#TIFF: “MARIE MADELEINE” PREMIERING AT 2026 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

MAISON 4:3 and Metafilms are pleased to announce that MARIE MADELEINE, written and directed by Géssica Généus (Freda), will have its North American premiere in the Centrepiece programme at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Celebrating global cinematic achievements, the programme invites audiences to immerse themselves in an eclectic selection of contemporary films. TIFF runs September 10-20.

In Jacmel, Haiti, the sea, the churches and the spirits shape life. Marie Madeleine is a free woman. She makes her living as a sex worker and moves through the night without submitting to the rules of those who save souls. Her path crosses that of Joseph, a young evangelist. A relationship develops between two people who could not be more different. As Joseph’s faith begins to waver, Marie Madeleine draws him into a world where desire and the quest for freedom open a space in which everything can be reinvented.

Following its world premiere at the 79th Festival de Cannes this past May, the film stars Généus alongside Béonard Monteau (Port-au-Prince, Dimanche 4 janvier), as well as first-time screen performers Edouard Baptiste and Mélissa Mildort. Généus’s second feature, MARIE MADELEINE, is a film in which the real brushes up against the surreal, as Généus brings colliding worlds together, if only briefly, to create moments of light.

MARIE MADELEINE is a co-production between Metafilms (Canada), SaNoSi Productions (France), Ayizan Productions (Haiti), Stenola Productions (Belgium) and Bidibul (Luxembourg), produced by Sylvain Corbeil, Jean-Marie Gigon, Gessica Généus, Anton Iffland Stettner, Lilian Eche and Christel Henon. International sales are handled by Pyramide Films.

MARIE MADELEINE is distributed in Canada by Maison 4:3 and will open in theatres this fall.

About Maison 4:3

Founded in 2014, Maison 4:3 is a boutique film distribution company that puts its expertise at the service of filmmakers and their work, developing launch strategies and supporting films through every stage of their release. Maison 4:3 champions deeply human projects that are both resonant and distinctive.

About Metafilms

Metafilms is a Montreal-based production company founded in 2003 to give emerging filmmakers with distinctive voices the means to express their vision of cinema and the world.

To date, Metafilms has produced 27 features, 30 short and medium-length films, and seven music videos. Its films have screened widely at prestigious international festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Sundance, Toronto, San Sebastián, Rotterdam and Karlovy Vary, among others, and have earned honours including the Jury Prize at Cannes for Mommy; a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for Vic + Flo Saw a Bear; Best Canadian Feature Film at TIFF for Félix and Meira; the Jury’s Coup de Coeur at Cannes for A Brother’s Love; and the César Award for Best Foreign Film for The Nature of Love. Zaynê Akyol’s documentary Rojek (2022) represented Canada in the Best International Feature Film category at the 96th Academy Awards. The following year, Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language (2024) was Canada’s submission to the 97th Academy Awards and made the shortlist. In 2025, Peak Everything had its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cabourg Film Festival.

Most recently, Metafilms has also launched an emerging creators initiative led by Rosalie Chicoine Perreault and Catherine Boily. Now more than ever, Metafilms continues to seek out and support distinctive filmmakers and films with respect and rigour.