Production is full steam ahead in Montreal on Marie Brassard’s debut feature Le train (The Train).

Filming on the magical realism feature began on Tuesday (April 30). The film is slated for a theatrical release in 2025, according to a news release.

Le train is written and directed by Brassard and produced by Catherine Chagnon of Microclimat Films. Pierre Even serves as executive producer.

Set in Quebec in the ’60s and ’70s, the film centres on a teenage girl whose meeting with a young writer opens up her world to new possibilities.

The cast includes Larissa Corriveau, Lennikim, Christoher Heyerdahl, Maxim Gaudette, Luc Proulx, Thalie Rhainds, Jacques Nicolini and Electra Codina Morelli.

The film is produced with the participation of SODEC and Telefilm Canada. Axia Films is the Canadian distributor.

Actor, playwright, director Brassard is known for theatre productions that involve video, light and sound installations. Her credits include art installations The Infinite and The Fury of My Thoughts, among others.

In 2022, she was awarded the $100,000 Siminovitch Prize, which recognizes mid-career theatre artists for their innovative work in Canada.

Photo by Laurence Grandbois Bernard