CSE 2023

The Hearing

After crossing 11 countries irregularly to seek asylum in Canada, Peggy, Simon and their three children are waiting for the hearing that will determine whether they get refugee status or not. 

SYNOPSIS

After crossing 11 countries irregularly to seek asylum in Canada, Peggy, Simon and their three children are waiting for the hearing that will determine whether they get refugee status or not. Having fled political repression in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the family tries to rebuild a peaceful life in Montreal, in spite of the constant threat of deportation. Between ghosts from the past, hopes for the future and a complex legal maze, the film delves into the struggle of the Nkunga Mbala family to remain in Canada. Offering unprecedented access to their hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board, the film unveils the opaque process of claiming asylum in Canada.

Theme(s): , Human Rights, Migration, Sociology

DETAILS

Director | , Émilie B. Guérette, Peggy Nkunga Ndona
Year | , 2023
Country | , Canada
Duration | 93 minutes
Original language | , French, Lingala
Subtitles | , English
Image | Glauco Bermudez
Sound | Juan Fernandez
Music | Daniel Baillargeon
Editing | Ariane Pétel-Despots
Production | Justine Chevarie-Cossette

DIRECTOR

Photo

Émilie B. Guérette

SEE COMPLETE PROFILE

A nomadic filmmaker, Émilie B. Guérette has her roots in Quebec and her heart in Brazil. After studying Anthropology (Master EHESS/Paris) and Documentary filmmaking (INIS/Montreal), she chose documentary cinema as a weapon against injustice and as a love declaration towards the excluded of this world. Her first feature film The Other Rio, awarded in many festivals, delves in the daily life of the forgotten people of the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. Her work seeks to shed light on marginalized populations and narratives. Combining social engagement and formal poetry, her sensitive and sensory approach aims at building bridges between human beings. The Hearing, co-directed with Peggy Nkunga Ndona, is his second feature documentary.

Photo

Peggy Nkunga Ndona

SEE COMPLETE PROFILE

Peggy Nkunga Ndona comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she was an actress and freelance journalist before having to leave her country. After her graduate studies in Social Communication at the University of Kinshasa, she worked with the NGO Search for Common Ground and acted in fiction television series, including L'Équipe. She was part of the theater company Les Béjarts and co-founded the company Mwikka Théâtre (Kinshasa). Since 2018, Peggy has been living in Montreal with her family and working as a daycare educator. In The Hearing, her first documentary film, she shares her on story as an asylum seeker in Canada. Spreading joy and good humor is her life mission.

PAST SCREENINGS

SCREENING 1

31 July 2023 at 20h45

Parc des Faubourgs

Discussion with filmmakers Émilie B. Guérette et Peggy Nkunga Ndona will follow the screening. 

In collaboration with:
BACK