''North of Albany'' (french: Au nord d'Albany) is a 2022 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Marianne Farley Marianne Farley (born Marianne Therien in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian actress and director, best known for her roles as Gem Whitman in ''Imaginaerum (film), Imaginaerum'', Nicole Breen in ''This Life (2015 TV series), This Life'', Dillan Vand ...

(in her directorial debut) from a screenplay she co-wrote with Claude Brie. It stars

Céline Bonnier Céline Bonnier (; born August 31, 1965) is a French Canadian actress from Quebec. She has been nominated for four awards including Genie Awards and Gemini Awards. Filmography * 1992: ''Tectonic Plates'' * 1994: ''The Wind from Wyoming (Le V ...

, Zeneb Blanchet, and Eliott Plamondon as a Canadian family who run away to the United States. The film was shot in the province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in late 2020. The film premiered at Cinéfest on September 19, 2022, and was released in theaters on December 2, 2022, by Maison 4:3.

Premise

A single mother, Annie, flees from the Canadian city of

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 ...

with her two children Sarah and Felix after Sarah physically attacks a bully. The family's car breaks down, stranding them in the

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular d ...

in the American state of New York. There, they meet local mechanic Paul who helps them confront the real reasons they are on the run.

Cast

as Annie, the mother of Sarah and Felix * Zeneb Blanchet as Sarah, the 15-year-old teenage daughter of Annie and sister of Felix * Eliott Plamondon as Felix, the 10-year-old son of Annie and brother of Sarah * Rick Roberts as Paul, a mechanic who lives in the

, and Emma's nephew * Naomi Cormier as Hope * Sean Tucker as Richard * Kelly Depeault as Martine * Frédéric Pierre as Mme Briére * Janet Land as Emma, a 65-year-old widow and Paul's aunt

Production

In June 2019,

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

revealed three films, including ''North of Albany'', it would fund in the upcoming months. In December 2019, SODEC announced they would also finance it.

got the idea for the film after her car broke down close to the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

while she was visiting her brother in the US. Calling the mishap a "shitty adventure", Farley wrote the initial screenplay with her then-spouse Claude Brie. Farley also produced the film with Benoit Beaulieu under their production banner Slykid & Skykid. It is the company's second project after 2020's '' Our Own'' (''Les Nôtres''). The village of

Abercorn, Quebec Abercorn is a village in the Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Québec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 334. It is bordered by the larger township of Sutton to the north and east, by Fr ...

, stood in for the

. Principal photography, delayed several months due to the

, began on October 7, 2020, and concluded on November 16. The crew followed COVID-19 safety protocols by wearing masks, practicing social distancing and receiving frequent

temperature measurement Temperature measurement (also known as thermometry) describes the process of measuring a current local temperature for immediate or later evaluation. Datasets consisting of repeated standardized measurements can be used to assess temperature tren ...

s while working. Filming also took place in the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains ( French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurentid ...

, the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

of Quebec,

Châteauguay Châteauguay ( , , ) is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, located both on the Chateauguay River and Lac St-Louis, which is a section of the St. Lawrence River. The population of the city of Châteauguay at the 2021 Cens ...

, the Entrelacs,

Lanaudière Lanaudière (, ) is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population ( 2016 Census) of 494,796 inhabitants, an increase of 4.9% over the 2011 census. Geogr ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, and West Brome.

Director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

Benoit Beaulieu and

camera operator A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmaking ...

Benoît C. Gauthier shot the film with an

Arri The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon menti ...

Alexa Mini LF camera and vintage Leica R lenses. Drone shots were filmed by

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...

company DroneStudio Canada. Farley said she did not regret making the film in the midst of a global pandemic. The film's

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

was

Aube Foglia Aube Foglia is a Canadian film editor. She is most noted as a four-time Jutra/Iris Award nominee for Best Editing, receiving nominations at the 1st Jutra Awards in 1999 for '' Nô'', the 4th Jutra Awards in 2002 for '' Between the Moon and Monte ...

, and the musical score was composed by Frannie Holder.

Release

The film premiered at Cinéfest on September 19, 2022, and was released in theaters on December 2, 2022.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 13105480 2022 directorial debut films 2022 drama films 2022 films 2022 independent films 2022 multilingual films 2020s Canadian films 2020s drama road movies 2020s English-language films 2020s French-language films 2020s psychological drama films Canadian drama road movies Canadian independent films Canadian multilingual films Canadian psychological drama films English-language Canadian films Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films about single parent families Films set in Montreal Films set in New York (state) Films shot in Montreal French-language Canadian films