La Formation Des Éperviers

The roar of their engines is a short documentary film set in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a territory that still bears the scars of an ongoing 50 years-old conflict, where peace talks are at a standstill. Meanwhile, the Turkish-Cypriot population is aging, silently and away from the spotlight, on disputed and over-militarized lands. This war no longer concerns them.

Roger, a soon-to-be-retired lumberjack from Quebec’s Basses-Laurentides, is enjoying his last summer at work with Charles, his apprentice, who will take the reins of the company at the end of the season. He gives him valuable advices to ensure the survival of his legacy. Mike and Henri will come helping when the work's abound.

Normand lost his wife Alexandra eight years ago and has been living isolated in his Parc-Extension appartment since. His longtime solitude is interrupted when an old friend walks in with his camera. 

Through a simple juxtaposition of words and images, Charles-Émile Lafrance and Romy Bélisle give us a coming-of-age story distilled to its purest components, emphasizing the essence of being aware of the passing of time. Romy Bélisle’s writing grants us access to her inner self, to the universal significance of the end of adolescence, to one world dying so that another can be born. Her words are paired with images of her last summer before heading toward adulthood, captured by a warm and discreet camera. These seemingly mundane fragments contrast with the breadth of emotions conveyed by her entries, and from this tension crystallizes the underlying goal of immortalizing what is about to disappear with the maturity and clarity we all wish we had.