28/01/2013 - Frédérick Pelletier’s first feature film had its world premiere in the Bright Future section of the International Film Festival Rotterdam

Canadian director Frédérick Pelletier’s first feature film Diego Star [+see also:
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Traoré (Issaka Sawadogo, seen last year in Nicolas Provost’s Rotterdam entry The Invader [+see also:
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While the ship is under investigation, the company houses the crew with the locals, and Traoré ends up with Fanny (Chloé Bourgeois, from Yves Christian Fournier’s Everything Is Fine), a young, struggling single mother who works at the shipyard cafeteria. She is wary and cold at the beginning, but Traoré, who is about twice her age and has three children, has a way with her baby son which warms her to him and they almost become friends. But Traoré has decided to tell the truth about the engine to the Canadians, and he gets suspended from the job and loses his wages, as well as the money the company pays to Fanny for his accommodation.

Diego Star tackles the very current issues of capitalism, corruption and humiliating position of the common man (the “99%”), but at its core it has a very human story about two strangers brought together by bad circumstances. This is why Pelletier’s approach is a success- the film does not preach nor condemn, but explores one of the possible situations caused by the global sociopolitical situation. Also, Traoré and Fanny both show their best and worst sides, but the filmnever takes a moralistic position and does not pity nor judge its characters.

Of course, choosing the right actors is crucial for this to work, and the Diego Star casting director did an excellent job. Sawadogo subtly plays Traoré as a stable though sentimental man, but when he starts to crack, unmistakeable African intensity brims out. Bourgeois is equally understated as a former party girl who had to settle down before she was ready, but there is always a quiet bitterness in her dark eyes and on her tight lips.

DoP Philippe Roy effectively contrasts the whiteness of snowy Quebec with dark interior of the ship and poorly lit rooms, without overdoing the symbolics. But the credit for the natural way the events in the film unfold and the tension slowly rises towards the climax definitely goes to editor Marie-Hélène Dozo, known for her work with the Dardenne brothers and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun.

Diego Star was co-produced by Canada’s Metafilms inc. and Belgium’s Man’s Films Productions. LA-based FiGa Films has the international rights.