Ste. Anne

Directed by Rhayne Vermette

Canada, 2021 (experimental / fiction, 80 minutes, colour, French)

Film Description:
"Renée returns to her native village in Manitoba's Métis community after going missing for several years. Her unexpected arrival causes upheaval in the lives of her friends and family, especially her young daughter, raised by her brother during her absence. Through family photos and fragmented stories from the past, Renée tries to recapture her dreams, but dark clouds seem to be an omen. Using images shot on intimate 16-mm and a hypnotic soundscape, Rhayne Vermette mirrors the stories of a rural community, bringing to life their gauzy poetry, a blend of collective and individual memories with a strong connection to kinship, loss and the land."
-- Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montréal (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Rhayne Vermette
Produced by:	Rhayne Vermette
Principal Cast:	Rhayne Vermette, Isabelle Deschambault, Jack Theis, Valerie Marion, Dolorès Gosselin, Roger Vermette, Andrina Turenne, Denise Tougas, Yvette Deveau, Paulette Cooksey, Macgray Adams
Cinematography:	Kristiane Church, Amanda Kindzierski, Lindsay McIntyre, Erin Weisgerber, Rhayne Vermette
Film Editing:	Rhayne Vermette
Music:	Bret Parenteau
Production Company:	Exovedate Productions

(sources)

Award won by Ste. Anne

Toronto International Film Festival: Best Canadian Feature Film -- awarded to Rhayne Vermette

Notes about Ste. Anne

Shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021.

(sources)

Quote by the Director

"My space as a Métis woman is complex, and that's what I love about it. So Ste. Anne came out of wondering how that could be expressed in film. We had a super-small budget, funded by arts councils. There was no hierarchy; everyone got paid the same. The constraints of our abilities became our innovations. There were five cinematographers, which reflected the matriarchal umbrella of our set. The camera was a communal space. The actors are my friends and family. Our mantra was, 'Keep It Chill.' Anyone can show up on set and put in their 12 hours, but everyone who touched my film put their love into it. How you quantify that, I don't know."
-- Rhayne Vermette (source)

Quotes about Ste. Anne

"The fragmentary (and at times fractious) nature of the dynamic [in Ste. Anne] is heightened by an approach that incorporates experimental diversions, as well as beguiling ambiguities and anachronisms that locate the film out of time. With its profound sense of place and a dreamlike, collagist intensity (and echoes of Paris, Texas not too far off), Ste. Anne confronts ideas of belonging, reclamation, and family with both intimacy and a near-hallucinatory pull toward visual abstraction. Commissioned by the Indigenous-led COUSIN Collective and shot over 14 months, the film is a family affair in more ways than one, featuring members of the filmmaker's family and expanded Métis community."
-- Andréa Picard (source)

"Ste. Anne was haunting (in a good way) in its raw portrayal and exploration of matriarchal themes. It's almost as if the viewer was invited to listen to important conversations outside of their own circle."
-- Vincent Schilling (source)

Web Sites about Ste. Anne

"IMDb: Ste. Anne." Internet Movie Database, Inc. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14091768/reference.