Mama no himitsu

Cannes Docs

Mama no himitsu

Original title: Mama no himitsu

Directed by: Laurence LÉVESQUE

Produced by: Catherine BOILY (Metafilms, Canada), Rosalie CHICOINE PERREAULT (Metafilms, Canada)

Country of production: Canada

Runtime: 90'

Expected release: January, 2023

Production stage: Post-production

Budget: $499.640 (100% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Festivals, Sales Agents, Distributors, Buyers

Synopsis:

Noriko Oi, a Japanese-Canadian woman, returns to her native land in the hopes of reviving her deceased mother’s memories, a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bomb, while emptying her childhood home. What is left of memories when families’ secrets are locked away and end up casting a shadow over the collective recollections?

Director’s profile:

In 2017, Laurence directed a short fiction film, DRAP CONTOUR, which won several international awards. She then signed a short documentary, PORT D’ATTACHE, in 2019. The film was selected at the prestigious Visions du Réel, won the Best National Short Film Award at RIDM and was nominated for best short film at the Québec-Cinéma gala. In 2022, Laurence completes a master’s degree in which she reflects on documentary writing and directing. MAMA NO HIMITSU is her first feature film.

Producer’s profile:

After graduating from the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy in 2012 where she studied acting, Catherine Boily then started to get involved as a producer on various projects. Moving back to Montreal in 2015, she met Sylvain Corbeil and Nancy Grant from Metafilms, with whom she’s been working with since. Under Metafilms, Catherine has produced many short films and music videos, in addition to working multiple positions on feature films shot in Canada, the United States, Czech Republic, England and Namibia. Most recently, she was also an Executive Producer with Martin Scorcese on the latest Paul Schrader movie The Card Counter, which had its world premiere at the 2021 Biennale. Catherine is now developing emerging talents’ feature films projects at Metafilms.
Rosalie Chicoine Perreault searches for projects and filmmakers with a unique vision that stand out from the current cinematographic landscape, both in fiction and documentary. Amongst her most recent projects, GEOGRAPHIES OF SOLITUDE (Jacquelyn Mills, 2022), her first feature documentary, was awarded three prizes during its world premiere at the 72nd Berlinale, in addition to winning Best Canadian Feature at Hot Docs. “