Private Project

Troubled water

Lila goes to her grandmother's to spend the weekend. There, she meets her cousin Maxime with whom she has been very close since childhood. It’s during this weekend that an event will forever change the relationship between the two and tarnish Lila’s worldview.

  • Nadia Louis-Desmarchais
    Director
    Rated X
  • Nadia Louis-Desmarchais
    Writer
  • Université du Québec à Montréal
    Producer
  • Laurie Pominville
    Production manager
  • Clara Bernard
    Production manager
  • Ismael Ouattara
    Cinematography
  • Philippe Gauvin
    Art director
  • Alina Elsenhans
    Editor
  • Victor Sepulveda
    Sound
  • Malika Tirolien
    Original music
  • Louis-Joseph Cliche
    Original music
  • Xavier Rivard Désy
    Key Cast
    "Maxime"
  • Leevia Elliot Robinson
    Key Cast
    "Lila"
  • Max-Olivier Cossette
    Key Cast
    "Maxime"
  • Victoria Elliot Robinson
    Key Cast
    "Lila"
  • Thérèse Perrault
    Key Cast
    "Gisèle"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Dors-tu ?
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 4 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 12, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Université du Québec à Montréal
Director Biography - Nadia Louis-Desmarchais

Nadia Louis-Desmarchais is a black female director who is graduating this year from the Université du Québec à Montréal with a bachelor’s degree in film production. She has directed Rated X, her first thought-provoking documentary, which was selected for 2020 editions of RVQC, Filministes, and Erotic Art Festival. Tell me all about my body, also directed by the young filmmaker, will also be part of the official selection of this year’s edition of RVQC 2021 and Filministes. With a deep and strong sensibility in her artistic approach, Nadia Louis-Desmarchais is eager to launch herself into the professional sphere to write and direct intimate scripts that, according to her, give cinema its universal power. She recently finished shooting her first short fiction film Troubled Water.

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Director Statement

This film represents the heart of one of my biggest questions about the nature of human beings and the, unfortunately, too frequent takeover of men using women’s bodies. This story of two cousins is one of souvenirs and silence, and of innocence and its loss. This universal film is the culmination of my reflections on the importance of memory, human contact, and words.

Lila's story allows for an individual and collective reflection on male violence in the intimate. How to tell this innocent gaze that shatters to give way to bitterness and disillusion: an understanding of her place as a woman in society?

It is the desire to make a film that is sometimes disturbing and sometimes breathtaking that motivated me to direct Troubled Water. I wanted this movie to be as impactful as it is sweet and sensitive as much as I wanted to tell a story about her innocent view that is shattered at the expense of bitterness and disillusion. What will be her place as a woman in society?

I hope that a film like this will provide a new understanding of the ambiguity and complexities of relationship and family dynamics.