CFUV @ VFF 2017: Pays (Boundaries)

Chloé Robichaud’s second film Pays (Boundaries) takes place in a fiction country, Besco, off the coast of Labrador with newly discovered iron deposits resource. It follows 3 women each at different points in their life as they work in the political realm with the future of Besco on the line. Félixe, the youngest of a contingent of Canadians here to negotiate at 25 years old, Emily, an American mediator in her 30s who leads negotiations between countries, and Danielle, the President of Besco and strong family woman in her 40s.

The film follows each group as they set the demands on what mining rights should look like between the two countries. Félixe struggles with party-lines and her idea of what are Canadian values. Emily is portrayed as a professional mediator but is constantly away from her 5 year old son and Danielle goes into politics to provide a better future for children but must struggle with hard choices from harsh options. Besco is filmed in Newfoundland, which has such a unique look on its own with the bareness of the land. Each of these 3 characters comes in with notions of working on what they believe is best for Besco but will be challenged by attacks at their values and in the process work on the development of their identities.

-Troy Lemberg

 View more CFUV coverage of VFF 2017 here.