Canadian Premiere
1665. Louis XIV has seen fit to send a gift to the New World: surplus women to bring succor and support to French settlers in what is now Quebec. Among them is Marie-Jeanne (Julie McIsaac), who immediately falls foul of the matronly Madame Savoie (Claire Johnstone) by making nice with a native Mohawk trader, Jean-Baptiste (Raes Calvert), and his naive young sister Kateri (Kaitlyn Yott).
A full-blown micro-budget musical, adapted from their own stage production by Urban Ink’s Corey Payette with co-writer McIsaac, Les Filles du Roi shuttles expeditiously between French, English and Mohawk; between song and speech; and between a handful of real world locations and theatrical artifice. It probably shouldn’t work but what carries it is Payette’s knack for crafting rousing and melancholy melodies, sterling singing across the entire cast, and a utopian vision of cross-cultural reciprocity to counterbalance history’s harsher narrative.
October 5 & 8: Q&A with director Corey Payette & crew
Presented by
Series Media Partner
Kaitlyn Yott, Julie McIsaac, Raes Calvert, Chelsea Rose, Sean Sonier
Canada
2023
Northern Lights
In English, French and Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) with English subtitles
Depictions of Racism, Sexually Suggestive Scene, Violence, Coarse Language
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Corey Payette, Julie MsIsaac, Melissa Tsang
Producer
Garrett VanDusen
Screenwriter
Corey Payette, Julie McIsaac
Cinematography
Ian Mrozewski, Parham Banafsheh
Editor
Christian Díaz Durán
Production Design
Anna Shearing
Original Music
Corey Payette
Director
Photo by Luke Fontana
Corey Payette
Corey Payette is an interdisciplinary storyteller, writer, composer, producer, director in Film & Theatre. Since 2014 he has been the Artistic Director of Urban Ink, one of Canada’s most ambitious theatre companies. Payette wrote the music, lyrics and directed the acclaimed musicals Children of God, Les Filles du Roi, and Starwalker. He is a member of the Mattagami First Nations, with French-Canadian and Irish ancestries. Les Filles du Roi is his first feature film.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Searching for Satyrus
Award-winning filmmaker and photographer Rena Effendi embarks on a quest to track down the very rare Satyrus Effendi, a butterfly discovered by her father in the mountains of Aberbaijain. But what she finds is altogether more personal, and more upsetting.
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Sasha Waters' documentary takes us through the life of America's best-selling late twentieth century poet, a private woman who shared her innermost thoughts and made them indispensable.
Palimpsest: The Story of a Name
Drawing on home movies and diaries from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, Canadian filmmaker Mary Stephen (Eric Rohmer's editor for many years) investigates the origins of her surname. After all, she was born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents. Or were they... ?
Schindler Space Architect
RM Schindler is now recognized as one of the most important modernist architects of the era, the man who laid the groundwork for what is now considered the epitome of California indoor-outdoor living. This doc sheds light on a previously unsung genius.
Out of Sight
Adapted from Elmore Leonard's novel about the mutual attraction between an escaped bank robber and the FBI agent on his tail, Out of Sight is sexy and romantic, cosmopolitan, and full of Soderbergh's sleight of hand, shuffling time like a card sharp.
The Big Lebowski
The Coens' whacky, warped slacker generation riff on Raymond Chandler, a shaggy dog story which delights in going sideways at every turn. Jeff Bridges is the Dude, and what he really wants is to get his rug back...