alternative to the type of economic integration pursued by the Summit invitees. Philippe Duhamel and his group Opération SalAMI, who've put together a non-violent coalition to protest against the FTAA. And finally, Tania Hallé, an anthropology student and member of the anarchist movement CLAC (Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles), who defends a range of protest tactics, including festive demonstration, peaceful obstruction and active disruption.

Between these two groups, there's Inspector Pierre Goupil of the Sûreté du Québec, commander of the Red Battalion, the main police unit responsible for keeping the peace during the Summit.

The People's March takes place peacefully, with some 50,000 joining in. But clashes between some demonstrators and police quickly escalate. Projectiles, Molotov cocktails, tear gas and rubber bullets fly back and forth - while behind the window dressing of official photographs, speeches and handshakes, the diplomatic waltz of the Summit continues.

A dance of a very different kind takes place after nightfall in the gas-choked city. Under the expressway arches, young people dance to improvised rhythms and grope for new ways of changing the world¿

2001, 75 min 15 s

Vue du Sommet

Cultivating Peace in the 21st Century/Cultiver la paix au XXIe siècle