North American Premiere
Laetitia Colombani’s assured adaptation of her own best-selling novel weaves together three stories of female struggle and perseverance across three continents. It begins, bracingly, in India, with Smita (Mia Maelzer) an “untouchable”, literally shoveling human excrement. In Puglia, Italy, Giulia (Fotina Puluso) is a confident, bookish young woman trying to keep her father’s wig business afloat after he goes into a coma. And, ascending several more social strata, in Montreal, Sarah (Kim Raver) is a successful lawyer on the verge of a senior partnership, trying to cover up an ill-timed cancer diagnosis.
Colombani cuts between these three determined, sometimes reckless women, tracking echoes and parallels as well as the obvious contrasts between their relative affluence and privilege. The film doesn’t editorialize on that score, but implies that what counts is setting your own goals rather than conforming to social expectations. This is an attractive, well-acted movie with a strong emotional pay-off and a fine score by Nomadland composer Ludovico Einaudi.
Community Partner
Mia Maelzer, Sajda Pathan, Nehpal Gautam, Danish Iqbal, Jyoti Dalit
France/Canada/Italy
2023
Panorama
In English, Italian and Hindi with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Christine De Jekel
Producer
Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier, Richard Lalonde, Nicola Giuliano, Francesa Cima, Carlotta Calori, Viola Prestieri, Deborah Benattar
Screenwriter
Laetitia Colombani, Sarah Kaminsky
Cinematography
Ronald Plante
Editor
Albertine Lastera
Original Music
Ludovico Einaudi
Director
Laetitia Colombani
Laetitia Colombani is a multi-faceted woman : an actress in a dozen feature movies, a writer of internationally successful books and a director and screenwriter of short films and 3 features, including He Love Me, He Loves Me Not, starring Audrey Tautou (2002). As an actress, she has appeared in Cedric Kahn’s Fete de famille (2019) and Yvan Attal’s Les Choses Humaines (2021). The Braid is the first of her novels to be translated into English.
Filmography: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (2002); Mes stars et moi (2008)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.
2026 Oscar® Shorts (Documentary)
Don't come to the program of Oscar®-nominated documentary shorts for escapism. But let's talk about the Canadian contender, Perfectly a Strangeness, featuring an abandoned observatory and three donkeys. More of this, please.
Round Midnight: Ardeshir Plays Dexter Gordon
Loosely based on Bud Powell's time in Paris, Round Midnight (131 mins) is maybe the greatest of all films about jazz thanks to the towering performance of real-life jazz great Dexter Gordon. Saxophonist Ardeshir channels Gordon's vibe in his live set.