My Internship in Canada

My Internship in Canada
My Internship in Canada
French	Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre
Directed by	Philippe Falardeau
Written by	Philippe Falardeau
Produced by	Luc Déry; Kim McCraw
Starring	Patrick Huard; Irdens Exantus; Suzanne Clément; Paul Doucet
Cinematography	Ronald Plante
Edited by	Richard Comeau
Music by	Martin Léon
Production; company	micro_scope
Distributed by	Les Films Christal
Release date	August 10, 2015 (Locarno);
Running time	108 minutes
Country	Canada
Languages	French; English; Haitian Creole

My Internship in Canada (French: Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre, lit. "Guibord Goes to War") is a Canadian political satire film written and directed by Philippe Falardeau.^[2] The film premiered in 2015 at the Locarno International Film Festival.^[2]

The film was nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards, and won three awards at the 18th Quebec Cinema Awards. It was also part of the Canada's Top Ten screening series of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

The film stars Patrick Huard as Steve Guibord, an independent, moderate Member of Parliament for the northern Quebec electoral district of Prescott–Makadewa–Rapides-aux-Outardes, who unexpectedly finds himself in the position of becoming the tie-breaking voter on whether Canada will go to war in the Middle East.^[2] Embarking on a tour of his constituency to evaluate public opinion, various lobby groups and Canada's Prime Minister spin the debate further and further out of control.

Guibord's confusion and eventual national tour is documented by Souverain (Irdens Exantus), his Haitian immigrant intern, who often calls his mother (and an increasing audience of passers-by) with updates on the situation.^[2]

Cast

Patrick Huard as Steve Guibord
Irdens Exantus as Souverain Pascal
Suzanne Clément as Suzanne
Clémence Dufresne-Deslières as Lune
Sonia Cordeau as Stéphanie Caron-Lavallée
Paul Doucet as the Prime Minister of Canada
Jules Philip as Maire
Dangelo Néard as Optimiste
Robin Aubert as Rodrigue
Ellen David as Allison
Micheline Lanctôt as Mairesse
Alexis Martin as Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada
Paul Ahmarani as Professor Amin

Production

The film was shot from 24 September to 10 November 2014 in Val-d'Or, the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, Ottawa, and Haiti.^[1]

Accolades

The film had its North American premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival,^[3] where it received an honourable mention from the Canadian film jury.^[4] It was released in the province of Quebec on 2 October 2015, on seven screens, with a wide release in the province on 9 October 2015.^[1] In December, the film was announced as part of TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten screening series of the ten best Canadian films of the year.^[5] In January 2016, it won the Canada's Top Ten Film Festival People's Choice Award, voted on by audiences in Toronto.^[6]

The film garnered four Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016,^[7] including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Irdens Exantus), Best Original Screenplay (Philippe Falardeau) and Best Sound (Bernard Gariépy Strobl, Daniel Bisson, Claude La Haye and Benoît Leduc). For the 18th Quebec Cinema Awards (formerly known as the Prix Jutra), it won Best Supporting Actor (Exantus), Best Original Score and Best Editing.

It was shortlisted for the Prix collégial du cinéma québécois in 2016.^[8]

In 2023, Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail named the film as one of the 23 best Canadian comedy films ever made.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre – Film de Philippe Falardeau". Films du Québec (in French). Retrieved 16 January 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "‘Monsieur Lazhar’s’’ Philippe Falardeau, Films Distribution Re-team for ‘My Internship in Canada’". Variety, January 30, 2015.
^ Jennie Punter (2015-08-05). "Toronto Film Festival to Debut Ethan Hawke's 'Born to Be Blue,' Ellen Page's 'Into the Forest'". Variety. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
^ "Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
^ "TIFF reveals Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival line-up". The Globe and Mail, December 8, 2015.
^ "Philippe Falardeau's My Internship in Canada Wins the Canada's Top Ten Film Festival People's Choice Award" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
^ "Room, Schitt’s Creek lead 2016 Canadian Screen Award nominations". National Post, January 20, 2016.
^ David Rémillard, "Chorus remporte le Prix collégial du cinéma québécois". Le Soleil, March 19, 2016.
^ Barry Hertz, "The 23 best Canadian comedies ever made". The Globe and Mail, June 28, 2023.

External links

[FQ-1] "Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre – Film de Philippe Falardeau". Films du Québec (in French). Retrieved 16 January 2016.

[variety-2] "‘Monsieur Lazhar’s’’ Philippe Falardeau, Films Distribution Re-team for ‘My Internship in Canada’". Variety, January 30, 2015.

[3] Jennie Punter (2015-08-05). "Toronto Film Festival to Debut Ethan Hawke's 'Born to Be Blue,' Ellen Page's 'Into the Forest'". Variety. Retrieved 2015-09-21.

[4] "Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2015-09-21.

[5] "TIFF reveals Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival line-up". The Globe and Mail, December 8, 2015.

[6] "Philippe Falardeau's My Internship in Canada Wins the Canada's Top Ten Film Festival People's Choice Award" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.

[7] "Room, Schitt’s Creek lead 2016 Canadian Screen Award nominations". National Post, January 20, 2016.

[8] David Rémillard, "Chorus remporte le Prix collégial du cinéma québécois". Le Soleil, March 19, 2016.

[9] Barry Hertz, "The 23 best Canadian comedies ever made". The Globe and Mail, June 28, 2023.

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