Les Films de L'Autre

A real estate agent from Paris arrives in Los Angeles to settle his late mother's estate, but a found photograph sends him on an impromptu journey to Mexico to find a woman named Lola.

Carried by an immersive sound environment that plunges us in the reality and the perceptions of these resilient and inspiring people, this film questions our own blindness face to violence and suffering of our time — despite the overabundance of images that reach us — and highlights the urgency of lending an ear to hear these stories.

While Montreal is in the throes of a string of kidnappings targeting young boys, ten-year-old Felix is finishing his school year in the seemingly quiet suburb where he lives. A sensitive boy with a vivid imagination, Felix is afraid of everything. Little by little, his imaginary demons begin to mirror those of the truly disturbing world around him.

When Vlace is suspended for hitting a classmate, Sasha is called to come get his son at school and has no choice but to take him along on his delivery route. During this intimate journey, we discover what provoked Vlace's uncharacteristic act, as father and son find their way toward a new understanding.

In a province not so distant from ours, now controlled by a far-right government, the borders are closed and immigrants, now under threat, are desperate to get out. A Haitian woman hands over her young son to a thirty-something Quebec man before fleeing. With help from a Vietnamese former refugee, they try to solve the mystery.

In Saigon, family culture carries on as it has for centuries, even when blood ties are broken. Through a mosaic of intimate portraits, Má Sài Gòn explores humanity’s universal desire for love, acceptance, connection and belonging through an LGBTQ+ lens. The film is a love letter – a bittersweet ode to a comforting yet disturbing mother, to a city that is as liberating as it is oppressive.

Manawan, 1977. A vehicle falls into a river near a Native community. Two Quebecers managed to escape, but five Atikamekws lost their lives. While the police conclude that it was an accident, the victims’ families are left with unanswered questions. A historical, poetic and choral tale, Soleils Atikamekw is inspired by the dreams, impressions and memories of the relatives of the five victims. In an intimate, humanistic approach, the filmmaker involves the families both in front of and behind the camera. Documentary and fiction come together in a deeply moving film about grief, injustice and memory.

Every month in Quebec, hundreds of detainees gain their freedom after serving their sentences. What happens to these detainees once released? And what freedom do they find on the other side of the bars?

Menacing smoke rises over the forests of Manawan. Shawnouk has lost touch with the traditions of the Atikamekw people, and he struggles with daily life on the reservation. His mother's boyfriend is a policeman, and though he means well, Shawnouk won't accept him as part of the family. There's so much missing in his life. One night, Shawnouk gets involved in a break-in. When the home-owner turns up, Shawnouk pushes himself between the man and the gun. In the end, he is the one with blood on his hands. He goes into hiding in the vast forests of Québec. In the search for his roots, he faces regret, pain and anger. Fire and smoke, the ancient trees, and the music of his ancestors help Shawnouk to face his biggest challenge: the confrontation with himself.

An adolescent girl’s figure skating lesson becomes the latest battleground in the marital warfare between her parents in Halima Ouardiri’s piercing family drama.

Today, 11 years after the massive earthquake in Haiti that left over a million people homeless and killed hundreds of thousands, the country has still not recovered from the disaster. Despite billions of dollars in aid money, Haiti struggles with some of the highest levels of poverty and unemployment in the Western hemisphere. In Port-au-Prince, various citizens are shuttled through a city in crisis. Maneuvering around barricades, garbage dumps and the packed streets of the capital, they speak candidly about the current state of their country. Through the car window a frustrated population passes and occasionally interacts with the passengers in the vehicle. Beautifully shot, with a lively score, Zo Reken presents a complicated portrait that testifies to the magnitude of the tragedy and highlights the disorganized state of international aid.

Co-directors Hubert Caron-Guay and Serge-Olivier Rondeau follow migrant workers through the steps in the hiring process of a community-based employment assistance organization. The filmmakers highlight the migrants’ difficult path by capturing conversations between the future employees and the recruiters. Through images shot on a body camera and a minimalist observational approach, the film exposes harsh and poignant realities. It draws parallels between the changing of the seasons and the cycle of the cattle industry that begins with animals being raised and cared for at a ranch and ends with them being sent to the abattoir grimly looming in the background. Ressources is a sobering and thought-provoking work that gives a voice to those who are at the heart of the food system that sustains this country.

Worlds and genres collide one summer afternoon as a young woman and her horse make a surprising and eventful odyssey in this richly cinematic drama by Montreal's Halima Elkhatab

A woman in love with a musician has a change of heart on her 18th birthday.

In a dark, ambiguous environment, minuscule particles drift slowly before the lens. The image focuses to reveal spruce trees and tall pines, while Innu voices tell us the story of this territory, this flooded forest. Muffled percussive sounds gradually become louder, suggesting the presence of a hydroelectric dam. The submerged trees gradually transform into firebrands as whispers bring back the stories of this forest.

In this tale, halfway between reality and fantasy, a mysterious narrator tells us the story of Amani, a young boy passionate about dance. But as the night begins to rumble, Amani’s joie de vivre disappears to give way to his pain.

In his small apartment, a middle-aged man has reached the end of his tether. He has become indifferent, even to his only true passion, classical music. He decides to end it all. But his plans are thwarted by the jarring sounds from his new neighbor above, a novice celloist. They end up trading selected musical pieces in a ruthless duell...

In Montreal, front-line workers work hard to provide appropriate care to the most vulnerable citizens in our society.

Hoping to reconnect, three brothers embark on a fishing trip with their father, whose absence from their childhood has left them with lasting scars. For Stéphane, Jean-Pierre, Jérôme and Laurent, this is a chance to find some answers, and maybe even to make their peace with the past.

The night is falling and Montreal is under the snow. People line up at the lost and found office of the city’s transit company. They all have lost something, which, upon reflection, becomes the symbol of a deeper loss. Prayer for a Lost Mitten is a creative documentary by turns melancholic and festive, yet ever compassionate. A film that helps us get through the winter.