The Winter's Keeper

A cook in his heyday, Camilo is now a worn-out fifty-year-old who works for a cleaning company. We can guess a personal failure in the past of this solitary Mexican living in Montreal. However, Camilo wants to get back on track and an opportunity to recover his culinary passion finally presents itself. Everything is in place for this new beginning when Camilo receives a visit from his daughter Tania, with whom he had cut ties because of her drug addiction. She tells him that he is a grandfather and asks him to take care of the child while she undergoes her umpteenth rehab. The arrival of this grandson will upset Camilo’s plans. There will be a new beginning for him, certainly, but not as he imagined it.

Driven by childhood memories and the hope of a reencounter, Sarah visits her paternal grandmother in her village in Uruguay. She takes long to understand the prevailing unease… But she is soon faced with the gap between her fantasy regarding the place of origin and that village of old people forgotten by Modernity where the heat is overwhelming and the days seem to last forever. Cultural shock, humor, tenderness and sadness give shape to this bitter-sweet film.

Based on a true story, Mokhtar recounts the tale of a young boy who lives with his family of goatherds in a remote, Moroccan village. One day, the boy finds a fallen owl and decides to keep it, despite the fact that the owl is considered a bad omen. Mokhtar's new pet becomes a symbol of rebellion against his family and an icon of his fledgling independence. Kinship, religion and spirituality are all confronted in this astounding piece that celebrates inner and outer strength.