During a harsh Montréal winter, an elementary-school class is left reeling after its teacher commits suicide. Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant, steps in as the substitute teacher for the classroom of traumatized children. All the while, he must keep his personal life tucked away:...
Borderline, a film version of the novels Borderline and La Brèche, tells the story of Kiki at various stages of her life. With her mother institutionalized, she is raised by her grandmother, where left to her own devices, she takes refuge in school. Her life before 30 is a far cry from fairy-tale....
Beaten and live an unimaginably difficult childhood, Elisa Trudel and her sister Madeline Trudel still have hope in their heart. Beaten both by their heartless mother. Their mother that this remarried with another man after their father died of a heart attack. Day after day, Elisa and Madeline...
Brother Marie-Victorin, founder of Montreal’s Botanical Garden, is bored with heaven and decides to return earth to help former agronomist turned beekeeper Albert save Quebec’s flora from a multinational that is poisoning the Earth with chemicals.
Bertrand is a theatre actor in his fifties and is completely stressed out by his new play. Today he realizes the adult son he had before his late coming out, Antoine, needs him more than usual. Will ensue a picnic at dusk, extravagant dances and the sweet portrait of a family that chose to live...
Three couples meet at one of them for a slide show evening. But nobody takes pleasure in this evening, where triumphs the banality of the exchanges: it is a socialization forced by the bonds of the neighborhood, devoid of empathy or sincerity.
Fouad, a 15-year-old Moroccan immigrant, and Max, a 27-year-old "old stock" Quebecer, both live frustrating lives. Their respective destinies lead them face to face, in a situation from which neither will emerge unscathed.
A young girl who is being abused at home runs away to the seamy side of Montreal where she makes friends with a prostitute who helps her to survive the urban jungle.
The folks who populate the rundown hotel in this story have all come there from someplace which offered a modicum of hope. Gloria, who runs the place, earns most of her money as a stripper. She lives there with her two daughters and a son with an untreated brain tumor. Charlie, who is forever in...
The mayor of a suburban town must try to deal with cultural clashes with the local hassidic jewish community, while trying to mend his relation to his emotionally-distant son.
