Festival Triste – Quebec shorts / The unbearable lightness of being

From tenderness to nightmare, this moody and somatic Quebec short film program jumps into the void and dives into memories, considering the weight of being. Whispers, reminiscences, parentheses, guided meditations – time is suspended, while the body is floating.

Dealing with grief, anxiety, loneliness, fear, love – these intimate yet innovative shorts investigate, through language, ways of navigating and making sense of these vertigoes, which make up both the pain and beauty of the human experience.

Directors in attendance.
Followed by a cocktail / surprise screening.

Warning: This program contains scenes with flashing lights and may not be suitable for photosensitive audiences (epilepsy).

Lineup :

CHESTNUT COOKIES | 4′ | 2014 | Andrée-Anne Roussel | experimental
Une jeune femme japonaise raconte le souvenir de sa soeur qui est décédée il y a quelques mois.

BLUE LIPS | 8′ | 2020 | Philippe Hamelin | animation, experimental
A reconstruction of memories based on a collection of accounts told by strangers who the artist met on dating sites in 2008.

SUMMER LOVE | 13′ | 2024 | Virgile Ratelle | documentary
On the banks of an abandoned quarry, couples confront their love before taking a dip.

ICE TIME | 3′ | 2019 | Rachel Samson | animation
A poetic hand-drawn reflexion about a little girl daydreaming on the sidelines of a hockey rink.

LA VIE HEUREUSE | 17′ | 2021 | Amélie Hardy, prod. Colonelle Films | hybrid
In this anxious and hectic time, an explortion of those unusual outlets that soothe the turmoil of the body and mind.

VILLE MARIE | 12′ | 2009 | Alexandre Larose | experimental
An optically printed dream of falling, both gorgeous and ominous. The body in mid-air. A canyon of high-rise buildings.

TODAY IS SUNDAY TOMORROW WE DIE | 15′ | 2023 | Maxime Genois | fiction
Two survivors must learn to deal with a world that has suddenly become empty and deleterious.