Drama | 14A | 102 min.
This Québécois gem, the fiction-feature debut from Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, is a fresh, beautifully rendered, and radically optimistic take on the coming-of-age genre. Une Colonie is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama about finding your voice. Set in rural Quebec, it follows 12-year-old Mylia (Emilie Bierre), who has a history of being bullied and is trying to find her bearings at a new school while navigating a turbulent home life. She finds friends in her classmates Jacinthe, her popular older cousin, and Jimmy, who lives on a neighbouring Abenaki reserve. From there, Mylia must figure out how to handle the pressure of conformity and find her sense of self in spite of it. An apt exploration of identity that will speak to the pre-teen in all of us, Une Colonie reminds us that we should aim not only to survive in life, but also to thrive.