A Colony
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''A Colony'' (french: Une colonie) is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, directed by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles and released in 2018. The film centres on Mylia (
Émilie Bierre Émilie Bierre (born 12 May 2004) is a French-Canadian actress from Quebec. She is most noted for her performance in the film ''A Colony (Une colonie)'', for which she won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress at the 7th Canadian Screen Awar ...
), a young girl starting high school who is torn between her new friendships with Jacinthe (Cassandra Gosselin-Pelletier), a bad influence who encourages her to experiment with sex and alcohol, and Jimmy ( Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), an artistic First Nations student. The film's cast also includes
Irlande Côté Irlande Côté is a Canadian actress from Quebec. Biography She is most noted for her performance in the film ''A Colony (Une colonie)'', for which she received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 7th Canadian ...
as Mylia's younger sister Camille, and Noémie Godin-Vigneau and Robin Aubert as their parents.


Plot

In rural Quebec, Mylia begins high school while living with her younger sister Camille and her parents, Nathalie and Henri. They live on the border of an Abenaki First Nation reserve and Camille struggles with being bullied by her peers, with Mylia being her only friend. When Mylia gets to high school, she finds her locker is next to her cousin Gab, but Gab is cold to her. Mylia is placed in a history and citizenship class. There, she meets Jacinthe. Jacinthe notices that Mylia takes notes in history class and asks for Mylia's help with the course, to avoid a failing grade. The two girls meet and collaborate on their homework; afterwards, Jacinthe invites Mylia to a party. Mylia goes, and begins drinking alcohol. Intoxicated, she leaves and vomits. She wakes up in a home on a reserve, where a local boy Jimmy lives, and Jimmy's grandmother lets her recover on her couch. When Mylia returns home, she finds her father Henri on the couch for the night, and denies she was drinking. Mylia becomes increasingly acquainted with Jimmy as he allows Camille to use his trampoline. In history class, the students discuss their readings on the Europeans' early contact with indigenous peoples in Quebec. When students begin asking about passages about the indigenous people's depravity (from the racist perspective of the European settlers), Jimmy becomes angered and has a physical altercation with the boys in the halls. He is afterwards suspended. Jacinthe invites Mylia to a Halloween party, where she and her friends plan to dress as the Fifth Harmony. Although the party falls on Camille's birthday, Mylia agrees to join. Later, Mylia meets with Jimmy. Jimmy, who says Halloween costumes reveal one's true self, discloses he will be dressing as an " Indian". Mylia says she will be dressing with her friends as the Fifth Harmony, and is offended when Jimmy criticizes her for dressing as a "slut". Camille is upset when she learns Mylia will not be at her birthday party and only her parents will be there. At the party, Mylia is peer-pressured by her friends to make out with a boy, Vincent, but becomes uncomfortable with the sexual nature of his advances and puts a stop to them. She leaves and meets Jimmy. At home, Nathalie and Henri sit Mylia and Camille down for a talk, where they reveal they are undergoing a separation. Mylia and Camille are upset to learn their mother is moving them out of a house. Mylia leaves the home and sees Jimmy, and tells him she loves him. After time passes, Mylia is attending a new school. She writes to Jimmy about learning about the
Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...
, and about how none of her classmates believed her when she said she was from a forest and her friend is an "Abenaki warrior". Mylia writes her peers find her unusual, but concludes by saying she does not want to be like everyone else.


Cast


Release

The film premiered at the 2018 Quebec City Film Festival. It went into general theatrical release in early 2019, and was screened at the
2019 Berlin Film Festival The 69th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 7 to 17 February 2019. French actress Juliette Binoche served as the Jury President. Lone Scherfig's drama film '' The Kindness of Strangers'' opened the festival. The Golden Bea ...
in the Generation Kplus program.


Accolades

The film received seven nominations at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019, for Best Picture, Best Actress (Bierre), Best Supporting Actor (Whiteduck-Lavoie), Best Supporting Actress (Côté), Best Director (Dulude-De Celles), Best Costume Design ( Eugénie Clermont) and the John Dunning Best First Feature Award.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colony, A 2018 films 2010s coming-of-age drama films Canadian coming-of-age drama films Films directed by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles Best First Feature Genie and Canadian Screen Award-winning films Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners 2018 drama films French-language Canadian films 2010s Canadian films