Nicole Robert

1995

In 1994, Ricardo gave up his dream of being a filmmaker. At twenty-four, he has already, in a way, accepted his destiny: that of a simple citizen, anonymous, lost in the immensity of consumer society. He will never be an artist. A call from Radio-Canada, however, rekindled the artistic flame of the young man whose application was selected among the finalists of the show La Course, 1994-95 Edition.

The Dishwasher

Montreal, Winter 2002. Stéphane, 19 years old, fan of Metal, student in graphic design, dreams of becoming an illustrator. But for months he has been caught in a threatening spiral: he is addicted to games. Indebted, without an apartment, avoiding his friends to whom he owes money, Stéphane takes a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant in a major Italian restaurant in Montreal in order to get by. There, he will meet Bébert, a cook who burns the candle at both ends, and Greg, a waiter with disreputable actions. Will Stéphane make it through this new job or will he fall into a downward spiral of bad choices?

White Dog

As the country explodes under racial tensions after the assassination of Martin Luther King, writer Romain Gary, humanist and animal lover, and his wife, star Jean Seberg, civil rights activist, welcome an abandoned dog into their home, trained to jump at the mouths of blacks: a White Dog.

Flashwood

Shot over a period of 7 years, a group of young suburban friends get together during summertimes. They wonder about their future, their ambitions and their love lives. We meet up with them 5 years later, then 1 year later. Flashwood, a story of a youth trying to find itself.

Sympathy for the Devil

In an urban war zone where everything that moves is a target, Paul tries to live, love and inform.

Fabulous

Fabulous is a light comedy about three young women. It is an entertaining look at the paradoxes that young women face in a world where value depends on how many “likes” you receive online.

1991

Do you remember your first trip? Not the one you made at 5 years old with your parents to the East Coast of the United States. I mean the first time you traveled alone!? The great adventure. In 1991, I was a 21-years-old student. I went to Europe. Not because I wanted to visit all the great capitals, but because I wanted love... I wanted Marie-Ève Bernard.

Nelly

A high-class prostitute by choice, Nelly Arcan’s colorful life is recreated in a multi-layered and stylish mix of make-believe and memoir, revealing Nelly’s alter egos: the neurotic writer, the vulnerable lover, the call girl and the star. Nelly shocked the literary world with her elegant writing and the lurid details of sex work in her autobiographical first novel, Whore, which became a critically acclaimed bestseller. Despite unprecedented success, Nelly’s remarkable life ended in tragedy.

King Dave

Dave is young and rebellious. A self-proclaimed King, influenced but not unconscious. As he sets out to find the stranger who danced with his girlfriend grabbing her ass, as if nothing had happened, he decides to take justice into his hands. Between violence, heartbreak and friendship betrayal, Dave will put his finger through the wringer and rush forward, unable to stop.

Anna

Anna, a photojournalist, travels to Bangkok to pursue her investigations for a news story on the traffic in human beings being carried on by the triads. There she herself is kidnapped and subjected to the same abuse endured by the women she has interviewed and photographed.

NOIR

NOIR chronicles the lives of four people living in a neighborhood plagues by poverty and violence, aspiring to freedom and happiness. Kadhafi, a 26 year old aspiring rapper and ex-member of a street gang, just out of prison, wants to steer clear of troubles. Fleur, a 17 year old Haitian mother in an abusive and passionate relationship with her daughter's father, dreams of leaving the ghetto and becoming a nurse. Suzie, a 20 year old stripper who falls for a gang member. Dickens, 16 year old Haitian wants to be part of the street gang controlled by his older brother.

1987

In 1987, Ricardo is 17 years old. This summer, Ricardo has a busy schedule: loose his virginity, find a way to get into bars, have a car, spend time with his friends. In order to rapidly make money, Ricardo decides to use his italian inheritance and take a shortcut in the medium of crime. But things will go wrong...

L'Affaire Dumont

Michel Dumont is charged, judged and sentenced for a rape he denies ever having committed. While he serves his time in prison, Solange, who he fell in love with during his trial, embarks on the colossal task of proving his innocence and having the court rehabilitate him.

Seven Days

Like many happy people, Bruno Hamel is leading an uneventful life until one afternoon, when his daughter is raped and murdered. When the murderer is arrested, a terrible project germinates in Bruno's darkened mind. He plans to capture the "monster" and make him pay for his crime.

1981

Filmmaker Ricardo Trogi recalls the events surrounding his family moving to a new neighborhood when he was 11 years old.

Everything Is Fine

Josh is an ordinary teen living in an ordinary suburb. One morning he finds his friend's dead body. Next, he discovers that three more friends also have killed themselves, leaving him out of their pact. As the sole survivor, Josh becomes more and more detached from the world around him. It is a modern portrait of today's teens: invincible yet fragile, clear-thinking yet confused...

Cheech

Six people, some more depressed than others, living through the worst day of their lives.

Dodging the Clock

The passage of time is probably the only concrete proof we have that justice exists in this cruel world. Some people would like to stop time in its tracks, while others choose to follow its path. In this story, three men in their early thirties have reached that age when it's time to start thinking about "getting a life", perhaps starting a family. But how do you handle the fact that your friendships are changing? That, slowly, your new family is becoming the center of your ever-shrinking world? What do you do when you realize your youth is a thing of the past?

Love and Magnets

Back in Montréal after spending five years in Guatemala, Julie moves in with her elder sister, Jeanne, a chronic liar and woman of rather loose sexual morals... Disillusioned with love, Jeanne is nevertheless engaged to Noël. However, Jeanne and Noël lead separate lives, and only communicate by leaving each other messages on the fridge.Everything suddenly becomes very complicated. Jeanne compels Julie to take up with Noël so she can have a fling with a passionate musician. Noël, meanwhile, sets Julie up with Michel -- without Jeanne's knowledge. Julie mixes things up even further. Egged on by her friend Marie-Ève, she alters the contents of the messages on the fridge in an attempt to breathe new life into Jeanne and Noël's relationship. Along the way, she also begins to fall for the seductive Michel. The tables are turned on everyone... In the game of love and truth, illusion leads to betrayal, but love conquers all.

Quebec-Montreal

Quebec-Montreal: 250 km (150 miles) of asphalt, nine thirtysomething travelers, four cars, one destination. The journey becomes an opportunity to share points of view about life and to discuss troubling questions about our existence.

Betty Fisher and Other Stories

When bestselling novelist Betty Fisher loses her young son in a tragic accident, her unstable mother resorts to unusual actions to alleviate Betty's grief, actions which set off a chain reaction among a promiscuous waitress and her criminal associates.

Saint Jude

Teen-aged sisters Jude and Maureen, living with their volatile father in Montréal, live a life of substance abuse, hustling and petty theft. After Jude's father kicks her out of the house for her abusive and thieving ways, Jude is forced to survive on the streets with the assistance of her odd assortment of friends, including middle aged pedophile Clarence, pre-teen male hustler Georgie, pimp Big Al, and Maureen's junkie boyfriend Gabe. Georgie has a crush on Jude, while Jude unrealistically fantasizes about a normal married life with Gabe. All the while, Jude is also trying to elude the sadistic Mink, who she inadvertently crossed

Windigo

Native Americans clash with the Canadian government as they struggle for independence in this factual Canadian drama set in Quebec during the summer of 1990. Eddie Laroche, a rebellious native leader spawned a national crises when he and his supporters declared the independence of Aki territory in a far-flung area of northern Quebec. He refused to negotiate without the presences of television cameras to record his people's plight. Jean Fontaine was the reporter assigned to the story and much of the film is told from his viewpoint. To reach Laroche's land, negotiators, government officials, and the film crew had to travel by boat. Fontaine is initially cynical and reluctant to do the story, but after he spends time on the boat interviewing it's passengers, his cynicism has dissolves and he realizes he is faced with the presentations of a terribly complex situation. His dilemma provides a main focus for the film.

Requiem for a Handsome Bastard

Despite the fact that he is completely unrepentant about his crimes, when Regis Savoie's son asks to visit him, prison authorities grant permission for the boy to come. The thief and murderer (Gildor Roy) takes advantage of the moment of his son's arrival to steal a gun and take flight. He settles some old scores, gets together with his girlfriend, and heads for the hills, pursued by a detective who is not to be swayed in his efforts to follow and recapture him.

The Peanut Butter Solution

Peanut butter is the secret ingredient for magic potions made by two friendly ghosts. Eleven-year-old Michael loses all of his hair when he gets a fright and uses the potion to get his hair back, but too much peanut butter causes things to get a bit hairy.

The Dog Who Stopped the War

As the Christmas holidays begin, a group of 10 war-obsessed kids have a wave of inspiration: What if they spend the next two weeks engaged in a simulated war, armed only with shields, wooden swords, snowballs, and a fierce sense of competition? With a bounty chest waiting for the winners, the two sides gradually grow in size, and the war grows in importance, taking over all aspects of their lives.