THE CROSSING
a film by Florence Miailhe
FEATURE PRESENTATION
IN-PERSON SCREENING:
JUNE 12, 2022 • 3 PM
@ LIGHT HOUSE ARTS CENTRE
(1800 ARGYLE STREET, HALIFAX)
2021 / FRANCE / 84 mins
In French with English subtitles
In an unnamed place and time, two siblings, Kyona and Adriel, are separated from their family and forced to leave their home behind as they flee from the horrors of ethnic persecution. On their long and arduous passage to safety and freedom, they face losing their identities, the incomprehensibility of violence, and an unexpected metamorphosis into adulthood.
An astonishing technical and artistic triumph of a debut feature, The Crossing is born out of Florence Miailhe’s labourious yet fluid and imaginative animated approach of oil paint on glass. Past and present are suspended in constant tension as forward movement emerges from each hand-painted brushstroke while concealing the previous moment in its wake. Vivid, dreamlike, and suffused with intriguing folkloric archetypes, The Crossing captures the immediacy of a child’s perspective by transfiguring emotional realities into the nightmarish and the sublime.
—Kelly Li
TRAILER
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Florence Miailhe
Artist, painter and printmaker Florence Miailhe creates personal and pictorial animated shorts. Through animated paint, pastel and even sand, she expresses movement and bodies unveiling themselves, directly under the camera, proceeding by covering up layer per layer. Her work has brought her the Annecy Cristal Honor Prize in 2015, as well as a Cezar for Best Short Movie with AU PREMIER DIMANCHE D’AOÛT (2002) and a Special Mention during Cannes Festival for CONTE DE QUARTIER (2006).