Alexandre the Fool / Alexander Odyssey (IMDb)

Fifteen years after a psychotic event on the South China Sea flipped his life upside down, Alex, a sensitive, refined and schizophrenic man is at a crossroads. His grand-mother and confidante, who would like to die with peace of mind, insists that he tries to find a girlfriend. His encounter with a young psychotic woman gives birth to an ardently passionate relationship, making him slowly drift away from his usual emotional boundaries. While the South China Sea’s troubled waters well up in his mind, he gradually isolates himself, in danger of being swallowed by paranoia’s unfathomable abyss. An intimate odyssey, at once troubling and sublime.

  • Pedro Pires
    Director
    Danse Macabre, Hope, Triptych
  • Pedro Pires
    Writer
    Danse Macabre, Hope
  • Josiane Lapointe
    Writer
    Héloïse
  • Pedro Pires
    Producer
    Danse Macabre
  • Alexandre Demard
    Key Cast
    "Alexandre"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Alexandre le fou
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 5 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 17, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    385,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • FCVQ, Quebec, Canada (Nominee)
    Québec
    Canada
    September 15, 2019
    World Premiere
    Best Film (Nominee)
  • RVCQ, Quebec, Canada (Special mention)
    Montréal
    Canada
    March 4, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Special Mention for "Gilles Carle" Award
  • Canadian Screen Awards 2020 (1 Win + 2 Nominations)
    Toronto
    Canada
    May 28, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    1 win (Best Editing) and 2 nominations (Best Film, Best Cinematography) in Feature Length Documentary
  • Gala Québec Cinéma 2020 (1 Win + 3 Nominations)
    Montréal
    Canada
    June 10, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    1 Win (Best Cinematography) and 3 Nominations (Best Film, Best Editing, Best Sound) in Feature Length Documentary
  • Moscow International Documentary Film Festival DOKer (2 Wins)
    Moscow
    Russian Federation
    August 21, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Grand Prix for Best Feature Documentary Award and Audience Award for Best Film
  • The Impact DOCS Awards (1 Win)
    La Jolla , CA
    United States
    July 28, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Outstanding Achievement Documentary Feature Award
  • DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival (Pending)
    St. George, Utah
    United States
    November 2, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Nominee (Pending)
  • Documentaries Without Borders Film Festival (1 Win)
    Nassau, DE
    United States
    August 23, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Award of Excellence
  • Kosice International Monthly Film Festival (2 Wins)
    Kosice
    Slovakia
    August 30, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Feature Documentary and the Best Cinematography
  • Prague International Monthly Film Festival (2 Wins)
    Prague
    Czech Republic
    August 31, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the 2nd Best Feature Documentary and Best Editing
  • The Accolade Global Film Competition (1 Win)
    La Jolla , CA
    United States
    August 25, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Outstanding Achievement Documentary Feature Award
  • European Cinematography Awards (1 Win)
    Amsterdam
    Netherlands
    August 14, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Documentary Cinematography
  • Global India International Film Festival (1 Win)
    Hinjawadi, Pune
    India
    August 22, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Documentary Film Award
  • Eastern Europe International Movie Awards (2 Wins)
    Izmir
    Turkey
    August 22, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Platinum Award for Best Cinematography + Gold Award for Best Producer
  • New York Cinematography AWARDS (1 Win)
    New-York
    United States
    August 20, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Documentary Cinematography
  • FIDBA Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival (1 Win)
    Buenos Aires
    Argentina
    August 27, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Signis Award for Best Documentary in International Feature Film Competition
  • Cult Critic Movie Awards (1 Win)
    Kolkata
    India
    August 26, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Documentary Film Award
  • IFA Istanbul Film Awards (3 Wins)
    Istanbul
    Turkey
    August 31, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Documentary, Best Cinematography and Best Director in Feature Film Category
  • Druk International Film Festival (1 Win)
    Pangsho, Geog. Toewang Punakha
    Bhutan
    August 30, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Critic's Choice Award for Best Documentary
  • Los Angeles Cinematography AWARDS (3 Wins)
    Los Angeles
    United States
    August 20, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Cinematography of a Documentary Film, Best Cinematographer of the Month and Best Documentary Film
  • Close:Up Edinburgh Docufest (Pending)
    Edinburgh
    United Kingdom
    October 9, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Nominee (Pending)
  • Tagore International Film Festival (2 Wins)
    Birbhum, West Bengal
    India
    September 3, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award for Best Documentary and Best Editing
  • Focus International Film Festival (Pending)
    CA
    United States
    October 24, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Nominee (Pending)
  • Florence Film Awards (2 Wins)
    Florence
    Italy
    October 5, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Picture and Best Cinematography
  • Asian Cinematography AWARDS (3 Wins)
    Manila
    Philippines
    September 5, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Cinematography of a Feature Film, Best Cinematographer of the Month and Best Director
  • White Unicorn International Film Festival (2 Wins)
    Kolkata
    India
    September 10, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Winner of the Best Documentary and Best Cinematography
  • South Film and Arts Academy Festival (Pending)
    Rancagua
    Chile
    October 16, 2020
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Nominee (Pending)
  • 8th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra (Pending)
    Ierapetra
    Greece
    August 14, 2021
    Premiered at FCVQ Quebec City
    Nominee (Pending)
Distribution Information
  • Pedro Pires Inc. (Worldwide Distributor)
    Distributor
    Country: Canada
    Rights: All Rights
  • Maison 4:3 (Canadian Distributor)
    Distributor
    Country: Canada
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Pedro Pires

After collaborating with François Girard and Robert Lepage, 1998 Emmy Award winner Pedro Pires directed the short films "Danse Macabre" in 2008 which won 43 awards internationally, and "HOPE" in 2010, which won a Telefilm Canada prize for Outstanding Canadian Short. In 2012, he partnered with Lepage to co-direct the feature "Triptych". The film received a Honorable mention of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlinale International Film Festival. In 2019, he released his first documentary feature "Alexandre le fou" for which he acted as Producer, Writer and Director. The film won Best Editing in a Feature Length Documentary at the 2020 Canadian Screen Awards and was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This documentary film explores the journey of Alex, a man suffering from schizophrenia, who is trying to find his place in the world by pursuing an artistic path and a quest for love that push him beyond his usual emotional boundaries.

"Alexandre le fou" was made using an experimental approach that combines journalistic documentation with artistic creation. The completed film results from the constant interplay between documentary methods of capturing reality and a scriptwriting/staging/editing process typical of fictional cinema. Both "the true story of Alex" and its formal presentation were generated by these two aspects as they influenced and shaped each other over a period of five years.