THE COST OF HEAVEN wins Playback Prize for Best Film at Kingston Canadian Film Festival

KCFF’s top awards were juried by filmmakers Javiera Quintana and Patrick Cassavetti, along with film programmer and curator Emilie Poirier. Their comments:

Playback Prize for Best Film:
THE COST OF HEAVEN (Mathieu Denis)
“THE COST OF HEAVEN (Gagne Ton Ciel) draws its audience into a grim financial vortex alongside its lead protagonist — a well-meaning family man whose chronic self-deception and fatally flawed judgment pull him into an ever-tightening downward spiral, one from which escape demands increasingly desperate measures. A totally engaging morality tale: complex, articulate, and confidently directed by Mathieu Denis, with an excellent cast, screenplay, and cinematography.”

Special Mention:
TRUE NORTH (Michèle Stephenson)
“Integrating powerful archive footage with captivating and beautifully filmed interviews, TRUE NORTH unfolds the little-known, yet crucial, chapter in the fight for racial equality in Canada. Using a strong stylistic approach that seamlessly combines the extraordinary archive elements of the film and skillful editing as an engine, Michèle Stephenson’s ambitious film delivers a story that is as relevant today as it was in 1969.”

Visual Menace Best First Feature Award:
FOLLIES (Éric K. Boulianne)
“Making a film about relationships in 2026 feels less like a challenge than a kamikaze mission — the territory so well-trodden that genuine freshness seems almost impossible. Yet in FOLLIES (Folichonneries), Éric K. Boulianne pulls it off, delivering a tender, open, and disarmingly refreshing take on romantic, sexual, and family dynamics. With lustrous cinematography, precisely calibrated lighting, and a masterful cast, the film’s form is as carefully considered as its exploration of interpersonal relationships and the search for gender and sexual identity.”

COGECO People’s Choice Award:
MONTRÉAL, MY BEAUTIFUL (Xiaodan He)
“Joan Chen’s extraordinary performance is the luminescent core of director Xiaodan He’s second feature Montréal, Ma Belle. Chen mesmerizes as Feng Xia, a Chinese Canadian woman who takes a chance to escape the confines of others’ expectations when she meets Camille (Charlotte Aubin), a French-Canadian woman who awakens long-dormant feelings. But Feng’s not the only character undergoing a dramatic change, the film is remarkable for the grace and sensitivity with which it explores all its characters’ lives.”