DOCUMENTARIES
THE COST OF FREE WATER
A film by Jérémie Battaglia
Medium-length documentary film, 2021
In Quebec, drinking water is an unlimited resource, right? No way! The documentary breaks down the myth that led us to become one of world’s major water consumers. This waste costs billions and is endangering our precious resource.
Broadcasted on Télé Québec in October 2021
THE BROTHER
A film by Jérémie Battaglia
Short animated documentary, 2020
Living with an illness that is causing him to lose the use of his body, Kaïs is awoken every morning by a different member of his family. While his body is paralyzed, at night he dreams that he is the hero of his favorite manga, along with his brothers: Fehd the bodybuilder and Zaïd the ninja.
Festivals and prizes
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Gala Québec Cinéma /// Prix Iris du court métrage documentaire Sydney Short Film Festival Sydney /// Best Documentary Short RVQC Rendez vous Québec Cinéma Montréal
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Regard / Saguenay International Short Film Festival Saguenay
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HOT DOCS 2020 Toronto
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Belleville Downtown Doc Festival Belleville
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Norwegian Short Film Festival Grimstag
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Palm Springs International ShortFest Palm Springs
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The Extraordinary Film Festival Namur 2021
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Athens Short Film Festival
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AFI DOCS Films Festival Silver Spring
A FRENCH YOUTH
A film by Jérémie Battaglia
Feature and medium-length documentary film, in post-production (86' and 52')
Co-production Canada and France (Les Productions du Lagon) with the participation of France 3 Occitanie and Al Jazeera
In the heart of the Camargue region, in the south of France, Jawad and Belka find freedom in their love of Camargue races. For these young Maghrebi men, the event is more than a simple tradition. Facing off with a bull is an opportunity to establish their place in the arena—and in French society. But at what cost?
THE NATASHQUAN PUNK
A film by Nicola Lachapelle
Documentary short film, in production
In 1976, a young punk lands in Natashquan. It’s the beginning of an unlikely love story between a small fishing community and this new arrival. Yet the relationship meets a brutal end when, three years later, the punk disappears without a trace. Forty years have now gone by, and the village of Natashquan is experiencing a slow, irreversible devitalization—one by one, villagers have been going missing. Those who tell the tale of the punk today see it as the story of a small community’s symbolic survival.
BABBO
A film by Benjamin Schiavi-Paris
Documentary short film, in development
My father, Elio, is an Italian septuagenarian who has lived in Quebec for some fifty years. He’s decided to close his restaurant, after devoting 37 years of his life to the business. As he turns over a new leaf, I see an opportunity to get closer to him. I make a plan to set out on an initiatory journey together, a trip that will take us through his immigration story. In search of a common identity, we’ll travel from Quebec to Monte Cerignone, a tiny village in northern Italy, where we’ll search for traces of his former life. While he is eager to make peace with a difficult past, I hope to better understand where I come from. Our travels will lead us, as immigrants, to question the concept of belonging to a country, a culture, and an identity.
LAST PRAYER FOR SANTA BARBARA
A film by Ariel St-Louis Lamoureux
Feature docufiction, in development
Due to lack of investment, the mine in the village of Natividad in Mexico is deteriorating, leading to fears of closure. Andres, a seasoned miner, refuses to believe this gossip until he finds himself trapped underground. As he tries to find his way back to the exit, the mine tunnels become a surreal labyrinth where he encounters other lost souls. The testimonies of miners and activists whose lives have been turned upside down by the mining industry will change his vision of the sector and reveal foreign economic interests. Last Prayer for Santa Barbara explores the paradoxes of the mining sector, as seen from the perspective of locals impacted by its activity and their memories. Through an approach that blends documentary and fiction, the film sculpts a sensitive, nuanced, and thoughtful narrative journey, allowing the audience to build an emotional connection with the characters.
ADONIS
A film by Jérémie Battaglia
Documentary film, in production
In collaboration with Télé-Québec
Though it was once limited to elite athletes, the use of anabolic steroids has reached endemic proportions among young male bodybuilding and strength training enthusiasts. Daring to tackle the taboos surrounding the concept of male beauty, Adonis delivers a thorough field investigation, to bring viewers into the heart of this muscle-building machine and reflect on the physical, psychological, and social repercussions of this obsession with achieving the perfect body. In parallel, Jérémie Battaglia turns the lens towards his own vulnerability and sheds light on the true scale of this looming public health crisis and a growing anxiety among men.
LIFE'S DUST
A film by Alejandro Jiménez
Experimental documentary short film
An intimate and cathartic look at a woman celebrating life after defeating a near-fatal illness.
THE PROMISE OF BURNT LANDS
A film by Valentin Proult
Mid-length documentary film, in pre-production
Set in Western Canada, this documentary drops us into the heart of forests devastated by wildfires. These vast expanses are home to morels, remarkable mushrooms that have spurred a modern-day frenzy not unlike the Gold Rush.
HOUB
A film by Yza Nouiga
Documentary short film, in development
Every day in Montréal, a Moroccan psychic tends to the misfortunes of others. As she prepares to join her lover in Morocco and live happily ever after, strange events make her fear for her happiness.
TRANSCENDING
Written and directed by Aude Leroux-Lévesque and Sébastien Rist
Feature-length documentary film, in development
In the ’90s, a new counterculture emerged around the world: the rave scene. Drugs and electronic music were the perfect mix to foster a cultural revolution embodied by dance, the need for communion, and the power of psychedelics. Transcending offers a unique encounter with musicians and artists who shaped the movement, people like photographer Caroline Hayeur. Together, they created a phenomenon that changed an entire generation and today, they question the legacy of this era, its influence on music culture and how it exposed the fundamental human need for connection and belonging.
ADOLF AND ME
(working title)
(working title)
A film by Jérémie Battaglia and Déborah Znaty
Animated documentary short film, in development
When he agreed to translate Mein Kampf, Olivier Mannoni had no idea that it would be a journey through hell. Adolf and me tells the story of the ten years he spent wrestling with the pernicious and heavy prose of the Führer, and the price he paid for daring to tackle this work. Inspired by Mannoni’s book about the experience, the film follows his struggle and dives into the complexities of language and the reality of a professional translator. As he dissects words, examples of twisted and dangerous translations illustrate the difficulty of the task before him. Toiling alone, immersed in one of history’s most vile pieces of literature, Mannoni is attacked from the inside, struggling to stand firm as a torrent of darkness pours out of the pages.
