Familiar Grounds

Familiar Grounds (French: En terrains connus) is a 2011 Canadian drama film directed by Stéphane Lafleur.^[1] The film centres on Benoit (Francis La Haye) and Maryse (Fanny Mallette), a brother and sister who embark on a road trip to their family cottage to retrieve a trailer, only to find their lives impacted by the strange prophecies of a salesman (Denis Houle) who claims to be a time-traveller from the future.^[2]

Familiar Grounds
Film poster
French	En terrains connus
Directed by	Stéphane Lafleur
Written by	Stéphane Lafleur
Produced by	Luc Déry Kim McCraw
Starring	Francis La Haye
Cinematography	Sara Mishara
Edited by	Sophie Leblond
Release date	18 February 2011 (2011-02-18)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	French

Cast

• Francis La Haye as Benoit
• Fanny Mallette as Maryse
• Michel Daigle as André
• Sylvain Marcel as Alain
• Denis Houle as L'Homme du futur
• Suzanne Lemoine as Nathalie

Critical response

Robert Bell of Exclaim! wrote that "even though very little happens, there is something consistently and strangely compelling about Lafleur's sophomore effort. It has to do, in part, with his understanding and perspective of the simple life, as well as his slyly comic framing and intriguing directorial style, which speaks of great things to come."^[3]

Awards

The film was the winner of the inaugural Prix collégial du cinéma québécois in 2012.^[4]

Sylvain Bellemare, Pierre Bertrand and Bernard Gariépy Strobl received a Jutra Award nomination for Best Sound at the 14th Jutra Awards in 2012.