A  bevy of Canadian films will make their world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, slated for June 7 to 18 in New York City.

Montreal-based filmmaker Pier-Philippe Chevigny’s Richelieu (Le Foyer Films) will have its world premiere in the International Narrative Competition.

Written and directed by Chevigny (Rebel), the Canada/France/Guatemala copro (pictured) is produced by Geneviève Gosselin-G., Miléna Poylo, Gilles Sacuto and Alice Bloch.

Richelieu is a French- and Spanish-language film that stars Ariane Castellanos (Je voudrais qu’on m’efface) as an interpreter who witnesses and reacts to workplace abuse against seasonal migrant workers in her new job.

Making their world premieres in Tribeca’s Viewpoints category are Asog, directed by Vancouver-based Filipino-Chinese-Irish-Canadian filmmaker Seán‌ ‌Devlin (Woah Canada), as well as Edmonton-born actor Cody Lightning’s (Ghosts of Yesterday) directorial debut Hey Viktor!. 

Asog is a narrative film with documentary elements written by Devlin, Jaya and Arnel Pablo, with the latter two starring in the film alongside Ricky Gacho Jr. The film is produced by Amanda Ernst and follows a non-binary Filipino comedian who journeys to a drag pageant after losing their job hosting a local TV show when a typhoon destroys the studio. It was recently selected by Forum RIDM for Docs-in-Progress – Canadian Showcase at Marché du Film in Cannes next month.

Hey Viktor! (North Country Cinema) is written by Lightning and Samuel Miller. Miller also produced the film alongside Blackhorse Lowe, Joshua Jackson, Kyle Thomas, Sara Corry and Blake McWilliam.

The comedy stars Lightning, Hannah Cheesman and Simon Baker in a mockumentary story about Lightning attempting to recapture the success of his days as a child actor.

Director Nicholas Bruckman’s Minted will make its debut in the Spotlight Documentary section. The feature is a coproduction between Canada, the U.S., Netherlands, Cuba and Nigeria. Written and produced by Bruckman, Shawn Hazelett and Rahilla Zafar, the film explores the convergence of art, commerce, and digital ownership through the rise and crash of the NFT market.

Cold Copy, a Canadian and U.S. coproduction written and directed by Roxine Helberg (The Girl in the Woods), will have its first showing in the festival’s Spotlight Narrative section.

The film is produced by Helberg, Justin Lothrop and Brent Stiefel of Votiv Films, and Toronto-based Scythia Films’ Daniel Bekerman. It stars Canadians Jacob Tremblay (Room) and Nesta Cooper (The Edge of Seventeen) alongside Bel Powley (The Morning Show) and Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish). The story follows an ambitious journalism student who must balance professional ethics with career advancement and impressing a senior reporter.

Image courtesy of Le Foyer Films