Ten years ago, Dr Craig Moyes discovered a cache of letters in the archives of the Université du Québec à Montréal. It turned out to be a secret correspondence on human sexuality between Canada’s most important botanist (and founder of the Montreal Botanical Gardens), Brother Marie-Victorin, and his research assistant, Marcelle Gauvreau, which had been sealed since Marie-Victorin’s death in 1944.

Dr Moyes joined forces with Yves Gingras, historian of science and world expert on Marie-Victorin, and published his letters in 2018 and hers in 2019.

The astonishing story of two devout and celibate Catholics in pre-war Quebec exploring the terra incognita of their own sexuality piqued the interest of film producer Roger Frappier (The Decline of the American Empire, The Barbarian Invasions) and director Lyne Charlebois (Borderline), and last year, they brought it to the screen.

The film opened in Quebec to great acclaim last summer and we are lucky to have been able to partner with the Garden Cinema, just around the corner from King’s, for its UK premiere.

The correspondence itself was reissued last year in a single volume to coincide with the release of the film.