Gamma Rays | |
Native Name: | |
Director: | Henry Bernadet |
Producer: | Vuk Stojanovic Henry Bernadet Jean-Martin Gagnon |
Starring: | Yassine Jabrane Chaimaa Zinedine Océane Garçon-Gravel Chris Kanyembuga Hani Laroum |
Music: | Maxime Veilleux Mathieu Charbonneau Simon Trottier |
Cinematography: | Philémon Crête Natan B. Foisy Philippe St-Gelais |
Editing: | Jules Saulnier |
Studio: | Coop Vidéo de Montréal |
Distributor: | Les Films Opale |
Runtime: | 101 minutes |
Country: | Canada |
Language: | French |
Gamma Rays (French: Les rayons gamma) is a Canadian comedy-drama film, written and directed by Henry Bernadet and released in 2023.[1] Made with a cast of non-professional actors, the film centres on three interconnected stories about young immigrants in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension district of Montreal, Quebec.[2]
The stories centre on Abdel (Yassine Jabrane), whose cousin Omar (Hani Laroum) comes to visit but sparks a crisis when he gets lost after Abdel sends him out on his own without accompaniment despite Omar's lack of familiarity with the city; Fatima (Chaimaa Zinedine), who is working as a supermarket cashier and trying to deal with an unpaid debt to a drug dealer; and Toussaint (Chris Kanyembuga), an intelligent but introverted young man who is drawn out of his shell when he finds a message in a bottle while fishing.[3]
The film was Bernadet's solo directorial debut, following television credits and the 2008 documentary film West of Pluto (À l'ouest de Pluton) which he codirected with Myriam Verreault.[1]
It premiered at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2023,[4] before going into limited commercial release in Quebec in November.
The film was named as a shortlisted finalist for the 2024 Prix collégial du cinéma québécois.[5]