The Third Heaven

In Heaven on Earth, acclaimed director Deepa Mehta highlights the isolation and disappointment faced by a family of Punjabi immigrants to Canada. When Chand (played by Bollywood superstar Preity Zinta) arrives in Brampton, Ontario to meet her new husband, she leaves behind a loving family and supportive community. Now, in a new country, she finds herself living in a modest suburban home with seven other people and two part-time tenants. Inside the home, she is at the mercy of her husband's temper, and her mother-in-law's controlling behaviour. After a magic root fails to transform her husband into a kind and loving man, Chand takes refuge in a familiar Indian folk tale featuring a King Cobra.

Growing up in the small Lebanese town of Abey, Pierre Sidaoui had a carefree childhood. But civil war forced him and his family to flee their hometown in 1982, the first in a series of moves that would ultimately separate him from his parents, brother and sisters. He arrived in Montreal at the age of 30 and has made the city his home. A decade later, Sidaoui pauses to reflect. His precious family photos, carefully kept in a shoebox, bring forth a flood of memories--of family, landscapes, music and war. Sidaoui's father, who found refuge in Mexico, remains a constant inspiration. Through his father's journals, poems and letters, Pierre rediscovers the joyful and profound nature of the man who raised him. A Scent of Mint is a touching meditation on the pursuit of happiness and the immigrant experience. Shot in Montreal, the film's images draw an unlikely parallel between a Lebanese village and a Canadian metropolis. The relationship between the two places reminds us that no matter what happens, our true home lives within ourselves.

L'immigration massive de Chinois venus de Hong Kong a façonné un nouveau visage à Vancouver. Le Troisième Ciel nous invite à pénétrer à l'intérieur de cette communauté influente mais méconnue. Éliminant les préjugés, le film nous dévoile son mode de vie et son rôle capital dans l'économie canadienne et mondiale, et brosse un portrait intime et émouvant de la famille Lam, émigrée en 1991. Le Troisième Ciel nous apprend ainsi qu'au delà de l'économie, c'est la puissance des liens du sang qui soude la diaspora chinoise.