Québec Focus

Discover what we have in common with people from Canada’s French-speaking province of Québec. The films in this collection explore the lives of Québécois living in modern Montreal, taking up native dance, experiencing an endless suburban summer, languishing in a sawmill town with a vast snowy backdrop, and caught in imaginary dream-worlds.

Estimated total run time: 100 minutes.
Censorship rating to be advised. Please contact your cinema for details.

(Select cinema for times and tickets…)Auckland Central – Rialto Cinemas NewmarketChristchurch – Alice CinemathequeDevonport – The VicDevonport – The VicStewart Island – Bunkhouse TheatreWellington CBD – Embassy Theatre

La Peau Sauvage (Wild Skin)

Fantasy, 19 mins, Canada

NZ Premiere

Dir/Writ: Ariane Louis-Seize

Prod: Jeanne-Marie Poulain, Hany Ouichou

The quiet life of a solitary woman is disturbed when she discovers a baby python in her apartment. This unleashes her deepest urges and will let her express, for the first time, who she truly is.

No Wave

Thriller, 12 mins, Canada

NZ Premiere

Henry listens to the sounds of ocean waves on a relaxation radio station to soothe his anxiety and help him sleep. But did he just hear the screams of a drowning man in his calming sea? Dir/Writ/Prod: Stephane Lapointe

Mutants

Coming of age, 17 mins, Canada

NZ Premiere

Dir/Writ: Alexandre Dostie

Prod: Hany Ouichou, Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette

In the summer of 1996, life throws a curveball in the face of Keven Guénette… and it strikes. Guided by his paraplegic baseball coach, Keven discovers the mutation: sex and love.

Bleu Tonnerre (Blue Thunder)

Musical, 21 mins, Canada

NZ Premiere

Dir/Writ: Philippe David Gagné, Jean Marc E. Roy

Prod: Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette, Ménaic Raoul

Bruno is a sawmill worker in his thirties who breaks up with his girlfriend. He breaks into song while trying to sort out his life, and rekindle his previous glory as a wrestler named Blue Thunder.

Mon Dernier Été (My Last Summer)

Coming of age, 15 mins, Canada

NZ Premiere

Prod: Étienne Hansez

During a summer heat wave in Montreal, two 11-year-olds, Tom and Édith, meet and become close friends. When Tom discovers Édith’s terrible secret, his innocence is shattered. Dir/Writ: Paul-Claude Demers

Sonny Side Up

Documentary, 7 mins, Canada

NZ Premiere

Dir/Writ/Prod: Sonny Papatie

An inspiring documentary about how a young man changes his life when he gives up drugs and alcohol to become a traditional dancer.

Vaysha, L’Aveugle (Blind Vaysha)

Animation, 9 mins, Canada

NZ Premiere

Dir/Writ: Théodore Ushev

Prod: Marc Bertrand

This award-winning animation tells the story of little Vaysha, who has a left eye that sees the past and a right eye that sees the future, preventing her from living in the present.

Screenings