EXPLORE THE PROGRAM
10% off food and drinks for ticket holders (anytime from May 9th-12th) at Picaro Cocktails & Tacos and Cohen's Beer Republic
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SATURDAY, MAY 11th 2024
10:00am
Divertimento
Feature Film,
co-presented by Saskatchewan Intercultural Association
Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar | France | 2023 | 1h55 | French | ENG sub
Drama, Biopic
Synopsis:
At the age of 17, Zahia Ziouani dreamed of becoming a conductor and her twin sister, Fettouma, a professional cellist. Rocked since their earliest childhood by classical symphonic music, they in turn wish to make it accessible to all and in all territories. So how can you accomplish these ambitious dreams in 1995 when you are a woman, of Algerian origin and come from Seine-Saint-Denis? With determination, passion, courage and above all the incredible project of creating their own orchestra: Divertimento.
Based on a true story.
Audience review: "Very nice film, which avoids overly strong clichés and manages to intelligently instill well-treated secondary themes. The lead actress is very convincing. A must see to have a great time filled with very good music."
Critique review: "The cast is flamboyant and this life journey will make young people (and more) want to fight to achieve their dreams." - Le Parisien (4 stars)
الفزاعة The Scarecrow
Short Film
Anas Zemati | Morocco | 2023 | 24 min 38 | Arabic | FR sub only
Short, Fiction
Synopsis:
Said is a young man forced to work as a scarecrow. He lives a routine and boring life. He and his sweetheart Zineb try to escape from their bitter reality in search of a better life, but his fear of the unknown makes him struggle with himself.
(Ticket includes feature film & short film)
Indigenous & Community Access
CINERGIE offers a limited number of complimentary tickets per screening to anyone who is Indigenous, a Newcomer to Canada and/or who faces financial barriers. Reserve your Free Admission tickets by contacting info@cinergiesk.ca.
Each year, CINERGIE also provides complimentary tickets to a variety of organizations that work with such individuals, such as Saskatoon Open Door Society.
1:00pm
Adventures in the Land of Asha
Feature Film, co-presented by Ācimowin Film Festival
Sophie Farkas Bolla | QC, Canada | 2023 | 1h29 | French | ENG sub | 8 years old +
Family, Adventure
(Ticket includes feature film & short film)
Synopsis:
In 1940, young Jules moved in with his uncle Jovite in northern Quebec with his family. One day, Jules' dog ventures into the nearby forest without his master. The latter must then do the same to try to find his four-legged friend. In the wilderness, he meets a young girl named Asha, who helps him explore the surroundings by seeing them in a new light.
CINERGIE values Indigenous narrative sovereignty and would like to note that while this movie was directed by a non-Indigenous filmmaker, it intends to move towards reconciliation, featuring Indigenous actors and their characters in a respectful light, and has worked with Indigenous people at every stage of the film:
"We drew a lot of inspiration from elements that arrived in Pikogan, in Abitibi. We met with the elders there, to try to understand, and then Kim O'Bomsawin [Indigenous producer] came into the project. It was read to Indigenous historians. Asha's canoe, for example, was made by an Anishinaabe artist in the traditional way. I would also say that, to date, the people the film touches the most come from the communities. I think they have a much deeper understanding of what's at stake in the film that reflects things they've been through." - Sophie Farkas Bolla, Filmmaker
Audience review: "A magnificent subtlety in the treatment of the message and in the structure of the story! Breathtaking landscapes, images and lights. The delicacy in the treatment of the suffering stifled in time and space is sublimely combined with the joy of the innocent sound, light and play of the children."
CINERGIE selection committee review: "A film that struck my heart❤️, very well acted and directed, I let myself be 'transported' to the Land of Asha thanks to a story and endearing characters that the audience wants to know further. Excellent choice for a film aimed at young people, schools, and general audiences."
Taste of a Lie
Short Film
Marie-Claire Marcotte | SK, ON, Canada | 2023 | 9 min 32 | French | ENG sub
Short, Family, Fiction
Synopsis:
Billie just turned 7. Her father promised her that on this special day, he would finally give her answers about her biological mother.
Indigenous & Community Access
CINERGIE offers a limited number of complimentary tickets per screening to anyone who is Indigenous, a Newcomer to Canada and/or who faces financial barriers. Reserve your Free Admission tickets by contacting info@cinergiesk.ca.
Each year, CINERGIE also provides complimentary tickets to a variety of organizations that work with such individuals, such as Saskatoon Open Door Society.
3:00pm
A Love Story
Feature Film
Alexis Michalik | France | 2023 | 1h30 | French | ENG sub | 15+
Romantic Drama
Synopsis:
Katia and Justine fall in love. Despite the fear of commitment and the gaze of others, they decide to have a child, leaving it to chance to decide who will carry it. But as Katia becomes pregnant, Justine suddenly leaves her. 12 years later, Justine has returned to a settled life and Katia, who has kept the child, learns that she is doomed. Forced to urgently find a guardian for her daughter, she turns to her only option: her brother William, a cynical and disillusioned writer.
CINERGIE Selection Committee reviews: "I really enjoyed the way this story is told. Very well written, the acting is just the right in the emotions and the staging is impeccable, with touches of humor to tell this story that makes us feel the complicity between the characters. We believe in it and we accompany the actors as if we were there."
CINERGIE director review: "One of my favorite movies of this year! I cried several times while watching this film because it touched me so much and I felt connected to the story!" - Älva Jouband-Uusitalo
It's Cold Up There
Short Film
Annabelle Milot | France | 2022 | 4 min | French | ENG sub
Short, Fiction, Youth
Synopsis:
Amandine is a lively, smart little girl. She lives alone with her father and she has a secret...
(Ticket includes feature film & short film)
Indigenous & Community Access
CINERGIE offers a limited number of complimentary tickets per screening to anyone who is Indigenous, a Newcomer to Canada and/or who faces financial barriers. Reserve your Free Admission tickets by contacting info@cinergiesk.ca.
Each year, CINERGIE also provides complimentary tickets to a variety of organizations that work with such individuals, such as Saskatoon Open Door Society.
5:00pm
Thunder
Feature Film,
co-presented by the Swiss Consulate in Vancouver
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Opening Film
Winner, Best Music Award
CINEMANIA 2023
Winner, Prix Opera Prima
Solothurn Filmtage 2023
Winner, Emerging Swiss Talent Award
Zurich Film Festival 2022
Carmen Jaquier | Switzerland | 2022 | 1h32 | French | ENG sub | 18+
Romantic, Historical Drama
Synopsis:
Summer 1900, in the heart of a valley in southern Switzerland, Elisabeth, 17 years old, is about to take her vows after 5 years in the convent. The sudden death of her sister forces her to return to the family farm to take on her new role as the eldest. Elisabeth soon finds herself asphyxiated by this life of toil and obsessed with the mysteries surrounding her sister's disappearance. She will then fight for her right to experiment and seek to free herself from her status and her new commitments.
Critic review (1): "This hypnotic film takes on the damage that extreme religious beliefs can do to a society...The film is gorgeously shot (by Marine Atlan) and ends on a transcendent image of hope." - Frank J. Avella
Critique review (2): "Thunder is in itself a transcendent piece of cinema, a vision that fixes itself in the mind which heralds the arrival of a phenomenally talented director." - Nadine Whitney
Content advisory: sexuality and eroticism, triggering themes related to religion, mental health and suicide
Tears come from above
Short Film
Margaux Fazio, Manon Stutz | Swiss | 2023 | 6 min 05 | French | ENG sub
Short, Fiction, Historical
Synopsis:
13013 tattooed on the arm, death marked by barbed wire, a pink triangle sewn on the chest, hope fled on the rails of deportation, followed by liberation 60 years later.
Content advisory: sensitive topics related to Nazism, the Holocaust and queerphobia
CARMEN JAQUIER - Director-Writer
Carmen Jaquier was born in Geneva, Switzerland. She is a director and writer, known for Wonderland (2015), Les Paradis de Diane (2024), opening film at Solothurn Filmtage 2024, and Thunder (2022), opening film and winner of Best Music Award at CINEMANIA 2023, winner of Prix Opera Prima at Solothurn Filmtage 2023, and winner of Emerging Swiss Talent Award at Zurich Film Festival 2022.
(Ticket includes feature film & short film)
Indigenous & Community Access
CINERGIE offers a limited number of complimentary tickets per screening to anyone who is Indigenous, a Newcomer to Canada and/or who faces financial barriers. Reserve your Free Admission tickets by contacting info@cinergiesk.ca.
Each year, CINERGIE also provides complimentary tickets to a variety of organizations that work with such individuals, such as Saskatoon Open Door Society.
7:00pm
SOLO
Feature Film,
co-presented by En Toute Fierté - ACF
Winner, Best Canadian Feature Film
Canada’s Top Ten
TIFF 2023
Sophie Dupuis | QC, Canada | 2023 | 1h42 | French | ENG sub | 16+
Romantic Drama
(Ticket includes feature film & short film)
Synopsis:
SOLO tells the story of Simon, a rising star on the Montreal drag scene. It's love at first sight when he meets Olivier, the new recruit to the bar-show where he performs. While Simon thinks he's in for an electrifying love affair, a toxic and destructive dynamic develops between them. At the same time, Simon's mother Claire, a famous opera singer, returns home to work after a 15-year absence. Fascinated by this woman, whom he hardly knows but idealizes, Simon persists in trying to create a bond with her. Weakened by the failure of these two impossible loves, Simon has no choice but to realize that he deserves better.
Interview excerpt from the Director, Sophie Dupuis:
"I wanted to portray a toxic relationship and explore its inner workings, root causes, repercussions, and the reasons why a person might allow themself to be mistreated by someone they love. I wanted to do this with compassion and find ways to understand everyone, without pointing any fingers at so-called ‘villains’ or ‘victims.’ [...] I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by a psychologist who served as a script consultant. [...] She told me that many people become aware they’re in a toxic relationship when they watch a film that depicts the same type of dynamic they’re in. According to her, cinema can serve as the catalyst to their recovery. With that, the idea of making a worthwhile contribution with SOLO became a driving force for the actors and me." (www.solo-lefilm.com)
"Surrounding myself with queer folks in front of and behind the camera gave me a sense of meeting my own people, feeling like I belonged and, ultimately, experiencing a breakthrough similar to the character of Simon in the film: an understanding of who I am in my individuality." - Sophie Dupuis (CBC Arts)
TIFF review: "Set in Montreal’s vivacious drag scene, this tender character study from writer-director Sophie Dupuis (Underground) blends emotional intelligence with irresistible flair. Focusing on a talented performer whose past and present merge in unexpected ways, SOLO is an incisive tale of desire, dependence, and hard-won self-actualization."
Content advisory: mature themes, sexuality
SOPHIE DUPUIS - Director-Writer
Sophie Dupuis is a Quebecois screenwriter and director born in Val-d'Or, who studied at Concordia University and the Université du Québec in Montréal. She is known for her first feature film Chien de garde (2018), winner of the Best Director Award at the 2018 Saint-Jean-de-Luz International Film Festival, Souterrain (2020), winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the 2021 Gala Québec Cinéma, and SOLO (2023), nominated Best Canadian Film at TIFF 2023.
Arc-en-noir (Narrative Arc in Black Ink)
Short Film
Eric Plamondon | MB, Canada | 2023 | 5 min 09 | French
Experimental Short, Poem
Synopsis:
An indigiqueer voice delivers a moment of auto-fictional-biographical prose in a contemporary Beatnik revival style. False nostalgia exists for the past and for the future in this experimental film.
Indigenous & Community Access
CINERGIE offers a limited number of complimentary tickets per screening to anyone who is Indigenous, a Newcomer to Canada and/or who faces financial barriers. Reserve your Free Admission tickets by contacting info@cinergiesk.ca.
Each year, CINERGIE also provides complimentary tickets to a variety of organizations that work with such individuals, such as Saskatoon Open Door Society.