Alone (2021 film)

Alone
FrenchSeuls
Directed byPaul Tom
Written byJulie Boisvert
Mylène Péthel
Paul Tom
Produced byMarie-Pierre Corriveau
Karine Dubois
CinematographyAlex Margineanu
Paul Tom
Edited byAlain Loiselle
Music bySamuel Laflamme
Dominique Fils-Aimé
Animation byBrigitte Archambault
Production
company
Picbois Productions
Release date
  • November 11, 2021 (2021-11-11) (FICFA)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
French

Alone (French: Seuls) is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Paul Tom and released in 2021.[1] Blending live action with animated sequences, the film profiles Afshin, Alain and Patricia, three young adults who first moved to Canada as refugees, travelling alone without their families.[2] It explores both the lingering effects of their formative experiences and the resilience that allowed them to build new lives in Canada, including Alain pursuing his dream of becoming a police officer and Patricia's appreciation of the fact that she can safely live as a bisexual woman in Canada, which she could not have done in her native Uganda.[2]

The film premiered as the opening film of the Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie on November 11, 2021,[3] before screening commercially in Quebec beginning November 12.

The film received two Prix Iris nominations at the 24th Quebec Cinema Awards in 2022, for Best Documentary Film and Best Original Music in a Documentary (Samuel Laflamme, Dominique Fils-Aimé).[4]

Tom and illustrator Mélanie Baillargé subsequently published a book adaptation of the film, under the French title Seuls in 2022[5] and the English title Alone: The Journey of Three Young Refugees in 2023.[6] The French edition was a Governor General's Award nominee for French-language children's illustration at the 2022 Governor General's Awards.[7]

  1. ^ Alexandre Vigneault, "Seuls, un film qui ouvre les bras". La Presse, November 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Megan Durnford, "Paul Tom Animates the Stories of Child Refugees in Alone". Point of View, November 14, 2021.
  3. ^ "« SEULS » de Paul Tom en film d’ouverture de la 35e édition du FICFA". CTVM, October 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Stéphanie Nolin, "Gala Québec Cinéma 2022 : Vincent-Guillaume Otis sacré meilleur acteur". Showbizz, June 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "Seuls, un livre sur les jeunes réfugiés qui arrivent au Canada sans parents". Ici Radio-Canada Première, November 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Inderjit Deogun, "For Paul Tom, Alone: The Journey of Three Young Refugees touches on universal truths". Quill & Quire, March 2023.
  7. ^ Chantal Fontaine, "Dévoilement des finalistes des Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général". Les Libraires, October 12, 2022.