Working as a French-to-Spanish interpreter at a corn plant in the Richelieu Valley Quebec, Ariane (Ariane Castellanos) befriends Manuel (Marc-Andre Grondin), a migrant worker who’s left a family behind in Guatemala in search of better pay. Ariane begins to witness the abuse felt by the Spanish-speaking labourers. She’s forced to choose between turning a blind eye to protect her own job and standing up for the humanity of her fellow workers. Drawing from neo-realist traditions, beautifully photographed and elegantly constructed, Richelieu paints an undeniable portrait of a crisis unfolding across North America. Director Pier-Philippe Chevigny avoids didacticism and delivers an assured, emotionally resonant first feature which announces the arrival of a new Canadian talent.
September 29 & 30: Q&A with director Pier-Philippe Chevigny
Presented by
Media Partner
Ariane Castellanos, Marc-André Grondin, Nelson Coronado, Eve Duranceau, Luis Oliva
Canada/France/Guatemala
2023
Northern Lights
In French and Spanish with English subtitles
Depictions of Racism, Coarse Language, Violence, Crude Content
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Geneviève Gosselin-G. Milena Poylo, Gilles Sacuto, Alice Bloch, Jean-Francois Bigot, Camille Raulo
Screenwriter
Pier-Philippe Chevigny
Cinematography
Gabriel Brault Tardif
Editor
Amelie Labreche
Production Design
Yola Van Leeuwenkamp
Director
Pier-Philippe Chevigny
Pier-Philippe Chevigny is a filmmaker from Montreal, Quebec. His films combine contemporary sociopolitical subject-matter with a distinct visual style. In 2019, his short film Rebel received worldwide attention: after premiering at TIFF, it went on to screen at over 140 festivals. Pier-Philippe is currently working on a second feature co-written with Chloe Robichaud.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Clan of the Painted Lady + Q&A
Jennifer Chiu's engrossing documentary explores the Hakka — a people, a language, and a culture that have been obscured for far too long. Tracing her own lineage back from Canada to China, the director creates an illuminating, bravely personal film.
Fiume o Morte!
The Croatian city of Rijeka rediscovers its own past in this delightfully unconventional hybrid documentary about Italian poet and proto-fascist Gabriele D’Annunzio, who seized the city known in Italian as Fiume in 1919.
Silent Friend
In this entrancing reverie from On Body and Soul director Ildikó Enyedi, we are invited to contemplate several human specimens from the vantage point of a mighty Ginkgo biloba tree on the grounds of a German university.
At the Place of Ghosts
In this supernatural Indigenous thriller from the director of Wildhood, siblings Mise'l and Antle journey into Sk+te'kmujue'katik (the Place of Ghosts), a primordial forest that exists outside of time, to confront their violent upbringing.
Bushido
An impeccable samurai (and "Go" expert), Kakunoshin is framed for a crime and forced into exile. Years later he stumbles across the true reason for his fall from grace, and sets about exacting his revenge...