Director
Chadi Bennani
Production
L'École des médias de l'UQAM
Language
French
Year
2023
23 min, Documentary, Canada, 5.1
In this touching documentary, filmmaker Chadi Bennani accompanies his mother, Dominique, as she sets out to empty Nicole’s apartment, her mother who passed two years prior. Through their discoveries, Dominique and Chadi share their memories of Nicole, as well as their apprehensions of a future without her.
In this touching documentary, filmmaker Chadi Bennani accompanies his mother, Dominique, as she sets out to empty Nicole’s apartment, her mother who passed two years prior. Through their discoveries, Dominique and Chadi share their memories of Nicole, as well as their apprehensions of a future without her. Searching to keep a promise made to her mother, Dominique quickly faces a home filled to the ceiling, displaying at first glance Nicole’s hoarding tendencies. However, this seemingly insurmountable task evokes much more for Dominique and Chadi, for whom each object embodies Nicole’s presence, accompanying them along the way. Harboring beauty and pain, this film presents the relationship between a mother and her son when facing the emptiness left by the departure of a loved one.
Writing: Chadi Bennani
Cinematography: Alix Desrochers-Dubois
Editing: Jérémie Mazan
Sound Design: Jérémie Mazan
Sound Mix: Jérémie Mazan
Music: Fabien Leblanc
Sound: Bastien Blancho
Chadi Bennani
Chadi Bennani graduated in 2022 from the UQAM’s film production program. During his studies, he directed his first short film, “Nicole” (2023), presented at Hot Docs 2023 as part of the Best Short Documentary competition. In 2022, he received the ACCT’s “Bourses de l’Académie pour la relève” grant. Recipient of the Regard sur Montréal film residency in 2023, Chadi directed his next short documentary film “Here and There” (2023), presented as the RIDM’s 26th edition opening film.
Di’ci, d’ailleurs, 19 min, Documentary, 2023
Trait d’union, 11 min, Documentary 2022
Nicole, 23 min, Documentary, 2023