La passion d’Augustine (The Passion of Augustine)

Director Léa Pool
Year 2015
Run Time 103min
Genre Drama

Céline Bonnier stars as Mother Augustine, a passionate and resilient Catholic nun who teaches music to children of all backgrounds in a convent school in rural Quebec in the 1960s. When her rebellious but musically gifted niece (Lysandre Ménard) joins the convent, Mother Augustine must confront a past that she strives to forget.

With the looming changes brought by Vatican II and Quebec's Quiet Revolution, the local government threatens to shut down the school in favour of public education, and Mother Augustine must search her soul for a solution – or perhaps a new calling. She and her fellow nuns are forced to confront the waves of modernity, but can Augustine move forward, or will she perish with tradition?

The film was nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards including Best Actress for Bonnier, and Best Original Score.

Director

Léa Pool

A Member of the Order of Canada, Pool has earned three Genie Award nominations for Best Direction. Her films include Emporte Moi, Mouvements du désir, Lost and Delirious, La dernière fugue, Et au pire, on se mariera and Hôtel Silence, as well as the documentaries Pink Ribbons, Inc and Double peine. La passion d'Augustine won 15 awards, among them six Prix Iris, including Best Film and Best Director.

Writers

Léa Pool, Marie Vien

Cast

Céline Bonnier, Lysandre Ménard, Diane Lavallée

Producers

Lyse Lafontaine, François Tremblay

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker, History

Original Language

French

Lights for Gita

Director Michel Vo
Year 2002
Run Time 7min
Genre Animation
In her first winter in Canada after her family moved from India, Gita finds a special way to celebrate Divali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Director

Michel Vo

Genre

Animation

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences

Original Languages

English, French

Le sens de l’humour (A Sense of Humour)

Director Émile Gaudreault
Year 2011
Run Time 110min
Genre Comedy
Luc (Houde) and Marco (Côté) are two comedians who tour second-rate theatres around Quebec. Every night, they choose some poor sap in the audience to ridicule to the delight of the other spectators. One night in a small town, the sap is Roger (Gendron), a mild-mannered fry cook. Unfortunately, Roger turns out to be the wrong guy to pick on, and the unlucky duo wake up in a cage, with madman Roger plotting his revenge.

With little to trade for their freedom other than their comedy skills, the duo offer to teach Roger the art of comedy and make him a local star. Thinking it might help him win the girl of his dreams, Roger accepts, and the hilarity and hijinks begin.

Director

Émile Gaudreault

Gaudreault co-wrote Louis 19, le roi des ondes, which Ron Howard adapted into EDtv. Gaudreault both co-wrote and directed De pere en flic (the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history), Le vrai du faux, Le sens de l'humour and Mambo Italiano, which earned six Canadian Comedy Award nominations. He also wrote and directed De père en flic 2, and most recently, the comedy Menteur. He also co-wrote the upcoming Lignes de fuite, and is producing the English-language remake of De père en flic, Fathers and Guns.

Writers

Émile Gaudreault, Benoît Pelletier

Cast

Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Benoît Brière, Anne Dorval

Producers

Daniel Louis, Denise Robert

Genre

Comedy

Interest

Bullying

Original Language

French

Babine

Director Luc Picard
Year 2008
Run Time 112min
Genre Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

In the small village of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, whenever something bad happens, the villagers blame Babine, the son of the village witch. Babine was born an outsider, and has spent his life being teased. When the local church burns down, the new priest becomes determined to find the culprit, and puts the blame on Babine, deciding he must be punished once and for all.

Babine is an offbeat comedy and a charming fairy tale filled with eccentric characters and has a strong message of acceptance that will resonate with audiences of all ages.

Director

Luc Picard

Luc Picard is a celebrated actor with over 50 film and television credits and two Jutra Awards to his name. He has directed Audition, Babine, Ésimésac, and a segment in the anthology film 9. Les rois mongols earned six Canadian Screen Award nominations. His latest film is Confessions and he recently starred in Arsenault & Fils and French Girl.

Writer

Fred Pellerin

Cast

Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Luc Picard, Alexis Martin, Isabel Richer, René Richard Cyr

Producer

Lorraine Richard

Genres

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Interest

Bullying

Original Language

French

1991

Director Ricardo Trogi
Year 2018
Run Time 141min
Genre Comedy, Romance

Twenty-one-year-old Ricardo (Boucher) is a screenwriting student in Montreal, where he dreams about striking up a romance with his classmate Marie-Ève (Gosselin). When she announces that she’ll be going on an exchange trip to Italy, Ricardo can only see one option for himself: to follow her — and his heart — on the trip, and perhaps reconnect with his own Italian roots along the way. Of course, nothing on the trip goes as he expects, and connecting with Marie-Ève seems further away than before.

The charming and funny story is based on director Ricardo Trogi’s own coming-of-age experiences, and was a box office smash and winner of the Golden Screen Award (for biggest Canadian box office gross of the year). The film was nominated for 16 Prix Iris awards and won five, including those for best film and best director.

Director

Ricardo Trogi

Writer and director Trogi’s first film, Québec-Montréal, earned him a Jutra Award for Best Direction and Best Screenplay. His credits also include Horloge biologique, Le Mirage, and the coming-of-age trilogy 1981, 1987, and 1991. He recently co-wrote two seasons of La Maison-Bleue and directed the feature Le Guide de la famille parfaite.

Writer

Ricardo Trogi

Cast

Sandrine Bisson, Jean-Carl Boucher, Mamoudou Camara, Giuseppe Cantore, Juliette Gosselin

Producer

Nicole Robert

Genres

Comedy, Romance

Interest

Biography

Original Language

French

Gabrielle

Director Louise Archambault
Year 2013
Run Time 104min
Genre Drama
Canada’s foreign-language Oscar nominee for 2014, Gabrielle is a big-hearted drama about a young woman with Williams syndrome who has a genuine and infectious zest for life. Like most young adults, Gabrielle longs for independence, but when she falls in love with a young man in her choir, both the families and social workers worry that the two won’t be able to handle an adult relationship.

As the choir prepares for an important performance, Gabrielle must confront other people’s prejudices with courage and overcome her own limitations.

“On the surface, it’s a simple love story: girl meets boy, girl likes boy, girl kisses boy. But Louise Archambault’s Gabrielle is much more…a deeply affecting tale of difference, dignity and the healing power of song.”
— T’cha Dunlevy, Montreal Gazette

 

Director

Louise Archambault

Archambault’s first short film, Atomic Saké, won the Jutra Award for best short. Her first feature, Familia, won her the Genie for best debut feature, and her follow-up Gabrielle was nominated for six CSAs. Archambault also directed the TV series Catastrophe and wrote and directed Il pleuvait des oiseaux, which premiered at TIFF. She has also directed the films Merci pour tout, Le temps d’un été, and Irena’s Vow, which won the Audience Award at VIFF.

Writer

Louise Archambault

Cast

Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, Alexandre Landry, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Robert Charlebois

Producers

Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Genre

Drama

Interests

Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French

Vive la rose

Director Bruce Alcock
Year 2009
Run Time 6min
Genre Animation, Romance

Based on the last recording by one of Newfoundland's foremost traditional music performers, Emile Benoit's tender delivery of the 18th century French song is the heart of Vive la rose. The story of unrequited love and tentative obsession throughout the beloved's life, sickness and early death is the narrative focus, accompanied by an emotional interpretation of Benoit's strong Newfoundland French accent and wavering old man's voice. Vive la rose is animation on location, rooting the film in a location that evokes the past, and combines ink drawings with a variety of romantic and associative elements and objects.

Director

Bruce Alcock

Producers

Tina Ouellette, Annette Clarke, Michael Fukushima

Genres

Animation, Romance

Interests

Arts and Culture, History

Original Language

French

Junior Majeur (Major Junior)

Director Éric Tessier
Year 2017
Run Time 115min
Genre Drama

Five years after the events of Les Pee-Wee: L’hiver qui a changé ma vie best friends Janeau (Pilon) and Joey (Goulet) have made it to Quebec’s semiprofessional hockey league. Both athletes have their sights set on the NHL and scouts have begun to take an interest. Then, in a sudden twist of fate, the two are caught in a devastating car accident that threatens both of their careers. The road to recovery is full of complex challenges and emotions that may end up doing irreparable damage to their previously strong friendship.

A more mature exploration of friendship and the competitive world of junior hockey, this is a coming of age drama with a whole lot of heart.

Director

Éric Tessier

Tessier’s first film was the award-winning short Viens dehors! His feature films include Sur le seuil, Vendus, 5150 rue des Ormes, Junior Majeur, and Les Pee-Wee: L’hiver qui a changé ma vie, which won the Best Feature Film award at TIFF Kids. He recently directed the films Tu te souviendras de moi and When Love Blooms, and episodes of Hôtel and Transplant. He is currently directing The Amityville Curse.

Writers

Martin Bouchard, Emmanuel Joly

Cast

Antoine Olivier Pilon, Rémi Goulet, Alice Morel-Michaud, Normand Daneau

Producer

Christian Larouche

Genre

Drama

Interest

Sports

Original Language

French

La grande séduction (Seducing Doctor Lewis)

Director Jean-François Pouliot
Year 2003
Run Time 109min
Genre Comedy, Drama
In this amiable comedy, the villagers of St. Marie-La-Mauderne in northern Quebec set out to seduce a Montreal doctor into becoming a local. Their once-prosperous fishing industry has run dry, and only the promise of a new plastics factory coming to town can keep the quaint and lively community intact.

Since the new factory requires a resident doctor to be on hand, the boisterous and resourceful mayor (Bouchard) sets out to keep Dr. Christopher Lewis (Boutin) in the village. Dr. Lewis, whose stay in the village was caused by a speeding ticket, is a man of eccentric tastes — he loves cricket, beef Stroganoff and women in open-toed sandals. The villagers set out to create a community that mirrors the habits and loves of the good doctor. Will they succeed?

Winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Director

Jean-François Pouliot

In addition to over 500 commercials, Montrealer Pouliot’s credits include feature films Guide de la petite vengeance and the 2015 box-office success Dr. Cabbie as well as the hit animated film Snowtime!. Recently, he directed the feature films Les 3 p’tits cochons 2, Votez Bougon and the Snowtime! sequel, Racetime.

Writer

Ken Scott

Cast

Raymond Bouchard, David Boutin, Pierre Collin, Benoît Brière, Lucie Laurier

Producers

Roger Frappier, Luc Vandal

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Language

French

Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme (The Journal of Aurélie Laflamme)

Director Christian Laurence
Year 2010
Run Time 108min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Family
She's shy, she's misunderstood — wait, hold that thought. Who’s that cute boy behind the counter at the pet store? Fourteen-year-old Aurélie Laflamme (Verville) feels a little alien on this strange planet of ours, so when she makes a new friend, things begin to look up… to the stars, perhaps, where Aurélie imagines she's from.

Based on the first novel of Québecois author India Desjardins, this quirky and endearing coming-of-age story about a girl lost in her own world is sure to delight.

Director

Christian Laurence

Montreal director Laurence has been working in film and TV for more than 15 years, focusing primarily on short films, including L’astronaute and Songs We Sing. Le journal d'Aurélie Laflamme, his first feature film, was nominated for three Jutra awards. He recently directed the TV mini-series La Derape, Manuel de la vie sauvage, and Haute démolition.

Writers

Christian Laurence, India Desjardins

Cast

Marianne Verville, Genevieve Chartrand, Aliocha Schneider

Producer

Claude Veillet

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Family

Interests

Literary Adaptation, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

French