Gaby’s Hills
A FILM BY ZOÉ PELCHAT
Short Film – Québec – 2023 – 21 min
Color | French English subtitles | 16:9 | 5.1
SYNOPSIS
Thirteen-year-old Gaby arrives in the Magdalen Islands to spend the summer with her father, as she does every year. She is thrilled to find the sea she loves so much, the childhood friends, the winding hills on the horizon, and the warm joy of her dad’s home. But this time something is different: she hit puberty, and her life will never be the same.
Cast
Lou Thompson, Gaspard Chartrand, Emmanuel Bilodeau, Catherine De Léan, Robin L’Houmeau, Léon-Charles Arseneau.
Crew
DIRECTOR : Zoé Pelchat
WRITER : Zoé Pelchat
PRODUCERS : Véronique Charbonneau (Papillon films)
CINEMATOGRAPHY : Gabriel Brault Tardif
PRODUCTION DESIGN : Catherine K Pelletier
SOUND DESIGN : Francis Gauthier
EDITING : Amélie Labrèche
MUSIC : Laurence Lafond-Beaulne
Director statement
With Gaby’s Hills, I wanted to express the disconnect puberty creates between the head and the body, and illustrate how this pivotal moment affects our relationships with others. Navigating between the woman she’s becoming and what others expect of her femininity, Gaby tries to find her own unique and beautiful way of existing as a woman in this world.
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
After studying communications at Concordia and film directing at renowned film school l’Inis, Zoé Pelchat began her career directing music videos before devoting herself fully to fiction and advertising.
Her web series “Dominos” (2018-2020), broadcast on TV5/Unis and Tou.tv, was her first success. The two seasons travelled around the world and won several awards, including the trophy for Best Digital Series at Canneseries. Zoé followed this up with her first short, “Lune” (2020), presented in competition at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand festival, and then selected in more than forty international festivals. The film won five awards and numerous mentions for the touching performance of its lead actress, Joanie Martel. It was also nominated for the Iris for best short film at the Gala du Cinéma Québécois.
Zoé is currently pursuing her advertising career within the Cinélande banner, as well as developing her first feature film, Douce Prière. In 2022, she will release two new shorts, Atlantis and Gaby les collines. Her works all carry her very personal signature: sharp dialogue, an intoxicating visual universe and an undeniable love for human beings.
FILMOGRAPHY
GABY’S HILLS I 2023
ATLANTIS I 2023
MOON I 2020
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Berlinale Generation, 2023
IndieLisboa International Film Festival, 2023
Festival UII NU – Andorre, 2023
BIKY Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival, 2023
New Directors New Films, 2023
Cinema Jove – Valencia, 2023
CineFest Miskolc, 2023
Off-Courts Trouville, 2023
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), 2023 *HONOURABLE MENTION – SHORTCUTS SHARE HER JOURNEY AWARD
Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC), 2023 *SPECIAL MENTION
Edinburgh Film Festival, 2023
Mill Valley Film Festival, 2023
Filem’On Brussels, 2023
FIFF Campus Namur, 2023
International Young Audience Ale Kino!, 2023
Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, 2023
Festival de Cinéma International en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (FCIAT), 2023
Rome Independent Film Festival, 2023
Anchorage International Film Festival, 2023
Festival Images en Vues, 2023 *JURY AWARD
KINO ATHENS – International Independent Film Festival, 2024
Big Water Film Festival, 2024
Plein(s) Écran(s), 2024
Canada’s TIFF Top Ten, 2024
RVQC, Février 2024
Festival REGARD, 2024 *SPECIAL MENTION – BEST YOUTH SHORT FILM
Reel2Reel Film Festival, 2024
Macao International Short Film Festival, 2024
Aspen ShortFest, 2024 *YOUTH JURY AWARD
Festival du Film de l’Outaouais, 2024
Vienna Shorts, 2024
Parish Film Festival / Jersey International Film Festival, 2024