Underground (2020 film)

Underground
Film poster
FrenchSouterrain
Directed bySophie Dupuis
Written bySophie Dupuis
Produced byÉtienne Hansez
StarringJoakim Robillard
Théodore Pellerin
James Hyndman
CinematographyMathieu Laverdière
Edited byMichel Grou
Music byGaëtan Gravel
Patrice Dubuc
Production
company
Bravo Charlie
Distributed byAxia Films
Release date
  • December 5, 2020 (2020-12-05) (Whistler Film Festival)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

Underground (French: Souterrain) is a 2020 Canadian drama film, written and directed by Sophie Dupuis.[1] Produced by the Montreal based company Bravo Charlie, the film stars Joakim Robillard as Maxime, a troubled miner in Val-d’Or, Quebec, who must attempt to rescue his coworkers when an explosion happens inside the mine.[2]

The cast also includes Théodore Pellerin as Julien, his friend and former coworker who has suffered from aphasia since being injured in a car accident for which Maxime was responsible, as well as James Hyndman, Guillaume Cyr, Catherine Trudeau, Mickaël Gouin, Chantal Fontaine, Bruno Marcil and Jean L'Italien.

The film entered production in 2019,[3] and was scheduled to premiere at the Festival du nouveau cinéma on October 7, 2020.[4] The event was cancelled due to severe weather.[5] It subsequently had its world premiere screening at the 2020 Whistler Film Festival,[6] where Dupuis won the Borsos Competition award for Best Director of a Canadian Film.[7]

The film was set to be theatrically released in the province of Quebec on April 30, 2021,[8] but due to continued restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada its release was delayed,[9] and the film finally opened commercially on June 4.[10]

Underground was the opening film of the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma film festival on April 28, 2021.[11]

  1. ^ "Souterrain, de Sophie Dupuis : l’esprit de famille quand tout le reste s’écroule". Ici Radio-Canada, September 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Sophie Rouillard, "«Souterrain»: la quête vers la résilience de Sophie Dupuis". Le Citoyen, September 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Lauren Malyk, "Sophie Dupuis embarks on Souterrain". Playback, June 4, 2019.
  4. ^ André Duchesne, "Souterrain de Sophie Dupuis ouvrira le FNC". La Presse, August 18, 2020.
  5. ^ André Duchesne (October 7, 2020). "Festival du nouveau cinéma | Annulation de la projection de Souterrain au ciné-parc FNC x YUL". La Presse (in French).
  6. ^ "Whistler Film Festival to open with 'Sugar Daddy,' 'In Her City'". CityNews, November 5, 2020.
  7. ^ Lauren Malyk, "Little Orphans wins Best Canadian Feature at WFF". Playback, December 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "Le film Souterrain ouvrira les Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma". Ici Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ Marc-André Lussier (April 14, 2021). "Souterrain, nouvelle victime de la troisième vague". La Presse (in French).
  10. ^ Alex Rose, "Sophie Dupuis’s mining drama Souterrain finally sees the light of day". Cult MTL, June 3, 2021.
  11. ^ Chabot, Simon (February 23, 2021). "Souterrain ouvrira les Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma". La Presse (in French).