Philippe Lavalette

After a Dantean journey, women from Nigeria arrive alone and ever younger in Italy, looking for a better life. Such horrors as human trafficking and sexual slavery are waiting for them, as we discover in this ensemble film featuring harrowing stories told in a sensible way that spares us from the unbearable. These tales provoke a broader reflection on migration and otherness.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, Catholic priests committed numerous sexual abuses on young boys in several French-speaking villages in New Brunswick. Brought to light when the victims were in their fifties, these scandals sparked shock and indignation in the media and the public. Why have affected communities chosen secrecy over justice and truth for so long? Taking advantage of their influence to impose a "pious silence" on their parishioners, several figures of authority have built a veritable structure of abuse that testifies as much to the oppressions specific to the Acadian populations as to the systemic denial of the Catholic Church. Challenged by the power of collective silence, seasoned filmmaker Renée Blanchar seeks to unravel the root causes by going out to meet the survivors.

In the spring of 2016, for the first time in 54 years, Ariane Mnouchkine entrusts her troupe, the Théâtre du Soleil, to another director. Robert Lepage then embarks on the creation of Kanata, a work that imagines the meeting of Europeans with First Nations people in Canada over two centuries. Lepage au Soleil: The origin of Kanata shows how, the 36 comedians from 11 different countries, discover in their own stories astonishing resonance with those of the natives. How, inspired by the cosmopolitanism of comedians, Robert Lepage tries to get them to talk about their own stories through those of the natives. The documentary plunges into the heart of a theatrical creation in search of universality turned upside down by a media scandal even before its premiere.

A different perspective on the exile and social impact of major projects such as oil sands mining in Alberta, Canada. These large-scale projects, based on economic growth, also have human costs that change the cultural face of the regions on a small or large scale. Over a six-month period, three families from the Acadian Peninsula in New Brunswick opened their doors and hearts to director Renée Blanchar and her team. A film about exile, choice of life, values, but especially absence; absence being probably the highest price to pay for each member of these families.

In Pursuit of Peace follows four Canadians on the front lines of international peace initiatives - in South Sudan, Turkey, Congo and Iraq. We experience the challenges of their work, exploring how their peace building strategies are put to the test in this new 21st century paradigm of conflict resolution.

The life and work of German political philosopher of Jewish descent Hannah Arendt (1906-75), who caused a stir when she coined a subversive concept, the banality of evil, in her 1963 book on the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann (1906-62), held in Israel in 1961, which she covered for the New Yorker magazine.

A woman travels from the big city to the countryside. The locals are suspicious.

Youssef, leads a lonely and orderly life. But the chance meeting with an intriguing girl in front of a mysterious house awakens in him the confused images of a past family tragedy.

Juanicas is an intimate portrait of a Mexican immigrant family in Quebec affected by mental illness. Using material shot over almost 10 years, the filmmaker documents her complex relationship with her mother and brother, both suffering from bipolar disorder.

Nicolas loves baseball. Every day during vacation he and his friends meet at the town’s old baseball field to play their favourite game... Until one infamous day at the start of summer when Nicolas discovers that the gates to the field have been locked and that old boards and assorted junk are strewn across what used to be the baseball diamond. It seems the town council has decided to use the grounds as a dump. The kids are outraged.They decide to contest this decision, to defend their territory.

A Canadian doctor finds her sympathies sorely tested while working in the conflict ravaged Palestinian territories.

Two struggling musicians, trying to get by performing their less-than-sterling drag show, find a mysterious benefactor in the form of Victoria. Bankrolling a series of performances throughout Quebec, Victoria joins the duo on a haphazard tour along the St Lawrence River.

A coming-of-age saga set in the slums of Montreal as a young teenage boy comes to grips with the temptations of the street while hopelessly aspiring to become a professional wrestler.

A look at the history and cultural impact of Tarzan.

The climbing of an immense staircase made up of the most varied stairs- Symbolic scenes occur on different levels where characters seem to be prisoners of their deeds and of their own folly. The steep staircase leads little by little towards the zones of great light where human beings and nonhuman beings meet.