''How to Conquer America in One Night'' (french: Comment conquérir l'Amérique en une nuit) is a Canadian comedy film, directed by
Dany Laferrière
Dany Laferrière (born Windsor Kléber Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a Haitian-Canadian novelist and journalist who writes in French. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015.
Life
Bo ...
and released in 2004. The film centres on the relationship between Fanfan (
Maka Kotto
Maka Kotto (born December 7, 1961) is a Cameroonian-born French-Canadian politician. Educated in France, Kotto immigrated to Quebec, Canada, where he was an educator before entering politics. Kotto was a Parti Québécois member of the National A ...
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
for 20 years but still does not feel entirely at home in Canada, and his nephew Gégé (Michel Mpambara), who has recently come to Montreal to visit his uncle before moving to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to pursue his vision of the American Dream, which mainly involves eating hamburgers and seducing large-breasted blonde women.Brendan Kelly, "Montreal seen from Haiti". ''
Montreal Gazette
The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'', September 10, 2004.
The cast also includes Sonia Vachon, Sophie Faucher, Maxime Morin, Widemir Normil,
Michel Barrette
Michel Barrette (born April 26, 1957 in Chicoutimi, Quebec) is a television and movie actor, television and radio host and stand-up comedian. He has played various roles in Quebec movies and television shows since 1982.
Profile
After serving ...
,
Pascale Montpetit
Pascale Montpetit (born 28 July 1960) is a French Canadian actress. In 1990 she won a Best Actress Genie Award for Darrell Wasyk's '' H'', and again in 2002 for Mario Azzopardi
Mario Philip Azzopardi (born 19 November 1950) is a Canadian-Maltese ...
,
Pierre Curzi
Pierre Curzi (born February 11, 1946 in Montreal, Quebec) is an actor, screenwriter and politician in Quebec. He is a former Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the riding of Borduas in the Montérégie region south of Montreal. ...
,
Claude Charron
Claude Charron (born October 22, 1946 in L'Île-Bizard, Quebec) is a former CEGEP teacher, provincial politician, writer and broadcaster. He became Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the youngest Member of the National Assembly of Quebec.
...
and
Fabienne Colas
Fabienne Colas Joseph, (born March 18, 1979), is a Haitian-Canadian actress, director and producer. She is head of the Fabienne Colas Foundation, which is dedicated to the promotion of film, art and culture as it organizes many festivals. Fabie ...
.
Fanfan is a character who frequently recurs in Laferrière's work, including the concurrent film ''
On the Verge of a Fever
''On the Verge of a Fever'' (french: Le Goût des jeunes filles) is a 2004 Canadian drama film, directed by John L'Ecuyer. An adaptation of Dany Laferrière's novel ''Dining with the Dictator (Le Goût des jeunes filles)'', the film is set in Hai ...
(Le Goût des jeunes filles)'', which was directed by
John L'Ecuyer
John L'Ecuyer (born November 15, 1964) is a Canadian film and television director.
Biography
John L'Ecuyer's first feature, '' Curtis's Charm'' (1995), was an adaptation of a Jim Carroll story. The film received a Special Jury Citation as Best Can ...
from Laferrière's screenplay and also premiered in fall 2004.
The film, Laferrière's first time directing one of his own screenplays,Brendan Kelly, "Laughing through the snow". ''
Montreal Gazette
The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...
'', September 8, 2004. premiered at the
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...
on August 27, 2004, before opening commercially on September 10.
Hélène Girard
Hélène Girard is a Canada, Canadian film editor. She is most noted as co-winner with Jean Beaudin of the Canadian Film Award for Canadian Screen Award for Best Editing, Best Editing at the 28th Canadian Film Awards in 1977, for their work on the ...
received a
Jutra Award
The Prix Iris is a Canadian film award, presented annually by Québec Cinéma, which recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in Quebec.Best Editing at the
7th Jutra Awards The 7th Jutra Awards were held on February 20, 2005 to honour films made with the participation of the Quebec film industry in 2004.