WHO BY FIRE

Winner of the Berlinale Generation 14plus Grand Prix, this multi-layered film from Canadian director Philippe Lesage is a searing coming of age drama with a decidedly cinematic edge. Seventeen-year-old wannabe filmmaker Jeff (Noah Parker) accompanies his friend Max (Antoine Marchand-Gagnon), Max’s sister Aliocha (Aurélia Arandi-Longpré) and their father

Albert (Paul Ahmarani) on a getaway at the forest lodge of Albert’s old acquaintance, acclaimed filmmaker Blake (Arieh Worthalter). Decidedly in over his head, wide-eyed Jeff is desperate to impress both his famous host and the charming Aliocha, with whom he is wholly enchanted. 

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Simmering animosity between the two older men, coupled with Jeff’s own naivete, will make this vacation a supremely life-changing one for the teenager. Burning slow and fierce, Philippe Lesage’s Who by Fire, a reference to the classic Leonard Cohen song, is a fascinating take on the oft-visited coming-of-age genre.