LENGTH: 105 min
COUNTRY: Canada
YEAR: 2021
GENRE: Drama
LANGUAGE: Spanish & French w/English subtitles
FORMATS: DCP, Blu-ray & DVD
DIRECTOR: Ivan Grbovic
CAST: Antonio Guerrero, Hélène Florent, Claude Legault, Marine Jonhson, Gilberto Barazza, Yoshira Escárrega, Amaryllis Tremblay, Maxime Dumontier, Karl Walcott, Normand D’amour
CREW: CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sara Mishara; EDITOR: Arthur Tarnovski, Ace; MUSIC: Philippe Brault; PRODUCERS: Luc Déry, Kim Mccraw; EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Nicolás Celis
SYNOPSIS
Willy (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) can no longer hide his feelings for Marlena. The problem is Marlena (Yoshira Escárrega) belongs to a Mexican drug lord to whom Willy is employed, and an attempt to steal the boss’s woman would have disastrous consequences. Willy tries anyway and succeeds in winning Marlena’s heart, but the lovers are forced to flee for their lives to locations unbeknownst to each other but far from Mexico. Marlena seeks refuge in Montreal with a family member, and Willy manages to find summer work on a Quebec farm picking lettuce. The only clue to Marlena’s whereabouts is a locket from a Montreal jeweler she gave him before they parted. The farm owners are kindly at first and Willy gets along with everyone, making it a suitable sanctuary in which he can use his few hours of leisure time to search for his lost love. However, his kind-hearted and naive nature soon lands him in trouble again after he is falsely accused of sexually assaulting the farm owners’ daughter, Lèa (Marine Johnson), who is desperate to escape farm life.
FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
| Date | Venue | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3/4/22-3/13/22 | Miami International Film Festival | Miami | FL |
| 3/11/22-3/17/22 | New Orleans French Film Festival New Orleans Film Society | New Orleans | LA |
| 4/14/22 – 4/24/22 | Seattle International Film Festival | Seattle | WA |
| 4/28/22 | Focus On French Cinema Film Festival | Greenwich | CT |
| 5/5/22 – 5/19/22 | Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival | Minneapolis | MN |
TRAILER
PHOTOS
REVIEWS
“Canada-Mexico drama Drunken Birds is one of the most beautiful films of the year”
“By its finale, you get the sense that the go-for-broke Quebecois director is capable of magically conjuring just about any image that might come to his mind, so long as it makes a mark.” READ MORE
“Canada’s Oscar submission feature is a richly textured if sometimes sketchily written tale of lost loves spanning Quebec and Mexico.” READ MORE
“If you can synchronize yourself to its tipsy rhythms, Drunken Birds is a rewarding and original tale, a love story with a social conscience.” READ MORE
“Grbovic continues to play with the thin line between reality and fantasy in a sweeping tale of migration and lost love.” READ MORE
Drunken Birds – Canada’s Official Submission for the International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards – pg. 38 READ MORE
“Unfolds with mystery and style.” READ MORE
“Ivan Grbovic’s exquisite feature, Drunken Brids is a cinematic triumph of the highest order.” READ MORE
“Drunken Birds may ultimately be about exploitation in its different guises, but they [Ivan Grbovic and Sara Mishara] turn it into poetry.” READ MORE
“Every shot is gorgeous, and impressively framed….This is a phenomenal drama about love and longing.” READ MORE
“Drunken Birds puts audiences in a direct encounter with the Canada we often choose not to see.” READ MORE
“Drunken Birds is a film that wears its heart on its sleeve.” READ MORE
FESTIVALS / AWARDS
- Official Canadian Submission to the 94th Academy Awards for Best International Film
- Palm Springs International Film Festival – Official Selection
- TIFF – Toronto International Film Festival – Nominee (Platform Prize)
- Philadelphia International Film Festival – Winner Best Cinematography | Nominee Best Narrative Feature
- Vancouver International Film Festival
- Noir in Festival – Winner – Black Panther Award
- Sedona International Film Festival – Official Selection
- Miami International Film Festival
- Seattle International Film Festival
- Black Panther Award – Noir International Film Festival
- Focus on French Cinema Film Festival





SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2021 Drunken Birds
2012 Romeo Eleven
2009 Les mots (short)
2009 La chute (short)
2006 La tête haute (short)



























