Synopsis
Henri, in his fifties, of Italian origin, holds with his wife Rita a small restaurant near Charleroi, "La Cantina". Once the customers left, Henri finds his friends, Bibi and René, pillars counters; together they kill time before a few beers by sharing their common passion, the racing pigeons. Rita suddenly dies, leaving Henri helpless. Their daughter Laetitia then proposes to Henri to be helped in the restaurant by a "white butterfly", as one calls the residents of a home of mentally handicapped near La Cantina. Rosette is one of them. She is happy, benevolent and does not see the harm. Her disability is light, she is just a little "off the wall". She dreams of love, sexuality and normality. With the arrival of Rosette, a new life is organized.
Sections & Films
HENRI
| Original Title | Henri |
| Italian Title | Henri |
| Category | Official Competition |
| Section | On the Thereshold of the Youth "Domenico Meccoli Award" |
| Tipology | Feature Film |
| Duration | 91' |
| Production Year | 1986 |
| Nationality | Canada |
| Directed by | François Labonté |
FRANÇOIS LABONTÉ
François Labonté is a Canadian director, editor, producer and screenwriter born in 1949 in Robertsonville (Canada).
François Labonté began his career as assistant editor at the National Film Board. He assisted Werner Nold in editing the feature film, The Time of a Hunt by Francis Mankiewicz. Then, after working as an assistant director on several films, including Jean-Guy Noël's feature film Ti-cul Tougas, in 1975, he produced and directed a short film for children, Babiole.
In 1976, he returned to editing and assisted Werner Nold in editing the documentary The Games of the XXI Olympiad produced by the NFB and directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque, as well as Jean Beaudin, Marcel Carrière and Georges Dufaux.
In 1979, after making a documentary produced by the NFB, Samedi Soir, he created his own production company with which he produced and directed a first feature film, Le Château de cartes.
In 1983, he helped found a new company, Films Vision 4 inc. and, in collaboration with Claude Bonin, produced Jean-Claude Labrecque's Les Années de rêves, a feature film selected by the Cannes Film Festival.