Family Business

In Pointe-Verte, a coastal hamlet on the Acadian Peninsula with a dwindling population, ensuring the survival of the general store is a family matter. The parents, now nearing retirement, have held the fort for more than 30 years, but their children dream of different tomorrows. The film’s director, who grew up in the family grocery store, chronicles day-to-day life in this meeting place, where all the stages of life hold sway. By turns comical and poignant, the film pays tribute to a family that has remained devoted to its community and maintained a constant, reassuring presence. For the younger generation, less inclined to such a life of good-humoured sacrifice, the future lies elsewhere, even if uprooting themselves brings difficult challenges. This debut film, made for the 2011 Tremplin competition, heralds the arrival of a sensitive, singular new voice among the next generation of documentary filmmakers in Acadia.