FNC 2017: Après coup

APRÈS COUP
FOCUS QUEBEC / CANADA

IN COMPETITION
WORLD PREMIER

CANADA | 94 MINUTES | 2017 | French with English Subtitles

The film is about a family in distress after a tragic accident that happened to their daughter's friend. Especially affected is the father who assumes a full personal responsibility for what had happened, though he did not cause the accident. In his mind, all is about the timing and him asking the girl to go home after the afternoon spent with his daughter playing. He becomes obsessed with his personal guilt to the extent he is not able to carry on with his regular daily responsibilities. This affects his professional and family life and his relationship with his wife and daughter. His wife forces him to see a psychiatrist. Yet the medication he is prescribed and that is supposed to help him has no effect on him and  after a while he refuses to take it. Threatened with by his wife that he will have to move out if he does not do anything about his condition that is destructive to her and their daughter, he finally unwillingly and reluctantly goes to see a psychologist.

This film introduces to the audience two techniques used by some psychologists to help their clients to overcome the post traumatic stress and guilt. This information might prove useful for some viewers as it reveals methods that could alleviate either their personal or their loved ones issues.

- The first technique is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy. This method has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma and many other mental and emotional problems.

- The second technique is IADC (Induced After-Death Communication) Therapy which helps to heal deep sadness and guild associated with the death of a family member, a friend, or a loved one.

The film could most likely be used by the qualified psychologists as an additional tool to help introduce their clients to these techniques. It is sensitively enacted by the cast and illustrates how a family's harmony could be re-established after conflicts, shocks or traumas that a family member or members had endured.

FNC OFFICIAL TRAILER

"When his daughter’s best friend is killed in an accident, a father undergoes psychotherapy to cope with the emotional fallout. Family man Marc grapples with the post-traumatic stress that ensues when he witnesses his daughter’s best friend being fatally struck by a car just after leaving his house. Haunted by the images, torturing himself with blame, he agrees to undergo psychotherapy — a treatment that proves harrowing. Backed as always by his favourite lead (Laurent Lucas), Mitrani dissects the insidiousness of guilt as well as the unsuspected possibilities of survival."

PRODUCTION TEAM

DIRECTOR: Noël Mitrani

SCREENWRITER: Noël Mitrani

^{ACTORS: Laurent Lucas, Laurence Dauphinais, Mohsen El Gharbi, Pascale Bussières, Natacha Mitrani}

PRODUCER: Gapian Films

FILM TRAILER

SCREENING

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2017

Program #241, 13:00, Cineplex Odeon Quartier SALLE 17

For more informations about the FNC, the program, film scheduling and various venues visit the FNC festival's website.