Bertrand Chénier

Isabelle Brodeur embarks on a journey to Vietnam, her adopted daughter’s birthplace. Throughout this stunningly beautiful journey, Isabelle discovers her daughter’s country through the eyes of the woman who brought her into this word.

In this very personal and poetic film, veteran documentarian Serge Giguère pores through 100 letters written by his late mother to him and his 15 siblings. In them, she details the trials and tribulations of raising 16 children in rural Quebec, while helping to run a family carpentry business. Through inventive and playful techniques, Giguère brings the stories alive, applying creative approaches to family photographs, archival footage and staged reenactments. He mixes his mother's stories with his own memories and those of his siblings, some of whom hear for the first time what their mother had to say about them. Through these intertwining stories, the film presents not only a testament of a mother's complicated love for her many children, but also offers an intimate look at 1950s working class Quebec. - Aisha Jamal (Hot Docs Film Festival)

The Pond Inlet Inuit in Nunavut live with the memory of a tragedy: in 1943, 25 people –over half the population of the community – died within the span of a few days. This personal and intimate documentary brings us into homes and lives of Ruth and Elisapie, two survivors of this tragedy.

Jean-Marc Phaneuf, an unmarried electrical engineer, travels to Burundi as a volunteer for the NGO Radio du Monde. He finds a country ruined by grinding poverty, famine, war, disease and appalling social inequality. At the same time, he meets a joyful, brave people hungry for happiness, knowledge and human dignity. The camera that becomes his personal diary also helps Jean-Marc expose the shaky, ineffective workings of NGOs. His investigations turn up a few praiseworthy examples of international cooperation, but on the whole he finds himself drawn to a terrible, inescapable conclusion: humanitarian aid is a utopian mirage. After falling victim to an attack and losing whatever ideals he still had, Jean-Marc becomes entangled in an impossible relationship. He is ultimately forced to leave Africa in disgrace.

In 1969, a visiting geologist from Newfoundland arouses scandal in a small Irish village when he romances a local girl who’s destined for the convent.

In this melodramatic French Canadian comedy-drama, a sexy male escort sashays into the living room and life of a gay man and proves to be the catalyst for turmoil. Until Steve showed up to strip as a birthday present, the life of lovers Jean-Marc and Phillipe had settled into a comfortable but passionless rut. Jean-Marc is alone at the time and has sex with Steve. Later that night, Steve tries to change a light bulb and falls, causing his friends to jump to the conclusion that he tried to kill himself. Soon Phillipe too gets involved with Steve. Finding Steve a tonic to his doldrums, Phillipe begins pursuing a real relationship with him. Steve then proves to be a troubled character who is involved secretly with another man who has been diagnosed with HIV. The problem stems from the fact that the mystery lover is none other than Phillipe's dearest friend. Matters are complicated by Nathalie -- who secretly loves Phillipe -- and by his recently divorced mother.