“Something within me, unraveling.”

As summer draws to a close in the fictive city of Biligen-sur-mer, quiet retiree Louise sits on the beach and contemplates her sudden solitude. She has missed the final train home with everyone else, and finds herself stranded in the empty seaside town. Seemingly abandoned, Louise decides to carry on and carve out a simple existence by the shore; building a makeshift home out of a lifeguard post, surviving off the shellfish she pulls from the water, and collecting books out of forgotten luggage trunks. For the better part of a year, she is accompanied only by the sea wind, an old dog, and her rambling memory.

Louise en hiver is a very different look at life on a deserted island, and is an exploration of time, memory, and persistence. It is the experienced adult who will reap the most from this film. So get away from your life for just 75 minutes: consider who you are in the absence of others, what made you, and how you carry on each day. From award-winning veteran director Jean-François Laguionie, this represents French animation at its best.

Free all-ages screening presented by Spark CG Society and VIFF Vancity Theatre in collaboration with Institut Français and the General Consulate of France in Vancouver. In French with English subtitles.

*Tickets are free, but booking ahead is recommended. Seats are not guaranteed and will be allotted to ticket-holders on a first-come, first-served basis.

© 2024 · Spark CG Society