A short film by Sarah Baril Gaudet
The Benevolents, written, produced and directed by Sarah Baril Gaudet (Living Here, Passage), in official competition at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, taking place from April 28 to May 8 in Toronto. By taking an interest in the work of new volunteers within Tel-Aide, this intimate and empathetic film reminds us of the power of cinema: that of meeting others. It will screen as an Ontario Premiere in the program “Canadian Spectrum Shorts: Stronger Together” on Sunday, May 1st at 10:45 a.m., with the film team in attendance. The Benevolents is in the running for the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary as well as the Hot Docs Audience Award.
The Benevolents recently won the Best Short Film Award at the Vues sur mer festival, in Gaspé. It will screen at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma on Tuesday, April 26 at 6 p.m. at Cineplex Quartier Latin, with Sarah Baril Gaudet in attendance.
The Benevolents takes us into the world of the Tel-Aide Montreal call centre, as we follow a group of future volunteers who are learning the art of empathetic listening. Through an intimate treatment, the film seeks to recall the importance of vigilant ears in a society of loneliness.
About the filmmaker
Sarah Baril Gaudet is a director and cinematographer based in Montreal. In 2016 she completed her bachelor’s degree at Université du Québec à Montréal, where she obtained the grant for Best Documentary – Emerging Talent. Her first short film Living Here has travelled to more than twenty international film festivals. In 2020, Sarah directed her first feature documentary, Passage, selected at RIDM and nominated for Best Cinematography in a Documentary at the Gala Québec Cinéma.
THE BENEVOLENTS
Quebec. 2021. 16 minutes. Original French version with English subtitles.
Director: Sarah Baril Gaudet | Script: Sarah Baril Gaudet | Cinematography: Sarah Baril Gaudet | Editing: Justine Gauthier | Sound recording: Jacob Marcoux | Music: Viviane Audet | Production: La Cabane (Sarah Baril Gaudet) | Distribution: Travelling
Website: travellingdistribution.com/en/film/the-benevolents-498
Hot Docs 2022: hotdocs.ca/whats-on/hot-docs-festival/films/2022/benevolents
RVQC 2022: rendez-vous.quebeccinema.ca/films/les-bienveillants
