Kanaval: Family's harrowing journey from Haiti to Quebec told in Montreal director's debut film
Kanaval is Montreal director Henri Pardo's first feature film and it's already winning awards.
It's an immigration story told through the eyes of a nine-year-old child who makes the journey from Haiti to Quebec with his family in the 1970s.
The film opens Friday night in Montreal. When it premiered at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last year, it won the Amplify Voices Award for Best BIPOC Canadian Feature. It received several other nominations and awards and Pardo will be taking it to festivals around the world.
Pardo wrote and directed Kanaval and it's inspired by his own family's immigration story. He was born in New Brunswick but his parents and sisters fled the Duvalier dictatorship in Haiti, and eventually settled in Canada.
The film tells the story of Rico, 9, who flees the country with his mother in the 70's and arrives in a small rural town in Quebec with the help of an older couple. Rico has to adjust to life in a new province, and encounters bullies and racism.
To cope, he conjures up an imaginary friend who becomes his guide to figuring out life in his new world.
The young actor playing Rico is Rayan Dieudonné, who has a very similar story to his character. He and his family left Haiti in 2018 passing through seven countries before arriving in Canada through Roxham Road.
The English subtitled version of the film is screening at Cinéma du Musée at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi found dead at helicopter crash site, state media says
Iranian president, the country’s foreign minister and others have been found dead at the site of a helicopter crash Monday after a search through a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest.
Court eases internet restrictions for Sask. man who matched with a 15-year-old girl on Tinder
A Saskatchewan man who had a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old girl he met on Tinder successfully appealed to shorten release conditions barring him from online dating.
Stittsville residents seeking answers as bylaw cracks down on street basketball nets
Stittsville residents on Kearnsley Way are seeking answers after an unusual bylaw crackdown on Friday. Every home with a basketball net received a ticket instructing homeowners to remove their nets from the road.
'A horrible way to start the summer': 3 killed in serious boat crash on lake north of Kingston, Ont.
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
What do we know so far about the mysterious crash of the helicopter carrying Iran's president?
The apparent crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister on Sunday sent shock waves around the region.
Ex-partner charged with first-degree murder after 55-year-old woman killed in Montreal
Less than 24 hours after Montreal's 12th homicide investigation began, Montreal police confirmed that a 55-year-old woman's death in St. Michel is the island's 13th homicide. The woman's ex-spouse has been charged with first-degree murder.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
Toxic drugs circulating in northeastern Ont., police say
Canada’s largest First Nations police service, the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service issued a community safety alert as extremely toxic drugs are likely circulating in many of the communities it serves.