EVICTED CITY
80 min., Documentary, Québec, Canada, 2023Directed byLaurence Turcotte-Fraser & Priscillia Piccoli
Produced byDominique Dussault, Laurence Turcotte-Fraser, Priscillia Piccoli - Fraser Films
LanguagesFrench, English
Montreal — one of the few remaining affordable cities in North America — is now in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis. An intimate portrait of socio-political resistance, this multilayered film explores the human impact of real estate speculation on the cities of tomorrow.
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Film details
Synospsis
Montreal, Canada. One of North America’s last remaining affordable cities is now in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis. As a result, the face of homelessness is visibly changing. “Renovictions” are on the rise while demand in homeless day centres explodes. In the Plateau Mont-Royal — a neighbourhood synonymous with gentrification — a 90-unit building named Manoir Lafontaine becomes the symbol of renoviction resistance in Quebec. An intimate portrait of a socio-political crisis, this multilayered film explores the human impact of real estate speculation on the cities of tomorrow.
Crew
Cinematography : Laurence Turcotte-Fraser
Editing : Laurence Turcotte-Fraser, Priscillia Piccoli
Sound design : Francis Gauthier
Sound mix : Joey Simas
Sound recording : Priscillia Piccoli
Direction
Laurence Turcotte-Fraser
Laurence Turcotte-Fraser is an emerging filmmaker first known for her short film Domino (Regards 2018), as well as her director of photography work (L’étrange province, Les Jaunes, Blast Beat). Her first feature-length documentary, The End of Wonderland(2021), was released theatrically in Canada and travelled internationally (IDFA, RIDM, OUTFEST LA, BFI FLARE). This eccentric portrait of erotic artist Tara Emory allowed her to explore her love for direct cinema and to find a human approach both in front of and behind the camera. With her second feature film Evicted City, co-directed with Priscillia Piccoli, she continues her documentary artistic approach by scrutinizing the housing crisis in her home city, Montreal.
Filmography
EVICTED CITY, 80 min, Documentary, 2023
THE END OF WONDERLAND, 85 min, Documentary, 2021
UN AUTRE JOUR, 9 min, Documentary, 2018
DOMINO, 5 min, Fiction, 2017
MARÉE, 11 min, Fiction, 2017
L’ÂME COINCÉE ENTRE DEUX MORCEAUX DE TÔLE, 18 min, Documentary, 2013
LE TEMPS D’ÉRIGER UN CLOCHER, 18 min, Documentary, 2012
Priscillia Piccoli
Priscillia Piccoli is an emerging filmmaker known for her short film Mathieu (Bell Fund Prize, Fantasia International Film Festival) and her short documentary As Hard As Ice (Prix d’Unis TV et Réalisatrices Équitables at the 2020 Regions Race). Committed to direct cinema, Priscillia uses the 7th to find the silver lining in social-political dilemmas. During the first year of the pandemic, while training as a social worker in a homeless day center, she questioned the storm to come in her hometown, Montreal. With her first feature film Evicted City, co-directed with Laurence Turcotte-Fraser, Priscillia launches a cry from the heart by granting the right to speak to the evicted people of a metropolis in full change.
Filmography
TANT QU’IL RESTERA DE LA GLACE, 9 min, Documentary, 2020
PARTIR POUR MIEUX REVENIR, 6 min, Documentary, 2019
LES 4 CHEVALIERS, Série, 2018 à 2019
MONTREAL DEAD END, 86 min, Fiction, 2018
L’ÉVANGILE DE L’EAU, 5 min, Fiction
FEMME IDÉALE, 2 min, Fiction, 2017
MATHIEU, 14 min, Fiction, 2016