World Premiere
Teenaged Kristian feels unwanted and alone in his adoptive family. His only friend, Echo, has an unstable home life himself. When Kristian and Echo catch a younger adopted boy, Honoré, watching pornography at the library, they decide to intimidate him into going for a ride with them. But after driving deep into the countryside, the encounter takes a violent turn…
Filmmaker Nathan Donovan casts his adoptive brothers Ryley-Ray and Adam Levasseur as Kristian and Honoré, respectively, drawing on their experiences and perspectives to shape the film. With its cool detachment and refusal to elaborate, Clubfoot recalls the moral unease of a Haneke film, as quiet dread builds toward a haunting, lyrical ending. Attuned to the uncertainty surrounding life after adoption, the film takes aim at a flawed Canadian foster care system while offering a fragmented portrait of growing up unsure whether you belong anywhere at all.
Presented by
Media Partner
Ryley-Ray Levasseur, Dorothea Paas, Marcie Howard, Adam Levasseur, Alex Ateah, Sean Bradley
Canada
2026
English
Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits & Director
Producer
Dylan Rhys Howard, Nathan Donovan
Screenwriter
Nathan Donovan
Cinematography
Rico Moran
Editor
Kurt Walker, Nathan Donovan
Nathan Donovan
Nathan Donovan is an Albertan filmmaker and graphic designer. His films center a collaborative process and draw from lived experience, exploring non-traditional family structures, intimacy, and restorative love. His works have screened at festivals and galleries including Semaine de la critique de Montréal and Galerie Eli Kerr, and he has been featured in CMag, The Baffler, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Mold Magazine.
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