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Kim Thúy’s Governor-General Award-winning novel was inspired by her own experience as Vietnamese child who fled the country in 1975 and came to Canada as a ten-year-old with her family, the so-called “Boat People”. The book is lyrical, reflective, weaving between countries and time-zones with a delicate touch, and the movie follows suit, evoking Tinh’s wonderment, trauma and relief as she encounters her first Canadian winter, a new cuisine and lifestyle, and gradually ventures out of her self-protective shell. Warmly nostalgic, it’s also a story about attitudes towards immigration and cultural curiosity, with plenty we can surmise about how things have changed over the past 50 years.

An incredibly beautiful film about resilience and survival and a truly uplifting watch.

James Mackin, Toronto City News

Canadian director Charles-Olivier Michaud finds the warmth and humour in everything from a stepdance welcome in a community gym to the healing magic of maple taffy made on fresh snow […] Michaud chooses not to tell this story through a lot of dialogue, but rather through imagery and often achingly beautiful visual details.

Janet Smith, Stir

Tender, lovely… a love letter to Canadians.

Liza Braun, Original Cin