Synopsis

The story concerns Canadian twins who travel to their mother's native country in the Levant to uncover her hidden past amidst a bloody civil war.

While the country is unnamed, the events in the film are heavily influenced by the Lebanese Civil War and particularly the story of prisoner Souha Bechara. The film was shot mainly in Montreal, with a few days spent in Jordan.



Before he became one of Hollywood’s most celebrated directors—after back-to-back successes in Prisoners and Sicario—Canada’s Denis Villeneuve scored arguably his first international success with the taut, thrilling, and Academy Award®-nominated Incendies. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s play.

Cast: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Allen Altman, Mohamed Majd, Nabil Sawalha, Baya Belal, Bader Alami, Karim Babin, Anthony Ecclissi, Joyce Raie, Yousef Shweihat, Celine Soulier, Maher Karakashian


It premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals in September 2010 and was released in Quebec on 17 September 2010. It met with critical acclaim in Canada and abroad and won numerous awards.

In 2011, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Incendies also won eight Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture.