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
KAKU KAKU SHIKA JIKA fka Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey
Adapted from acclaimed manga artist Akiko Higashimura’s autobiographical manga is a funny and sharply observed coming-of-age story about the creative awakening of a master of manga.
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
Blue Boy Trial
Transgender filmmaker Kasho Iizuka revisits 1960s Japan and the sensational “Blue Boy Trial,” sparked by the arrest of a doctor performing sex reassignment surgeries. With trans actors in central roles, the film powerfully illuminates buried history, identity, dignity, and resilience.
Aruku - I Walk
This meditative documentary, captures the stories of four contemporary pilgrims on the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage as they follow in the footsteps of master Kūkai, the monk who shaped Japanese Buddhism. Each is burdened, in different ways, by exhaustion, solitude, or quiet disillusionment.
How Dare You?
A bug-loving boy, a passionate classmate, and a troublemaker launch playful eco-protests against their town’s careless habits. As their missions escalate, they face real consequences in Director O’s witty, bittersweet Grand Jury Prize winner from the Toronto Japanese Film Festival.