DIRECTED BY: DENIS VILLENEUVE - INCENDIES

After the death of their mother, Jeanne and Simon are confronted with her past in their native country in the Middle East. With inexorable logic, Denis Villeneuve’s INCENDIES works toward its overwhelming climax. ‘I admit it's a bit unusual’, notary Lebel apologizes. That's putting it mildly. When twenty-something twins Jeanne and Simon Marwan are with him after the death of their mother Nawal to open her will, there turn out to be two surprises in it: a letter to be delivered to their father, whom they thought was dead, and a letter for their brother whose existence they knew nothing about. Thus begins the journey back to their homeland in the Middle East and an investigation into the past of their closed-off mother, who had always kept silent about it. Hoewel Jeanne and Simon have their roots there, they are strangers in the country – incidentally a fictional state, which however lies close to the complex history of Lebanon. De Canadese director/screenwriter Denis Villeneuve alternates in his fourth feature film Incendies (literally ‘burned’) their search in the present with the dramatic story of mother Nawal in the past. The narrative focuses on the cyclical nature of the conflict between (in this case) Muslims and Christians in the region and the desperate but futile attempts to break free from the past. Experience this masterful film from 2010 again in a completely restored and re-released version!