Sophie Deraspe’s Shepherds (micro_scope, Avenue B Productions) is the winner of the $5,000 Playback Best Canadian Feature Award at this year’s Kingston Canadian Film Festival (KCFF).

KCFF, billed as the largest festival dedicated exclusively to Canadian films, ran from Feb. 26 to March 2 in Kingston, Ont.

The French-language France/Canada coproduction was one of the Toronto International Film Festival’s Top Ten features of 2024. The film follows a burned-out Montreal executive who moves to the south of France to become a shepherd. It stars Félix-Antoine Duval, David Ayala, Michel Benizri, Younes Boucif and Guilaine Londez.

“This poetic film hit the jury like a burst of fresh air,” said the jury in a statement. “By harnessing one man’s desire to quit the rat race and connect with nature, Shepherds offers a refreshingly contemporary take on pastoral filmmaking, capturing the awesome power of the French Alps with a cinematic eye.”

Maryse Legagneur’s The Last Meal won the $2,500 Branded to Film Award for Best First Feature. Co-written by Legagneur and Luis Molinié, the film is produced by Francois Bonneau and Bernadette Payer, with Maison 4:3 handling distribution.

It follows a man dying of stomach cancer who uses that as the pretext to share a meal with his estranged daughter. It stars Gilbert Laumord, Marie-Evelyne Lessard, Fabrice Yvanoff Senate, Mireille Metellus and Jean Jean.

In addition, Patrice Sauvé’s French-language Blue Sky Jo (Parallaxes) claimed the $500 Cogeco People’s Choice Award. An adaptation of the novel La petite et le vieux from Quebec author Marie-Renée Lavoie, the dramedy examines the connection between a 10-year-old girl and her neighbour in working-class Quebec City in the 1980s.

It stars Juliette Bharucha, Gildor Roy, Gabrielle B. Thuot, Vincent-Guillaume Otis and Marilyn Castonguay.

The three awards also come with a year’s subscription to Playback.

The Douglas J. Falconer Award of Excellence went to production designer Melissa Eapen. The award, which included a $1,000 cash prize, is named after producer Douglas Falconer and given to a local film industry professional who has made outstanding contributions to film in Kingston, chosen by the eponymous charitable committee.

Among other winners, Halima Elkhatabi’s Fantas won in the Canadian Shorts category and Noah Levac’s Under the Light of the Harvest Moon won in its local counterpart. Both awards come with a $500 cash prize.

Saif Amer’s Last Stop short film, which he also wrote and shot, was chosen from the annual 18 MM Program Showcase as the winner of a $250 cash prize.

The Best Youth Short award went to Anqi Guo’s Isn’t Even Roses, while Dust in the Gate, Alan Code’s experimental documentary, won the $500 KCFF Doc Factory Award.

The 25th edition of the festival saw cash prizes handed out for the first time. This year’s honours were juried by Kingston filmmaker Clark Mackey, POV Magazine publisher Pat Mullen and Exclaim! film editor Rachel Ho.

Image courtesy Maison 4:3