A getaway at a secluded log cabin in the forest becomes the site of escalating, multigenerational tensions and anxieties in this disquieting, impeccably mounted coming-of-age drama from Quebecois filmmaker Philippe Lesage (Genesis, New Directors/New Films). Ostensibly a merry reunion between well-known film director Blake Cadieux (Arieh Worthalter, 2024 César winner for Best Actor for The Goldman Case) and his longtime friend and former collaborator Albert Gary (Paul Ahmarani), the vacation gradually becomes something far more complex and less stable, especially with the combustible admixture of Albert’s teen son’s best friend, Jeff (Noah Parker), and Albert’s self-asserting daughter Aliocha (Aurélia Arandi-Longpré). Long-simmering middle-aged resentments surface, set against the anxieties of the young, all captured sensitively by Lesage, who in recent years has proven unparalleled in evoking the psychological contours of teenagers finding their paths through treacherous emotional landscapes. Featuring thrillingly choreographed dinner sequences of mounting tension, Who by Fire confirms Lesage as a major contemporary filmmaker, with its assured tonal negotiation of the naturalistic and the oneiric, the joyous (especially an epic dance interlude to The B-52s) and the ominous.
Who By Fire
Who By Fire
A film by Philippe Lesage
Home Media
DVD
Coming soon
Digital
Coming soon
Play Dates
| Theater/Festival | City | State | Opening Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film at Lincoln Center | New York | NY | 3/14/24 |
About the Director
Philippe Lesage started out in cinema with such noted documentaries as Ce Coeur qui bat (2012
Jutra Award for Best Documentary Feature). He transitioned to fiction with Les démons (The
Demons, 2015), which earned strong reviews and numerous prizes at festivals after premiering
at San Sebastian Film Festival in Competition. Genèse (Genesis, 2018) first bowed at the Locarno
Festival to highly favorable reviews and was invited to over 70 festivals, including Rotterdam IFF,
AFI Fest and New Directors/New Films (Moma/Lincoln Center).
Filmography
2018 – Genesis(Fiction Feature)
2015 – Demons (Fiction Feature)
2012 – CE COEUR QUI B AT (Documentary Feature)
Cast and Crew
CREW
Director: Philippe LESAGE
Scriptwriters: Philippe LESAGE
Director of Photography: Balthazar LAB
Sound: Maxime GAVAUDAN
Sound Design: Frédéric CLOUTIER
Production Design: Geneviève HUOT
Costume: Caroline BODSON
Editor:Mathieu BOUCHARD-MALO
Producer: Galilé MARION-GAUVIN
Co-Producer: Thomas ORDONNEAU
CAST
BLAKE: Arieh WORTHALTER
JEFF: Noah PARKER
ALIOCHA: Aurelia ARANDI-LONGPRE
ALBERT: Paul AHMARANI
HÉLÈNE FALKE: Irène JACOB
MILLIE: Sophie DESMARAIS
MAX: Antoine MARCHAND-GAGNON
EDDY: Laurent LUCAS
FERRAN: Guillaume LAURIN
Film Info
Year: 2024
Country: Canada
Runtime: 155 min
Color: Color
Language: French
Subtitles: English
Sound: 5.1
Awards and Festivals
Berlin International Film Festival: Generation 14plus Best film
New York Film Festival: Main Slate
