Suspicions

Colour, 35 mm
Canada, 2010, 94 min
WP – World premiere
Section: Forum of Independents

Synopsis

Thomas and Marie are not exactly going through the happiest period of their long-term relationship, so they decide to spend a couple of quiet days at a cottage in the country. There they meet a stranger pretending to be the owner of the neighboring cabin. Who is this unknown man? And what does he want? The mutual encounter changes the lives of all participants. Director and screenwriter Patrick Demers has shot a film powerful in a variety of ways: his leads’ performances, the sensitive camerawork emphasizing the cool palette of the largely inhospitable landscape, the nonlinear narrative, and the suspenseful atmosphere created by numerous portents and uncertainties. Due to the film’s ingenious structure, the viewer is obliged to piece together the dramatic events that took place over two days originally intended for relaxation and mutual understanding. But instead they turn the young couple’s life upside down and lead them to a place from which there is no way back.

About the director

Patrick Demers is a versatile Canadian filmmaker. At age 22, just out of film school, he became a correspondent for Radio-Canada’s televised contest La course destination monde, filing reports from 15 countries in six months. He then began working in television and advertising in Montréal. His first short film, Décharge (1999), garnered the award for Best Canadian Short at the Toronto IFF. His first animated film, Dans un Spoutnik, based on a song by Daniel Bélanger, took Best French Video at the MunchMusic Video Awards in 2003, as well as Best Video at the 2003 ADISQ Awards. Demers shot the documentary Regular or Super (2004), awarded at the 22nd International Festival of Films on Art. Suspicions is his feature debut.