North of Albany

North of Albany is a 2022 Canadian drama film directed by Marianne Farley (in her directorial debut) from a screenplay she co-wrote with Claude Brie. It stars Céline Bonnier, Zeneb Blanchet, and Eliott Plamondon as a Canadian family who run away to the United States. The film was shot in the province of Quebec in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. The film premiered at Cinéfest on September 19, 2022, and was released in theaters on December 2, 2022, by Maison 4:3. Premise A single mother, Annie, flees from the Canadian city of Montreal with her two children Sarah and Felix after Sarah physically attacks a bully. The family's car breaks down, stranding them in the Adirondacks in the American state of New York. There, they meet local mechanic Paul who helps them confront the real reasons they are on the run. Cast Céline Bonnier as Annie, the mother of Sarah and Felix Zeneb Blanchet as Sarah, the 15-year-old teenage daughter of Annie and sister of Felix Eliott Plamondon as Felix, the 10-year-old son of Annie and brother of Sarah Rick Roberts as Paul, a mechanic who lives in the Adirondacks, and Emma's nephew Naomi Cormier as Hope Sean Tucker as Richard Kelly Depeault as Martine Frédéric Pierre as Mme Briére Janet Land as Emma, a 65-year-old widow and Paul's aunt Production North of Albany was announced on June 17, 2019, when Telefilm Canada revealed three films they would fund in the upcoming months. In December 2019, SODEC announced that they would also finance the film. Marianne Farley got the idea for the film after her car broke down close to the Adirondack Park while she was visiting her brother in the United States. Calling the mishap a "shitty adventure", Farley wrote the initial screenplay with her then-spouse Claude Brie. Farley also produced the film with Benoit Beaulieu under their production banner Slykid & Skykid. It is the company's second project after 2020's Our Own (Les Nôtres).