Skip to main content
Shepherds film image; man standing in a doorway with a shepherd's crook

Advertising man Mathyas (Félix-Antoine Duval) abruptly quits his marketing job in Montreal for the south of France with the romantic notion of becoming a shepherd -– a profession he naively imagines he can pick up from a second hand book or two. Of course the reality is less bucolic, more physically demanding and mentally challenging too: farmers struggling with endless economic setbacks, loneliness, wolves, disease… The shepherd is at the mercy of nature on the one hand and bureaucracy on the other. And yet, and yet, there is life on the Alps, and love too…

Adapted from a semi-autobiographical novel by Mathyas Lefebure (Where are you from, Shepherd?), Sophie Deraspe’s follow up to Antigone (2019) feels both elemental and intimate, effectively evoking the rhythms of land and nature, balancing the spiritual uplift with at rough count some 3000 sheep, one donkey, assorted hens, goats, and several life saving dogs.

Majesterial… as rejuvenating to watch as the effect of being in nature.

Stephen Saito, The Moveable Feast

Extraordinary… Stunning.

Brendan Kelly, Montreal Gazette

A touching, soul-stirring film.

Pat Mullen, That Shelf

Director

Sophie Deraspe

Cast

Félix-Antoine Duval, Solène Rigot

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada/France

Year

2024

Language

In French with English subtitles

19+
113 min
micro_scope, Avenue B Productions

Book Tickets

Tuesday April 22

4:00 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Book Now

Friday April 25

5:00 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Book Now

Monday April 28

7:00 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Book Now

Credits

Producer

Kim McCraw, Luc Déry, Élaine Hébert, Caroline Bonmarchand, Xenia Sulyma

Screenwriter

Sophie Deraspe, Mathyas Lefebure

Cinematography

Vincent Gonneville

Editor

Stéphane Lafleur

Production Design

André-Line Beauparlant

Original Music

Philippe Brault

Also Playing

That They May Face the Rising Sun

Dir. Pat Collins
111 min

John and Kate have moved from London to a farm in Ireland, to the bemusement of the locals. This lyrical Irish reverie taps deep wells of feeling in the stuff of everyday life.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Shepherds

Dir. Sophie Deraspe
113 min

Mathyas quits his marketing job in Montreal and goes to France with the romantic notion of becoming a shepherd. He's in for a rude awakening... Based on a true story, Deraspe's stirring film plays spiritual uplift off against some 3000 sheep and a donkey.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Hermit of Treig

Dir. Lizzie MacKenzie
79 min

In this rather special film, Lizzie MacKenzie trains her camera on octogenarian Ken Smith, who has lived more than four decades off-the-grid on the shores of Loch Treig, in the Scottish Highlands. This cheerful hermit is a personable storyteller.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Our Blue World: A Water Odyssey

Dir. Ruán Magan
90 min

Connecting ancient wisdom with practical 21st century solutions, Our Blue World is a spectacular and eye-opening film about our deepest and most precious resource. Join us on Earth Day for a post-screening conversation with Wade Davis and others.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema