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Shepherds film image; man standing in a doorway with a shepherd's crook

Shepherds

Bergers

Showcase

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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

Director
Cast

Félix-Antoine Duval, Solène Rigot

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada/France

Year

2024

Language

In French with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+

At SFU Woodwards

19+

At Fifth Avenue

113 min
Drama Romance Women Directors
micro_scope, Avenue B Productions

Book Tickets

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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 headshot; Shepherds director

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

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