Region: QC
Gagne ton ciel (The Cost of Heaven)
A perfectly crafted modern parable, this slow-burn thriller from acclaimed director Mathieu Denis will have you on the edge of your seat.
“Like a banquet that gets better dish by dish, so does this picture reward anyone willing to sit before the plate to be served a stylish rendition of a sweet life turned sour.” — Kent Hill, Film Threat
Director
Mathieu Denis
Denis is a filmmaker who has directed the short films Le silence nous fera écho, and Code 13 (which was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten, and won him a Best Director Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival), and the features Laurentia, Corbo, The Cost of Heaven, and Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau (Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves), which won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF.
Writers
Mathieu Denis, Alexandre Auger
Cast
Meriem Medjkane, Samir Guesmi, Crixus Lapointe
Producer
Hany Ouichou
Genre
Drama
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Discrimination, Family Relationships
Original Language
French
Cette maison (This House)
Drawing from the real life events surrounding her fourteen-year-old cousin’s murder in 2008, director Miryam Charles wants to finally unpack her grief and the trauma associated with it. Through dream-like reenactments of her own childhood and an imagined life for her cousin, Charles delves into the changing emotional, political, and historical climates surrounding her family as Haitian-Canadians in Quebec.
This beautifully crafted film is a bold and thought-provoking look at family, and a moving tribute to a life tragically cut short.
“A daring blend of documentary and fantasy that invests a deeply personal drama with a wide historical scope.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker
Director
Miryam Charles
Charles is a filmmaker and cinematographer who has directed, produced, and shot many short films, including A Fortress, Drei Atlas, and Chanson pour le Nouveau Monde. She directed the features Mosaic, and Cette maison (This House), which premiered at the Berlinale Forum and was included in TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten, and Sight and Sound’s Best Films of the Year. She was the inaugural recipient of TIFF’s Charles Officer Award for her body of work.
Writer
Miryam Charles
Cast
Schelby Jean-Baptiste
Producer
Felix Dufour-Laperriere
Genres
Documentary, Drama, Experimental
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, Newcomer Stories
Original Language
French
Jusqu’au déclin (The Decline)
"A first feature for director Patrice Laliberté and several of his principal collaborators, The Decline is lean, credible and well-crafted” - Dennis Harvey, Variety
Director
Patrice Laliberté
Writer
Patrice Laliberté
Cast
Guillaume Laurin, Marie-Evelyne Lessard, Réal Bossé, Nicolas Krief
Producer
Julie Groleau
Genre
Thriller
Original Languages
English, French
Paul à Québec
Director
François Bouvier
Film and TV director Bouvier was nominated for the Best Director Genie in 1990 for his film Les matins infidèles. Since then, he has directed numerous television shows and films, including Histoires d'hiver and Maman Last Call, starring Patrick Huard. He recently directed the TV series Ruptures and the film La Bolduc. Currently he is completing work on the film La Cordonnière.
Writers
François Bouvier, Michel Rabagliati
Cast
François Létourneau, Julie LeBreton, Gilbert Sicotte, Louise Portal
Producers
Nathalie Brigitte Bustos, Valérie d'Auteuil, André Rouleau, Karine Vanasse
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation
Original Language
French
La vraie nature de Bernadette (The True Nature of Bernadette)
This subversive and light-hearted classic premiered at Cannes, won three Canadian Film Awards and was selected in TIFF’s first list of its Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time.
“Bernadette is one of the most memorable protagonists in all of Gilles Carle’s films, and in Quebec cinema as a whole.” — François Lévesque, Le Devoir
Director
Gilles Carle
An Officer of the Order of Canada, Carle was an important figure in Quebec cinema whose work includes shorts and features, documentaries, and television. His credits include the classics La vie hereuse de Léopold Z, Les Plouffe, La Vraie nature de Bernadette, and Maria Chapdelaine. Carle was a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec and a Knight in France’s Légion d'honneur. He also received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Writer
Gilles Carle
Cast
Micheline Lanctôt, Donald Pilon, Reynald Bouchard
Producer
Pierre Lamy
Genre
Drama
Interest
Strong Female Leads
Original Language
French
Pour la suite du monde (For Those Who Will Follow)
In 1962, Michel Brault and a team of filmmakers travelled to the island to document the resumption of the practice decades after it had been abandoned, shedding light and wit on this “resourceful” tradition.
A balance of grace, humour, and up-close observation, Pour la suite du monde is known as a landmark achievement in documentary filmmaking and was screened at the Cannes film festival.
Directors
Michel Brault
An Officer of the National Order of Quebec, Brault was a legendary cinematographer and filmmaker, and the only Canadian to win the Best Director Award at Cannes, for Les Ordres. He also directed Les noces de papier, Mon amie Max, and many other features, along with over 80 credits as a cinematographer, including some of Canada’s most iconic films, such as Pour la suite du monde (which he co-directed), Mon oncle Antoine, and Les Bons débarras. He passed away in 2013.
Writers
Michel Brault, Pierre Perrault
Producers
Jacques Bobet, Fernand Dansereau
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Classics, Environment, History
Original Language
French
Barney’s Version
Based on Mordecai Richler’s Giller Prize–winning bestseller of the same name, this rich and hilarious film won seven Genie Awards and was nominated for an Oscar.
“The impeccably cast confessional, with a pitch-perfect Paul Giamatti leading the way, nimbly traverses the four decades in its lead character’s eventual life with considerable exuberance, visual flair and, ultimately, grace." — Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
Director
Richard J. Lewis
Lewis’s television credits include episodes of Due South, Power Play, Beggars and Choosers, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Person of Interest and many others. His critically acclaimed debut feature, Whale Music, won four Genie Awards. Recently, he has been directing for television, including episodes of Westworld and Penny Dreadful, and is currently producing the series Trigger Me.
Writer
Michael Konyves
Cast
Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike, Scott Speedman, Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver
Producer
Robert Lantos
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation
Original Language
English
Les Plouffe (The Plouffe Family)
This is kitchen-sink drama at its most satirical, dramatizing an entire era in the quirks of this memorable clan. The lovable characters and unforgettable moments make Les Plouffe a simultaneously sad, funny and loving account of life in WWII-era Quebec.
This French Canadian classic won seven Genie Awards, including Best Achievement in Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Filiatrault).
Director
Gilles Carle
An important figure in the development of Québec cinema, Carle was a prolific filmmaker whose work includes shorts and feature films, documentaries, and television. He made several films with the NFB, including the classic La vie heureuse de Léopold Z. His credits also include Les Plouffe, La Vraie nature de Bernadette and Maria Chapdelaine. An Officer of the Order of Canada, a Grand Officer of the Ordre National du Québec and a Knight in France’s Légion d'honneur, he has received numerous international prizes, Genies, Canadian Film Awards and a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Writers
Gilles Carle, Roger Lemelin, Jacques Vigoureux
Cast
Gabriel Arcand, Pierre Curzi, Émile Genest, Juliette Huot, Denise Filiatraul
Producers
Denis Héroux, Justine Héroux, John Kemeny
Genre
Drama
Interests
Family Relationships, History, Literary Adaptation
Original Language
French
With this film, Zweig established his voice as a documentarian who is not content to be merely a fly on the wall in the lives of his subjects. Instead, he deploys the camera as a tool for engagement, rooting around in the margins of contemporary society to explore themes of beauty, addiction, love and longing in a profound and unique way.
Zweig’s breakout feature, this universally relatable documentary is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and still remains a deeply resonant look at the love behind a passion.
Director
Alan Zweig
Writer
Alan Zweig
Cast
Alan Zweig, Harvey Pekar, Alan Williams, Don McKellar
Producers
Alan Zweig, Greg Klymkiw, Bruce McDonald, David McCallum
Genre
Documentary
Interests
Arts and Culture, Cult & Offbeat Cinema
Original Language
English
Margaret’s Museum
As she mourns her losses, Margaret meets and falls in love with Neil (Russell), a bagpipe player who is just as disdainful of the local industry as she is. While Neil vows to find work outside of the mines, it proves tragically difficult for the couple to escape the realities of living in a mining community.
This critically acclaimed adaptation — featuring Genie Award–winning performances by Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Nelligan and Kenneth Welsh — is emotionally intense and deeply affecting.
Director
Mort Ransen
Ransen was a film and television director, editor and screenwriter with a career spanning several decades. He directed many shorts such as The Circle and You Are on Indian Land, and features, including Christopher’s Movie Matinee, Bayo, Falling Over Backwards, Margaret’s Museum (which won a Genie for best screenplay), Touched, and Bastards. He passed away in 2021.
Writers
Sheldon Currie, Gerald Wexler, Mort Ransen
Cast
Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Nelligan, Clive Russell, Kenneth Welsh
Producers
Steve Clark-Hall, Mort Ransen, Christopher Zimmer, Claudio Luca
Genre
Drama
Interest
Literary Adaptation
Original Language
English