Mathyas (Félix-Antoine Duval) abruptly quits his marketing job in Montreal, abandoning his urban life for the south of France with the vague notion of becoming a shepherd -– all without knowing a single thing about this ancient profession. Ever the romantic, he is clouded by bucolic visions and dreams of writing a book in untroubled pastoral repose. What he finds is very different: the brutal life-and-death realities of sheep farming and the viciousness and cruelty of isolated men. Mathyas confronts a number of harrowing trials, including the perilous power of nature, along with the harsh economics of industrialized farming and the effects of climate change.
Adapted from a semi-autobiographical novel by Mathyas Lefebure and set in the breathtaking French Alps, Sophie Deraspe’s film feels both elemental and intimate, evoking the rhythms of land and nature. Shepherds is an epic of personal growth, posing questions about how best to live in order to feel free.
Community Partner
Félix-Antoine Duval, Solène Rigot
Canada/France
2024
In French with English subtitles
At SFU Woodwards
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
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
Sophie Deraspe
Sophie Deraspe is a director from Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec who discovered her passion for film through Visual Arts in Austria and Literature studies in Ottawa and Montreal. Starting with documentaries, she made her feature debut with Missing Victor Pellerin (2006) and later Vital Signs (2009). Her documentary A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile (2015) won awards at Sundance and Hot Docs. Her film Antigone (2019) was named Best Canadian Feature at TIFF and was selected as the Canadian entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars.
Filmography: Missing Victor Pellerin (2006); Vital Signs (2009); Le loups (2014); A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile (2015); Antigone (2019)
Photo by Julie Gauthier
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Everybody to Kenmure Street
This rousing documentary (100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) never puts a foot wrong as it recreates a tense, prolonged stand-off between the police and the citizens of Glasgow when an Immigration Enforcement squad attempt to arrest two men from their homes.
Namesake
Powell River... named for Israel Wood Powell, a 19th century politician and a man of his time, an advocate for residential schools and the Indian Act. The Tla'amin Nation asks the city to consider changing its name, a request which sparks intense debate.
Julio Avila Cuban Band Live + The Mambo Kings Film Screening
Feel the heat! Shake your booty as we combine a live set of exhilarating Cuban music followed by a rediscovered 90s barnstormer of a movie starring Latin heartthrobs Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas alongside the likes of Tito Puente and Celia Cruz.
The Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) gives FBI serial killer hunter Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) pointers from his maximum security cell. But is he trying to aid the investigation, or just messing with her head?