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Escape is considered a protection, an act of self-defense, and seemingly a cure: people often run away to hide their own frailties, out of an inability to face their own demons. North of Albany – a feature film in competition for the Generator +18 section – deals exactly with this interior world.
Escape is considered a protection, an act of self-defense, and seemingly a cure: people often run away to hide their own frailties, out of an inability to face their own demons. North of Albany – a feature film in competition for the Generator +18 section – deals exactly with this interior world. Director Marianne Farley offers a long and tumultuous journey of crises, stops and fears. It all begins precisely with an escape: Annie frantically flees Montreal for the United States with her son Felix and her teenage daughter, Sarah, fearing the repercussions after Sarah severely injures the school bully. Eventually, these characters will find the courage to show their vulnerability, transform themselves and try to start over. “Since I was a young girl,” the director explains, “I have been fascinated by the complexities of human nature. We struggle to act according to our paradigms and mental patterns, according to our values. We struggle to open up to others, to trust, to share, due to our own contradictions.” All these questions and the attempt to answer a thousand other isssues – the same as the characters – are the web and the plot of the film. There is immediately a triggering event. When the car has a breakdown, near the town of Adirondack, the family is stranded. Paul, the only mechanic in town, cannot repair the car unless he finds the necessary parts. Annie’s stubborn insistence to leave town at all costs, collides with Paul’s intentions. When Sarah realizes that her secret has been exposed, she flees, forcing Annie and Paul to join forces to find her. They do not only look for Sarah, but also for themselves and their own weaknesses.