Image+Nation
Le huard (The Loon)

Le huard (The Loon)

PAULA BOURGIE | CANADA | 2025 | 20 MIN | FRENCH EST

PAULA BOURGIE | CANADA | 2025 | 20 MIN | FRENCH EST

VIRTUALShortQUEERMENT QUÉBECCOMPETITION

Synopsis

When her childhood best friend falls in love, nostalgic teenager Dodo struggles to let go of the past and goes to increasingly dangerous lengths to secure her affections, threatening to spoil their idyllic lakeside holiday.

Filmmaker Bio

Paula Bourgie is a Montreal-born filmmaker and animator combining drama, comedy and mystery. Her bold visual style explores identity, family, secrets and death. A Columbia University MFA graduate, her thesis film The Loon won multiple awards. She is developing a dramedy series and a feature film, alongside her stop-motion short The Undertaker's Daughter.

Producer

Tudor Pislariu, Jeanne Motulsky

Writer

Paula Bourgie

Cast

  • Éléonore Loiselle
  • Marguerite D’Amour
  • Thomas Delorme

Also playing with

PosterShort
Twitch[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

Twitch is an ode to overcoming dark energies that lie within; confronting fear and the journey to self-acceptance.

PosterShort
Itty Bitty Betty[MADE AU CANADA]12 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

Betty, driven by fear of rejection, lives isolated at home among her miniature figurines. When she meets a woman she can’t stop thinking about, she faces a difficult choice: remain in her safe, private world or step outside and risk vulnerability for a real connection.

PosterShort
Pass the Salt[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]11 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

Set around a single dining table, a son struggles to reclaim his sense of normalcy as his mother’s delusions tighten their grip. Through quiet tension and buried longing, this intimate psychological drama exposes the fragile warfare of a mother-son relationship trapped between love, denial, and control.

PosterShort
One is the Loneliest Number[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]2 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

One is the Loneliest Number places a universal hero in the shoes of the heartbroken. Céline, Jon, Britney and Stevie couldn’t have said it better!

PosterShort
A Slow Dance[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]10 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

“It is not about rebuilding the mythical place called home but about perpetually deferring the homecoming itself.” – Moyra Davey. In a living room, two people slow dancing become a landscape for (re)connection. A Slow Dance attempts to materialize the monolithic gesture that is longing, one that takes its roots in lifelong household transgressions and collective myths

PosterShort
TransVengeance[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

A trans woman dies on the operating table during facial feminization surgery, but death is no match for a determined transsexual.

PosterShort
Muses[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]8 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

A dancer struggles to break free from the hold of his choreographer, now drawn to another. This silent film explores power, inspiration, and replacement within the LGBTQ+ dance community through body language and music.

PosterShort
My Heart the Rockstar[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]1 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

PosterShort
My Heart the Optometrist[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]1 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

I am near-sighted. When I see a potentially beautiful boy at a distance, I perceive him as perfectly beautiful. Gradually, as he approaches, he begins to accumulate defects which detract from his overall beauty; sometimes to the point where he ceases to be attractive at all.

PosterShort
Queer Alien Invades Earth : a Portrait of Legendary Madame Simone[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

A portrait of the legendary Madame Simone, shot in the early nineties by an undergraduate student.

PosterShort
Twitch[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

Twitch is an ode to overcoming dark energies that lie within; confronting fear and the journey to self-acceptance.

PosterShort
Itty Bitty Betty[MADE AU CANADA]12 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

Betty, driven by fear of rejection, lives isolated at home among her miniature figurines. When she meets a woman she can’t stop thinking about, she faces a difficult choice: remain in her safe, private world or step outside and risk vulnerability for a real connection.

PosterShort
Pass the Salt[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]11 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

Set around a single dining table, a son struggles to reclaim his sense of normalcy as his mother’s delusions tighten their grip. Through quiet tension and buried longing, this intimate psychological drama exposes the fragile warfare of a mother-son relationship trapped between love, denial, and control.

PosterShort
One is the Loneliest Number[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]2 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

One is the Loneliest Number places a universal hero in the shoes of the heartbroken. Céline, Jon, Britney and Stevie couldn’t have said it better!

PosterShort
A Slow Dance[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]10 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

“It is not about rebuilding the mythical place called home but about perpetually deferring the homecoming itself.” – Moyra Davey. In a living room, two people slow dancing become a landscape for (re)connection. A Slow Dance attempts to materialize the monolithic gesture that is longing, one that takes its roots in lifelong household transgressions and collective myths

PosterShort
TransVengeance[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

A trans woman dies on the operating table during facial feminization surgery, but death is no match for a determined transsexual.

PosterShort
Muses[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]8 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

A dancer struggles to break free from the hold of his choreographer, now drawn to another. This silent film explores power, inspiration, and replacement within the LGBTQ+ dance community through body language and music.

PosterShort
My Heart the Rockstar[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]1 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

PosterShort
My Heart the Optometrist[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]1 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

I am near-sighted. When I see a potentially beautiful boy at a distance, I perceive him as perfectly beautiful. Gradually, as he approaches, he begins to accumulate defects which detract from his overall beauty; sometimes to the point where he ceases to be attractive at all.

PosterShort
Queer Alien Invades Earth : a Portrait of Legendary Madame Simone[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutesThis programme includes 11 filmsQUEERMENT QUÉBEC 80 minutes

A portrait of the legendary Madame Simone, shot in the early nineties by an undergraduate student.

You might also like

PosterShort
Dragfox[COMPETITION]8 minutes

Sam's search for identity is interrupted by a mysterious neighborhood fox. Together, they embark on a magical journey to the attic, discovering unexpected commonalities and how to celebrate their differences.

PosterShort
Dare to be Fabulous[COMPETITION]6 minutes

Determined to prove to his father that he is the city's most feared gangster, Alessandro sets out to rob a bar with his friend Joe. However, when they discover that it is a drag queen bar and that the star performer is Alessandro's father in drag, the night takes an unexpected turn.

PosterShort
Twitch[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutes

Twitch is an ode to overcoming dark energies that lie within; confronting fear and the journey to self-acceptance.

PosterShort
Handsome Devil[COMPETITION]4 minutes

A 'sissy devil' explores the depths of internet intelligence by conducting an 'advanced search' on an outdated search engine. Meanwhile, a female artist sketches her destiny.

PosterDocumentary
QUEER AS PUNK[COMPETITION]99 minutes

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, a queer punk band led by a transman are outliers of the system —carving out spaces to exist through their music while challenging conservative traditions and religious extremism. Brash, defiant and wickedly funny, punk rockers Shh…Diam! are an underground sensation in Kuala Lumpur. An all-queer band led by charismatic trans man Farris Saad, they’ve won devoted fans with playful anthems like “I Woke Up Gay” and “Lonely Lesbian.” Even their name (“Shut up!” in Malay) is a joke, poking fun at those who’d rather queer folks just kept quiet. Malaysia’s harsh laws are no laughing matter, however, and they put Farris and his bandmates at real risk of state persecution. Filming over six years, director Yihwen Chen follows them to practices, gigs and protests, capturing their irreverent advocacy amid a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ raids and arrests. She also documents major developments in their personal lives and relationships, including Farris’s preparations for his surgical transition. Both an iconic portrait of fearless activism and an intimate chronicle of chosen family, Queer as Punk is an instant entry in the queer cult canon.

PosterFeatureVIRTUAL EXCLUSIVE
IN ASHES (EN) [COMPETITION]82 minutes

DANISH • ENGLISH ST | With In Ashes, writer-director Ludvig Christian Næsted Poulsen grippingly toys with genre. He inflects one Danish collegian’s immersion in frantic hook-up culture amidst a relationship mysteriously ended with elements of psychological horror and the tension of a spy thriller. In 2017 Copenhagen, baby-faced Christian (Rex Leonard, a nervy knockout) is glued to his camera, determined to capture every giddy moment he spends with his long-distance boyfriend Aske (Lior Cohen). Flash forward to 2022 Aarhus, “the most wonderful city in the world,” and a scruffier Christian seems less than content. He interrogates his schoolmate’s perspective and confronts strangers over assumed slights. He’s plagued by an unspoken ailment. And Aske seems nowhere to be found. With each empty tryst, each hungrily inhaled cigarette, Christian descends into a type of madness. Or is it clarity? Aske’s reappearance, arriving with the jolt of a jump scare, may hold the key to that question, as desperation congeals into starry-eyed determination. For those drawn in by the enigmatic pull of All of Us Strangers, In Ashes will have you guessing ‘is this a romance or a tragedy’ until the very last second—perhaps, even, long after.

PosterShort
Metal Heart[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]3 minutes

Another spectacular output from Montreal’s DJ Frigid.

PosterShort
My Heart the Rockstar[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]1 minutes

Part of the My Heart series initiated by Nik Forrest, Annie Martin and Nelson Henricks, a reflection on gender, delving into childhood memory, gender fluctuation and a love of late 70s rock stars.

PosterShort
Out of Frame[COMPETITION]10 minutes

Trapped within their frames and watched by a menacing curator, two paintings form a silent bond that sparks a revolution. Blending live-action and animation, this surreal short explores power, resistance, queer identity, and the longing to break free from the confines of constructed worlds.

PosterFeature
BEARCAVE (ARKOUDOTRYPA)[COMPETITION]128 minutes

Passionate, provocative, and powerful—it’s easy to see why Bearcave was awarded the Europa Cinema Label at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. Set in a fictional remote village in the Balkan Mountains of Greece, a love story between two lifelong friends unfolds—but will their relationship survive the call of womanhood? Argyro is a farm girl—hard-working, unpretentious, and wholesome while Anneta is … in a bit of trouble. Whisked away by her law enforcement beau (and carrying his child) Anneta’s move to the city threatens to sever her friendship with Argyro for good, but their understated glances from across the crowd at a party one night tells a different story. The whisper of sweet nothings and foggy windows in Argyro’s pickup truck soon fade to memory, leaving behind a cloud of confusion and heartbreak, that is—until Anneta’s side of the story unfolds. Set against a backdrop of sweeping landscapes, a mystical cave, and nettle bushes, Bearcave is a film that’s steeped in tradition, then abruptly subverted, and not only by a sapphic love story, but a hybrid soundscape of folkloric and contemporary music, as well as ethereal sequences of cinematographic magic.

PosterShort
Dragfox[COMPETITION]8 minutes

Sam's search for identity is interrupted by a mysterious neighborhood fox. Together, they embark on a magical journey to the attic, discovering unexpected commonalities and how to celebrate their differences.

PosterShort
Dare to be Fabulous[COMPETITION]6 minutes

Determined to prove to his father that he is the city's most feared gangster, Alessandro sets out to rob a bar with his friend Joe. However, when they discover that it is a drag queen bar and that the star performer is Alessandro's father in drag, the night takes an unexpected turn.

PosterShort
Twitch[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]5 minutes

Twitch is an ode to overcoming dark energies that lie within; confronting fear and the journey to self-acceptance.

PosterShort
Handsome Devil[COMPETITION]4 minutes

A 'sissy devil' explores the depths of internet intelligence by conducting an 'advanced search' on an outdated search engine. Meanwhile, a female artist sketches her destiny.

PosterDocumentary
QUEER AS PUNK[COMPETITION]99 minutes

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, a queer punk band led by a transman are outliers of the system —carving out spaces to exist through their music while challenging conservative traditions and religious extremism. Brash, defiant and wickedly funny, punk rockers Shh…Diam! are an underground sensation in Kuala Lumpur. An all-queer band led by charismatic trans man Farris Saad, they’ve won devoted fans with playful anthems like “I Woke Up Gay” and “Lonely Lesbian.” Even their name (“Shut up!” in Malay) is a joke, poking fun at those who’d rather queer folks just kept quiet. Malaysia’s harsh laws are no laughing matter, however, and they put Farris and his bandmates at real risk of state persecution. Filming over six years, director Yihwen Chen follows them to practices, gigs and protests, capturing their irreverent advocacy amid a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ raids and arrests. She also documents major developments in their personal lives and relationships, including Farris’s preparations for his surgical transition. Both an iconic portrait of fearless activism and an intimate chronicle of chosen family, Queer as Punk is an instant entry in the queer cult canon.

PosterFeatureVIRTUAL EXCLUSIVE
IN ASHES (EN) [COMPETITION]82 minutes

DANISH • ENGLISH ST | With In Ashes, writer-director Ludvig Christian Næsted Poulsen grippingly toys with genre. He inflects one Danish collegian’s immersion in frantic hook-up culture amidst a relationship mysteriously ended with elements of psychological horror and the tension of a spy thriller. In 2017 Copenhagen, baby-faced Christian (Rex Leonard, a nervy knockout) is glued to his camera, determined to capture every giddy moment he spends with his long-distance boyfriend Aske (Lior Cohen). Flash forward to 2022 Aarhus, “the most wonderful city in the world,” and a scruffier Christian seems less than content. He interrogates his schoolmate’s perspective and confronts strangers over assumed slights. He’s plagued by an unspoken ailment. And Aske seems nowhere to be found. With each empty tryst, each hungrily inhaled cigarette, Christian descends into a type of madness. Or is it clarity? Aske’s reappearance, arriving with the jolt of a jump scare, may hold the key to that question, as desperation congeals into starry-eyed determination. For those drawn in by the enigmatic pull of All of Us Strangers, In Ashes will have you guessing ‘is this a romance or a tragedy’ until the very last second—perhaps, even, long after.

PosterShort
Metal Heart[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]3 minutes

Another spectacular output from Montreal’s DJ Frigid.

PosterShort
My Heart the Rockstar[QUEERMENT QUÉBEC]1 minutes

Part of the My Heart series initiated by Nik Forrest, Annie Martin and Nelson Henricks, a reflection on gender, delving into childhood memory, gender fluctuation and a love of late 70s rock stars.

PosterShort
Out of Frame[COMPETITION]10 minutes

Trapped within their frames and watched by a menacing curator, two paintings form a silent bond that sparks a revolution. Blending live-action and animation, this surreal short explores power, resistance, queer identity, and the longing to break free from the confines of constructed worlds.

PosterFeature
BEARCAVE (ARKOUDOTRYPA)[COMPETITION]128 minutes

Passionate, provocative, and powerful—it’s easy to see why Bearcave was awarded the Europa Cinema Label at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. Set in a fictional remote village in the Balkan Mountains of Greece, a love story between two lifelong friends unfolds—but will their relationship survive the call of womanhood? Argyro is a farm girl—hard-working, unpretentious, and wholesome while Anneta is … in a bit of trouble. Whisked away by her law enforcement beau (and carrying his child) Anneta’s move to the city threatens to sever her friendship with Argyro for good, but their understated glances from across the crowd at a party one night tells a different story. The whisper of sweet nothings and foggy windows in Argyro’s pickup truck soon fade to memory, leaving behind a cloud of confusion and heartbreak, that is—until Anneta’s side of the story unfolds. Set against a backdrop of sweeping landscapes, a mystical cave, and nettle bushes, Bearcave is a film that’s steeped in tradition, then abruptly subverted, and not only by a sapphic love story, but a hybrid soundscape of folkloric and contemporary music, as well as ethereal sequences of cinematographic magic.