Tell Me Why These Things Are So Beautiful

Tell Me Why These Things Are So Beautiful (French: Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Lyne Charlebois and released in 2023.

The film stars Alexandre Goyette as Marie-Victorin Kirouac, the Roman Catholic clergyman who was instrumental in the creation of the Montreal Botanical Garden, and Mylène Mackay as Marcelle Gauvreau, a young botany student with whom he had a longtime emotionally intimate but platonic friendship.

The cast also includes Rachel Graton, Francis Ducharme, Sylvie Moreau, Marianne Farley and Vincent Graton.

Production

The film entered production in early 2023. It was shot principally in Montreal, although several days of location shooting were also undertaken in Cuba.

Mackay previously played Gauvreau in André Forcier's 2019 film Forgotten Flowers (Les fleurs oubliées), opposite Yves Jacques as Kirouac.

Distribution

The film premiered on November 2, 2023, as the closing film of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival. It later screened in the Borsos Competition program at the 2023 Whistler Film Festival.

Commercial release is slated for June 2024.

Awards