Review: La folle traversée de Philippe
La folle traversée de Philippe (Philippe, a lake and a dream), starts as a simple story about a man with a dream. His dream? To swim across Lac Saint-Jean with his daughter, Clara.
Considering the longest swim Phillippe Belley has ever completed in a lake is 100 metres and Lac Saint-Jean spans 32 kilometres (!), it seems like an impossible dream. But Phillippe’s enthusiasm, combined with hard work and the support of a core swimming community, sets him on a course to succeed.
What seems like a simple story of facing down one’s fear and overcoming, however, is thrown completely off-course with a wild and unexpected twist. Will Phillippe successfully finish his lake crossing alongside his daughter Clara? You’ll have to attend the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival on Thursday, November 7, to find out.
An incredible and moving documentary that will have you crying tears of sadness and joy, La folle traversée de Philippe is a film about the community-building power of a dream that you won’t want to miss!
More about the film and director Stéphanie Gagné
More info & links:
- Director: Stéphanie Gagné
- La folle traversée de Philippe on Facebook
- La folle traversée de Philippe screened at the OCan Film Festival in Ottawa in 2024.
Nicole Bedford
Film Reviewer
Nicole Bedford is a filmmaker based in Ottawa, ON, unceded Algonquin Territory. Her work is primarily based in documentary and regularly explores themes of identity, power, and resiliency. Since launching into film in 2019, she has created and screened several short documentaries, is an alumnus of three mentorship programs (including with the DOC Institute and the National Film Board of Canada), and has won several grants.
In 2022, she completed her first feature, the smallest steps, about women across generations working to end violence against women in Canada. Currently, she is working on her second feature, Roots & Mesh, about four women from rural Nova Scotia who learn to build community through song.
In 2022, she completed her first feature, the smallest steps, about women across generations working to end violence against women in Canada. Currently, she is working on her second feature, Roots & Mesh, about four women from rural Nova Scotia who learn to build community through song.
