Canadian Submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

A camera aboard a drone flies over a territory. The aerial images show barren landscapes, dotted with shabby houses, animals and a few human figures. We scarcely have time to wonder where we are when a text appears on the screen directly addressing the viewer: we are in Syrian Kurdistan, liberated from the occupation of the Islamic State, whose jihadist members are currently in prison. The woman who speaks has been given permission to question them; about their ideas, their past and the future. The Kurdish filmmaker Zaynê Akyol, who made a great impression on the Visions du Réel audience in 2016 with GULÎSTAN, LAND OF ROSES, shows towards them dialectic behaviour typical of those who want to understand before they pass sentence. Their stories thus take shape, framed by a mise en scène that shifts between words, faces and aerial views of the landscape. An unexpected look at a far-reaching current political issue and a film whose subject matter and rhythm create an impressive cinematographic object.

Falun Gong practitioners were persecuted in China, they tried to tell the truth but they were kidnapped, some Falun Gong practitioners died.

Willy"s quest to find his long-lost love has brought him from Mexico to Montréal, as a seasonal worker. Destinies intersect, moments of magic realism arise, worlds collide, and tensions swell amidst the long days of physical labor.

Isabelle and her partner adopted Clara in Vietnam, who died several years after. In order to heal her wounds, Isabelle flies to Hanoi to discover the culture of Clara and meet her biological mother, who will later become her friend.

A modern adaptation of the classic Greek tragedy which falls within a social realism. To the law of men, the young Antigone apposes her own sets of values.

JP and Vincent, two brothers from a dysfunctional family, get involved in their uncle"s drug cartel. Things quickly start spiraling out of control for Vincent, the younger and more unstable of the two.

Mohawk archaeologist Baptiste Asigny engages in a search for his ancestors following a tragic terrain slump in the Percival Molson Stadium.

Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), a terminally ill writer, returns home after a long absence to tell his family that he is dying.

In Félix and Meira, an unusual romance blossoms between two lost souls who inhabit the same neighborhood but vastly different worlds.

A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.

Gabrielle is a young woman with Williams syndrome who has a contagious joie de vivre and an exceptional musical gift. Since she met her boyfriend Martin, at the recreation centre where they are choir members, they have been inseparable. However, because they are "different," their loved ones are fearful of their relationship. As the choir prepares for an important music festival, Gabrielle does everything she can to gain her independence. As determined as she is, Gabrielle must still confront other people"s prejudices as well as her own limitations in the hope of experiencing a love far from the "ordinary".

Somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona, a 14-year-old girl, tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.

At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.

Twins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother"s last wishes.

A semi-autobiographical story about Hubert as a young homosexual at odds with his mother.

In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Uprooted, far from his loved ones, unable to speak French and faced with a completely alien world, he becomes despondent. When he refuses to eat and expresses a wish to die, his nurse, Carole, comes to the realization that Tivii"s illness is not the most serious threat to his well-being. She arranges to have a young orphan, Kaki, transferred to the institution. The boy is also sick, but has experience with both worlds and speaks both languages. By sharing his culture with Kaki and opening it up to others, Tivii rediscovers his pride and energy. Ultimately he also rediscovers hope through a plan to adopt Kaki, bring him home and make him part of his family.

Jean-Marc Leblanc (Labrèche), a desperate civil servant, escapes reality as we know it by imagining himself as the hero in imaginary adventures.

Set in colonial India against Gandhi"s rise to power, it"s the story of 8-year-old Chuyia, who is widowed and sent to a home to live in penitence; once there, Chuyia"s feisty presence deeply affects the lives of the other residents.

Zachary is confused about his sexuality and is in conflict with his Catholic upbringing which alienates his parents. Forcing himself to like girls, Zachary also has to cope with his older brothers, who don"t make his life any easier.

After the death of his mother, a man tries to discover a meaning to his life, to the universe and to rebuild a relationship with the only family he has left: his brother.

During his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.

An emotionally immature underwater photographer returns home to an affair with his best friend"s deaf girlfriend and unresolved issues with the wife he left six months before.

The telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior"s endurance and battle of its menace.

After plunging her car into a river, a woman encounters a man who helps her come to terms with her life.

In the year 1963, an awkward thirteen-year-old girl comes of age during her escapism into the world of cinema, with potentially dangerous results.