Saturday, March 15 / 4:00 pm / Ottawa Art Gallery

Program: Himalia, Young Hearts

Feature presentation \

In a small town in the Belgian countryside, 14-year-old Elias runs the merch table at his father’s music gigs with his warm and loving family, rides bikes with his friends, and has innocent sleepovers with his girlfriend. When Alexander moves in across the street, Elias welcomes him into his friend group, where he charms everyone with his effortless warmth. As the boys become closer friends, they dig into the big questions; have they ever been in love? When Elias finds out Alex has had boyfriends before, his mind opens up and he considers what his own feelings for Alex might be. A romantic drama unfolds with the push and pull of young love–but the question for Elias is not as simple as to be gay or not to be gay. Elias struggles with revealing his feelings for Alex, not just because it would end his relationship with his girlfriend and rock the dynamic of their friend group but because he’s not sure he’s ready to be as free and open to love as Alex is. Lou Goosens’s multi-award-winning performance as Elias carries this heartwarming film through the ups and downs of a coming-of-age love story sure to make viewers believe in love.

- Tish Black

Short film \

Himalia

2024 / 20 minutes / Quebec
Director: Clara Milo, Juliette Lossky
Language: Esperanto

Set on an idyllic farmland, a child’s fascination for the light leads the way into this otherwordly tale structured around the passage of a single and ever-flowing sunbeam.