Denis Côté’s Boris sans Béatrice will makes its world bow in the Competition program at the 66^th Berlin International Film Festival, it was announced Friday.

The film, which is both written and directed by Côté, is produced by Metafilms and distributed by K-Films Amérique. Production on the feature, Côté’s ninth, began in July 2014 and was supported by a $760,000 grant from Telefilm Canada via the Canada Feature Film Fund.

Côté is a former winner at the Berlin festival, claiming the Alfred Bauer award in 2013 for his feature Vic+Flo Saw a Bear.

In an official statement, Telefilm head Carolle Brabant congratulated Cote on the achivement. “The Berlin International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most important competitive film festivals in the world. This selection is a major springboard for Boris sans Béatrice as well as for Canada’s audiovisual industry on the international scene.”

Starring James Hyndman (Trauma, Rumors), Simone-Elise Girard (Unit 9, The Boys) and Denis Lavant (Les Amants du Pont New, Holy Motors), Boris tells the story of a man who begins an affair while dealing with the grief of caring for his sick wife.

The 2016 Berlin International Film Festival begins on Feb. 2.