Year: 1986
Language: French
Format: 35mm Colour
Runtime: 102 min
Director: Léa Pool
Producer: Roger Frappier, Claude Bonin
Executive Producer: Roger Frappier
Writer: Léa Pool, Marcel Beaulieu
Cinematographer: Pierre Mignot
Editor: Michel Arcand
Sound: Hans Strobl, Richard Besse
Music: René Dupéré, Daniel Deshaime
Cast: Louise Marleau, Albane Guilhe, Lucie Laurier, Guy Thauvette, Hugues Quester, Nuvit Ozdogru, Kim Yaroshevskaya
Production Company: National Film Board of Canada, Les Films Vision 4

Anne Trister (Albane Guilhe), a young Swiss Jewish artist, is profoundly affected by the death of her father. After quitting school, she leaves Switzerland for Quebec to visit her friend Alix (Louise Marleau), a psychologist to whom she becomes attracted. Through her work, Alix has developed an emotional bond with Sarah (Lucie Laurier), a rebellious child with an enormous need to be loved. Detached from the world around her, Anne takes over a vacant studio to paint a giant fresco and throws herself into a series of fleeting and impulsive affairs.

La Femme de l’hôtel, director Léa Pool’s 1984 debut, heralded the presence of a young filmmaker of considerable depth and vision, combining a cool, stylistic approach with a psychologically and emotionally resonant feminism. Anne Trister, her enigmatic and beautiful second film, builds on that assured, elegant mastery. Pool delicately creates an overlapping world where Anne, Alix and Sarah explore the many improbable forms of love and dependency. An abstract drama about emotional struggles, rendered with skill and formal assurance, Anne Trister explores central themes of solitude, creativity and friendship, while emphasizing the characters’ emotions over the concerns of plot.

The film screened in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1986 and won two Genie Awards for Cinematography (Pierre Mignot) and Original Song (Danielle Messia).