Falcon Lake is a 2022 coming-of-age drama film, directed and co-written by Charlotte Le Bon."Le premier film de Charlotte Le Bon, Falcon Lake, sélectionné à Cannes". Ici Radio-Canada, April 19, 2022. Adapted from the graphic novel by Bastien Vivès, the film stars Joseph Engel as Bastien, a 13-year-old boy from Paris, France, on a family vacation in Quebec, where he meets and develops a relationship with Chloé (Sara Montpetit), the 16-year-old daughter of his mother's friend Louise (Karine Gonthier-Hyndman).Marc-André Lussier, "Falcon Lake, de Charlotte Le Bon, sélectionné à Cannes". La Presse, April 19, 2022. The cast also includes Monia Chokri as Bastien's mother Violette, as well as Jeff Roop, Pierre-Luc Lafontaine, and Thomas Laperrière in supporting roles.
Plot Shy 13-year-old Bastien and his family are staying at a friend's lake cottage in Quebec, where Bastien meets the bold 16-year-old Chloé. She is a fan of folklore and local legends and tells Bastien a ghost is haunting the nearby lake. The two teenagers quickly bond.
Cast Joseph Engel as Bastien Sara Montpetit as Chloé Monia Chokri as Violette as Romain Karine Gonthier-Hyndman as Louise Anthony Therrien as Oliver as Stan
Production and release The film was shot in mid-2021 in and around Gore, QuebecMarie-Catherine Goudreau, "Falcon Lake : Le premier long-métrage de Charlotte Le Bon" . Journal Accès, August 10, 2021. during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film debuted in the Director's Fortnight program at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2022. It had its Canadian premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.Pat Mullen, "TIFF Announces Canadian Films for 2022 Festival". That Shelf, August 10, 2022.
Critical response On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Falcon Lake holds an approval rating of 94% based on 48 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Moody, sensitive, and subtly layered, Falcon Lake captures the intoxicating horror of young love." However, online magazine Slant commented that "the inadvertent effect of the brooding, almost overbearing gloom that shrouds Falcon Lake is that it manages to sap the life out of its initially carefree depiction of young people’s emotional lives".
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Awards Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Deauville American Film Festival 2022 Prix d'Ornano-Valenti Falcon Lake Vancouver International Film Festival 2022 Emerging Canadian Director Charlotte Le Bon Noel Ransome, "‘Riceboy Sleeps’ and ‘Until Branches Bend’ win top film prizes at VIFF". Toronto Star, October 7, 2022. Prix Louis-Delluc 2022 Best First Film Falcon Lake Fabien Lemercier, "Saint Omer and Pacifiction receive the Louis-Delluc prize ex-aequo". Cineuropa, 1 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022. Prix collégial du cinéma québécois 2023 Best Film Falcon Lake Jean-Louis Bordeleau, "Le Prix collégial du cinéma québécois s’élargit et dévoile ses finalistes". Le Devoir, January 19, 2023. César Awards February 24, 2023 Best First Feature Film Charlotte Le Bon Maxime Demers, "Falcon Lake: Charlotte Le Bon en lice pour un prix César". Le Journal de Montréal, January 25, 2023. Canadian Screen Awards April 16, 2023 Best Motion Picture Sylvain Corbeil, Nancy Grant Charles-Henri Ramond, "Écrans canadiens – Viking,13 nominations". Films du Québec, February 22, 2023. Best Director Charlotte Le Bon Best Lead Performance in a Film Joseph Engel Best Supporting Performance in a Film Sara Montpetit Best Adapted Screenplay Charlotte Le Bon John Dunning Best First Feature Award Charlotte Le Bon Prix IrisDecember 10, 2023Best FilmNancy Grant, Sylvain Corbeil, Dany Boon, Jalil Lespert, Julien Deris, David Gauquié, Jean-Luc Ormières"Québec Cinéma dévoile les finalistes aux PRIX IRIS 2023". CTVM, November 14, 2023.Best ActressSara MontpetitBest CinematographyKristof BrandlBest SoundStephen De Oliveira, Séverin Favriau, Stéphane ThiébautMost Successful Film Outside QuebecNancy Grant, Sylvain Corbeil, Dany Boon, Jalil Lespert, Julien Deris, David Gauquié, Jean-Luc Ormières, Charlotte Le Bon, Ariane Giroux-DallaireBest First FilmCharlotte Le Bon
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