"Les Filles du Roi" at Monday Cinema

The Trail & District Arts Council presents "Les Filles du Roi" for Monday Cinema on December 4 at 4 pm at The Royal Theatre.

Adapted from the award-winning musical by Corey Payette and Julie McIsaac, Les Filles du Roi (The King's Daughters) tells the powerful story of a young girl, Kateri, and her brother Jean-Baptiste, whose lives are disrupted upon the arrival of les filles du roi in ‘New France’ (now Montreal) in 1665. They forge an unlikely relationship with the young fille Marie-Jean Lespérance - whose dream of a new life is more complicated than she could have imagined. Over the course of a year, Mohawk, French and English journeys collide, setting the stage for the Canada we know today.

This gorgeous award-winning musical in English, French and Kanien’Kéha (Mohawk) has its theatrical premiere on the stage in 2018 to glowing reviews. Critics called it “a work of monumental importance”, “heartfelt, ambitious and tremendously earnest”, “musically rich”, “a linguistic adventure”, and a “sumptuous reimagining of our history”.

A deeply moving and unique work, it’s a perfect vehicle that uncovers a perspective different from the one told by Settler culture, one that redefines the Canadian narrative. Now beautifully shot with Payette’s directorial panache, the work will have a broader reach for people to reimagine our history in more inclusive and accurate ways.

Watch the trailer here https://youtu.be/Wy0JhVHG2wA

Filmmaker Biography:

Corey Payette is an interdisciplinary storyteller, writer, composer, producer, director in TV and film. He is a member of the Mattagami First Nations, with French Canadian and Irish ancestry, and lives on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl'ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

Known for his deeply moving, large-scale original musical creations, Payette’s work challenges the public’s notion of what musicals can be, inserting Indigenous perspectives and narratives into mainstream spaces, igniting conversations that inspire social change. Payette’s work explores themes of colonization, Indigenous language revitalization, cultural healing, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and the complexity of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences across music, theatre, and film. Payette’s deeply collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and community engaged creation process has been integral in shining a light on stories that have gone unheard for generations. In 2021, Payette received the inaugural BC Award for Reconciliation, created to honour those who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, respect, and commitment to furthering Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in the province of British Columbia.

As a musical creator, Payette writes the music, lyrics, story, and directs his productions including his original stage musical “Children of God” (2017) and “Les Filles du Roi (The King’s Daughters)” written in English, French, and Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) with Julie McIsaac (2018). He is the recipient of the John Hirsch Prize from the Canada Council, Fleck Fellowship from the Banff Centre, has won 3 Ovation Awards and 2 Jessie Awards for his writing and directing work. www.coreypayette.com

Director: Corey Payette / Cast: Kaitlyn Yott, Julie McIsaac, Raes Calvert, Chelsea Rose/ Country: Canada / Length: 1 hr 41 mins/ Language: French, English, Mohawk / Genre: Drama/Thriller / Rating: PG Some subtitles

Monday Cinema is presented by Trail and District Arts Council and screens at The Royal Theatre, 1597 Bay Avenue, Trail.

All films begin at 4:00 pm.

Tickets $12 at tickets.trail-arts.com or call the Box Office at 250-368-9669 Monday to Friday from 12-4 pm.

Only 143 tickets available for this screening. If tickets are available, they will go on sale at the venue 30 minutes before the screening.

Doors will open 30 minutes prior to show time.

The Monday Cinema series is part of the Toronto International Film Festival Film Circuit and proudly supported by Wellington Altus Private Wealth Management and MP Wealth Advisory.

Films in the Fall Monday Cinema series are:

Oct 16 The Miracle Club - There's just one dream for the women of Ballygar: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes. A quietly feminist film that honors the invisible labor of women, the complexities of motherhood, and the belief that change is possible.

Oct 23: Something You Said Last Night - After being fired from her job, an aspiring mid-twentys trans woman and writer accompanies her Canadian-Italian family on vacation as she struggles to balance independence with the comfort of being taken care of.

Oct 30: Past Lives - Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are separated after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York to confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

Nov 6: The Eight Mountains - An epic journey of friendship and self-discovery set in the breathtaking Italian Alps, following the profound, complex relationship between Pietro and Bruno over four decades.

Nov 20: Little Richard: I Am Everything - Through a wealth of archive footage we see Richard’s complicated life story as interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars look at a career and life that pinballs between God, sex and rock n’ roll.

Nov 27: Blue Jean - Based around the passing of homophobic laws in Thatcher's England the film looks at these issues from the viewpoint of a closeted lesbian who has to choose between her job as a teacher and her identity.

Dec 4: Les Filles du Roi - A young Mohawk girl, Kateri, and her brother have their lives disrupted upon the arrival of Les Filles du Roi in 1665 'New France'. Kateri forges an unlikely relationship with young fille Marie-Jean Lespérance - whose dream of a new life is more complicated than she could have imagined. TBC

Dec 11: The Lesson – When a young author takes a tutoring position at the estate of his idol, a legendary writer, he soon realizes that he is ensnared in a web of family secrets, resentment, and retribution.

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