Bird's Nest
Director: Nadia Louis-Desmarchais
Canada, 2022, 9 min
Shooting Format:Black Magic URSA 4K
Festival Year:2023
Category:Narrative Short
Genre:Drama
Cast:Varina Epassy, Michmael Aubourg
Crew:Writer: Nadia Louis-Desmarchais. Producer: Laura Kamugisha. Editing: Miryam Charles; Art direction: Alexia Roc; Sound Design: Miryam Charles; Sound mixing: Christophe Voyer; Music: Myriam Charles, Didier Archambault; Director of photography: Clémentine Martin
Email:distribution@wlcmaboard.com
Synopsis
Lena, a 7-year-old black girl receives a drawing mocking her hair. With the help of her big sister, they will spend the evening trying to make her beautiful like her classmates.
About the director
Nadia Louis-Desmarchais is a young afro descendant director who aspires to give a voice to those we too often refuse to hear. She directed the short films “Tell me all about my body” and the controversial “Rated X”, official selection of the Regard festival, RVQC Festival as well as the Filministes Festival.
Her first fiction short film “Troubled Water“ showcased at the FNC Film Festival, VGIK International Student Film Festival. She is currently writing her first medium-length documentary“ Black and White“, which is supported by SODEC. Nadia is also developing her first fiction webserie ‘’The adoption constellation’’ in collaboration with TOU.TV. Putting forward a unique and deep sensitivity in her artistic approach, Nadia is eager to get into the professional sphere to write and carry out intimate scenarios which, according to her, give the cinema its universal power.
Filmmaker's note
Bird's Nest shines a light on two black sisters who support each other in this quest for beauty that can never be theirs. How far are we willing to go to be seen ? To be considered beautiful in a society whose beauty standards only apply to a portion of the population, while excluding racialized bodies?
This film is based on my experience as a bi-racial child and takes root in my childhood memories and the struggle that too many young black children have to be able to love the color of their skin and the texture of their hair. I truly hope that this film will raise awareness amongst the population as to the lack of education toward the struggles that racialized people experience in order to fit into societal norms. I hope that by making this film, it will allow other young people to see themselves on screen.