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I’m a sucker for a good drama (family dramas are a bonus) and one of the films I was looking forward to at the Whistler Film Festival last year was French Canadian director Maxime Giroux’s Jo for Jonathan (Jo pour Jonathan) (review), a film about two brothers at odds with each other and their lives.

With its minimalist, naturalistic approach full of loaded silences, heavy looks and a star making performance from Raphaël Lacaille in the lead role, Giroux’s film was a stand out among a spectacular line-up of films and Lacaille took home a best actor award fro his nuanced performance.

With a theatrical release scheduled for March 18th, a trailer for the film has appeared online and it beautifully captures the sombre mood of the film.

I’m hopeful that this will eventually make its way across the country on a slow roll theatrical release...

Year: 2010

Director: Maxime Giroux

Writers: Maxime Giroux, Alexandre Laferrière

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: Marina Antunes

Rating: 8 out of 10

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, likely for a long time to come: Quebec is a breeding ground for great film talent and it’s sad, a national cultural tragedy, that English speaking Canada, never mind the rest of the world, doesn’t often get to take in all that the province has to offer. It was years before filmmakers like Denys Arcand and Denis Villeneuve made a mark outside of the province and I’m starting to wonder what other great talents lay hidden there, especially when I see a film as powerful as Maxime Giroux’s Jo for Jonathan (Jo pour Jonathan).

Jo is the younger of two brothers and he worships his brother Thomas. Jo perceives him as having everything he wants: a job,...

Yesterday, Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma (Fnc), which will take place from October 13 to 24, revealed its full line-up of films. Nineteen Canadian feature films and documentaries will be presented. However, don't expect to see all films that were screened at the latest Toronto or Vancouver International Film Festivals.

Opening film:

10 1/2

Director: Daniel Grou (Podz)

Starring: Claude Legault, Robert Naylor and Albert Kwan

International selection

Jo pour Jonathan

Director: Maxime Giroux

Starring: Jean-Sébastien Courchesne, Raphaël Lacaille, Jean-Alexandre Létourneau and Vanessa Pilon

Focus Québec/Canada

A Night for Dying Tigers

Director: Terry Miles

Starring: Jennifer Beals, Gil Bellows, Lauren Lee Smith, Tygh Runyan, Kathleen Robertson, John Pyper-Ferguson, Leah Gibson, Sarah Lind and Jessica Heafey

Affinity Point

Director: Deeh

Starring: Danielle Hubbard, Jason D. Pitre, Sophie Ricard and Yann Faussurier

2 fois une femme

Director: François Delisle

Starring: Evelyne Rompré, Marc Béland and Catherine de Léan

Falardeau (Documentary)

Director: German Gutierrez and Carmen Garcia...

Canadian director Maxime Giroux is preparing to present to the world his second feature film, Jo pour Jonathan. This independent film made with a budget of $90,000 will be presented in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival in the Concorso Cineasti del presente (Filmmakers of the Present Competition) this coming August.

The story was penned by Giroux himself and Alexandre Laferrière.

We follow Jo, a guy who lives in the shadow of his big brother. They are both juvenile criminals who are interested in illegal street racing. Eventually, they'll get into it.

The film stars up-and-coming actor Raphaël Lacaille, as well as Jean-Sébastien Courchesne and Vanessa Pilon. A longtime collaborator, Director of Photography Sara Mishara once again joined forces with Giroux on this project.

Finally, no release date has been confirmed, but the producers say that it should happen in early 2011.