Travelling Distribution

Land of Cold

A film by

Hervé Demers

Synopsis

Immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa have chosen to start their lives over north of the 49th parallel. Here, in the vast expanses of Northern Canada, they reflect on the challenges and splendors of a season they’ve never yet experienced: winter.

Highlights

Tags

2025

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Documentary

Genre

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Country

Canada (Quebec)

Year

2025

Length

16'52"

Themes

Immigration

Ethnography

With
‍Afoudah Olaniran Apollinaire Cyr Loïc, Ankemah Cynthia De Adjoh, Guiro Abiba Somnoma Nadège , Fapa Nanfack Rodrigue , Thioube Yamar Mamadou

Production
Hervé Demers Images

Screenplay
Hervé Demers

Cinematography
Vincent Biron

Editing
Hervé Demers

Sound Design
Simon Bellefleur, Olivier Calvert, Geoffrey Mitchell

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Director's Statement

In cinema, cultural diversity is often examined through the lens of urban life, but what about the plurality of perspectives and beliefs that arise from our experience of nature and the land? In other words, how can we explore, from a cinematographic standpoint, the fundamental relationship between culture and geography?

LAND OF COLD's first line of inquiry is to better understand the experiences of sub-Saharan African immigrants who have chosen to start their lives over north of the 49th parallel. The extent of this geographical contrast cannot be emphasized enough : while Africa's tropical climate is best characterized by its minimal temperature shifts, the climate governing Northern Canada, conversely, is marked by the magnitude of its meteorological contrasts. Thus, the Nordic landscape is defined by its seasonality, which is a fundamental characteristic of nordicity.

From this geographical disparity, my documentary film articulates a poetic narrative on the impacts of exile, told from the unique perspective of sub-Saharan African immigrants who now chose to inhabit Northern Canada. My intention was to use cinema as a tool to reflect – with my participants – on the beliefs and aspirations that survive or disappear, from one generation to the next, when a family leaves their homeland and their culture to take root elsewhere, hoping for better days. Moreover, my project aims to learn more about the way we experience nature and the land through the cultural imagination we have inherited.

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Hervé Demers

Hervé Demers is a French Canadian filmmaker and photographer. He holds a PhD in Art and Visual Culture, specializing in post‑documentary practices. His award-winning films were selected by over a hundred international competitions and festivals, including Clermont-Ferrand, Hot Docs and True/False. Retrospectives of his body of work were presented in South Korea, Ukraine and Morocco. He was a jury of numerous film festivals, including the 35th edition of the Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF).

Filmography

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Festivals

Festival du nouveau cinéma, Canada | 2025 * People Award’s Choice

True/False Film Festival, USA | 2026
Minimalen Short Film Festival, Norway | 2026
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Whistler Film Festival + Summit, Canada | 2025
Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie, Canada | 2025

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