Fascinating and beguiling, Bestiaire is Denis Côté’s mesmerizing meditation on the relationship between man and beast. This strikingly beautiful film about looking —starts with a group of art students attempting to sketch an animal — that blurs the line between observer and observed. There may be no traditional narrative, yet there is breathtaking dramatic tension in every exquisitely framed shot: the sight of a lion attacking the doors of its cage or the scurrying striped legs of zebras in a holding pen. Contemplative and enthralling, Bestiaire is cinema at it’s purist.
KimStim
417 !3 th Street #2 Brooklyn, New York 11215
CREDIT
REVIEW
FESTIVALS
PLAY DATES
Conceived, produced & directed by: Denis Côté
Production: Sylvain Corbeil
Photography: Vincent Biron
Sound: Frédéric Cloutier
Editing: Nicolas Roy
“Using the film form to challenge the very notion of representation, Bestiaire is an elegant, bewitching meditation on the nature of sentience and the boundaries between nature and civilization.”
—Sundance Film Festival
“Haunting mix of curiosity and compassion...” —Variety
“A mesmerizing free-association visual study of the interaction between humans and captive animals.”
—The Hollywood Reporter
“Wordless, unlovely splendor...” —Slant
“Consider this the arthouse version of a Disney nature project. Bestiaire shuns the typical view of nature documentaries and manages something artful and new.”
—Film School Rejects
2012 Sundance Film Festival (New Frontier)
2012 Berlin International Film Festival (Forum)
2012 Toronto International Film Festival (Wavelengths)
Awards: SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
YALE ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL
2013 Currents New Media Festival in Santa Fe, NM
2012
October 19~25 - Anthology Film Archives, NY
November 2~16 - Denver Film Society, CO
November 16~22 - Facet Multimedia Chicago, IL
November 16~22 - Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA
2013
January 3~9 - Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA
January 31 - UC San Diego - ArtPower, CA
February 1 - Wexner Center for The Arts Columbus, OH
February 21 -27 CineFamily Los Angeles, CA
April 21 - Cleveland Museum Of Art, OH
FILM INFO
2012
72 mins.
Canada
Color
No Dialogue
Not Rated
CONTACT US FOR BOOKING
EDUCATIONAL PURCHASE OR RENTAL