Heat Spell, written and directed with such an assured poise by Marie-Pier Dupuis, is yet another flourishing example of the kind of high quality short films coming out of Canada in recent years. Distributed by h264 Distribution, each year we venture to them for submissions for our Femme Filmmakers Festival. And their abundance of remarkable film-making never disappoints.
Heat Spell was recently nominated for Best Live Action Short Drama and Best Performance for then 8 year-old Agathe Ledoux at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards. Dupuis and Ledoux have also, respectively, just been the recipients of the Gold Sovereign and Female Performance awards at the 9th Femme Filmmakers Festival.
The premise is upfront and accessible, and straight from a hustle-bustle chapter of many an everyday life. Single parenthood, two temperamental young kids, and a million things to do. Not to mention the unwavering heat of the film’s title. Though the affects of a cauldron of emotions and little life events are just as integral to this short film. As though the beaming sun is not enough. The established family trio is landed on our laps right away, with seldom need for explanations or drawn out dialogue. Taking place in the confines of a car, then for the most part the cluttered, lived-in house, Heat Spell feverishly portrays the natural impact of summer rays and the frenetic hassles of our menial lives.
Dupuis’ immaculate direction is a thing of beauty. Every frame swelters with organic human behaviour amidst an environment that both glows and suffocates. Granted, this is all gorgeously shot by cinematographer Simran Dewan. But Dupuis demonstrates a true sense of artistry that elevates her way beyond what we would anticipate from any first film.
The camera, as the eye to the story, holds so seamlessly, you are not even aware you’re watching a film. And then movement through a pan back or forth immerses and propels the audience’s powerful journey. The more astute of you might have frustratingly cried out internally as to why the kid did not switch on that enormous fan in her bedroom. It’s the numerous, tiny details, too, that the filmmaker and her team leave hovering in the background. Inducing anxiety in us, while we attempt to digest the hazy foreground.
The three performers are nothing short of perfection. Actual sisters Agathe Ledoux and Simone Ledoux bring their familiar real-life bond to the drama. But are never over-the-top or fractured. Agathe in particular is an astonishing presence as the eldest, Maxime. The young actress is in pretty much every frame of the film. Carrying nearly the entire narrative with her child-appropriate actions and stirring facial expressions. The camera lingers with permissiveness on little Max. Asking us to share the burden, and dip our toes into the younger point of view. With Gabrielle Poulin, as the frantic mother, shines bright amidst the turmoil, echoing a reality many of us have experienced. As either a child looking up, a parent looking in all directions – or both.
And therein lies another stem of magic within Heat Spell. Dupuis gives us the multi-perspective by presenting the bravura simplicity. Making the audience themselves stew over the potentially horrific parental negligence and the ultimate empathy of a woman with not enough arms.
Likewise with Max, she illuminates in the orange heat and the dark shadows, depicting a child not just at a loose end or unable to concentrate, but also one that is tussling with the dynamics of a near-unfathomable dilemma. We never truly get to read the child’s mind, but the invitation is magnetic throughout. So much to unpack in Heat Spell, what is certain is that you will struggle to find a more masterful short film, whatever the weather.
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