Félix Brassard’s film L’écrivain (The Writer) follows Pierre (Josian Neveu), a TV writer with an unusual, secretive nightly routine. Each evening, he locks himself in a room—and no one knows why. Not even his boss Gilbert (Marco Giguère), who’s recently started dropping by more often to figure out why Pierre is frequently slow to deliver.
I won’t spoil the outcome—mainly because the film is so simple that even a small reveal might give too much away. The poster even says too much. When the dynamic is clear, it’s easy to know how this tale will end. Here, Pierre is our reclusive protagonist, and Gilbert is the pushy antagonist. Watching Neveu and Giguère interact feels like fire meeting water. The twist isn’t exactly shocking, but that’s not the point. This short feels like a proof of concept—a sketch hinting at something bigger. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brassard is laying the groundwork for a feature. It reads as a personal take on genre cinema.
That makes sense if you’re familiar with Brassard’s 2019 documentary L’inquiétante Absence, which explores Quebec’s underappreciated genre film scene. Though I haven’t seen it yet, it reportedly delves into the cultural and institutional barriers that keep horror, sci-fi, and fantasy films from truly thriving in the province—despite a passionate fan base and abundant talent. Featuring big names like David Cronenberg, Robin Aubert, and Fantasia Festival organizers, Brassard clearly knows this terrain.