• Japan Premiere

Competition

Nadia, Butterfly

Director: Pascal PLANTE

2020｜Canada｜107min｜Language: French, English｜Subtitles: English, Japanese

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Cast

Katerine SAVARD
Ariane MAINVILLE
Hilary CALDWELL
Cailin MCMURRAY
Pierre-Yves CARDINAL

Synopsis

Nadia, Butterfly is a character study about a young swimmer choosing to quit the sport she has dedicated her entire existence to so she can move on to the next stage of her life.

Set in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, we watch Nadia (Katerine SAVARD), a Canadian swimmer who, despite being in her prime years, has chosen to quit because she wishes to go to med school. The decision to do so places her in an awkward emotional space with those around her and also with herself. Whether she feels grief, anger, or ambivalence, it comes out in various encounters as she takes part in her final races, ceremonies, press interviews and parties and ventures out into Tokyo. As Nadia deals with coaches, colleagues, and long-time friends such Marie-Pierre (Ariane MAINVILLE), we get an intimate insight into the inner world of an athlete learning to let go of her old, rigorous, and disciplined life and step into the unknown.

With its storyline of existential searching and significant sequences shot in Tokyo, the film is said to be akin to Sofia COPPOLA’s 2004 film “Lost in Translation” as a real-life but it has the thrilling reality of the Olympics thanks to its cast, a lot of whom are real Olympians, including screen new-comer Katerine SAVARD who competed in the London and Rio games.

[Jason MAHER]

Website

Official site

• Competition
• Beyond You
• The Cemil Show
• The Con-Heartist
• Elisa's Day
• Emptiness
• Honeymood
• Hotel Iris
• Ito
• Killer Spider
• Nadia, Butterfly
• A Song for You
• The Slug
• Tiong Bahru Social Club
• The Way We Keep Dancing