Tulipani

It is 1980, and young Montrealer Anna (Ksenia Solo) is embarking on what will prove to be a life-altering adventure. It was her mother's dying wish to have her ashes returned to her hometown in Italy. Anna finds the people of Puglia waiting with open arms and flapping gums. Her mother's old friend Immacolata (Lidia Vitale) is a particularly gifted storyteller with a penchant for exaggeration who might fudge the details but somehow gets us closer to the heart of things. She tells of how Anna's father Gauke (Gijs Naber) biked from the Netherlands to Italy, introduced Dutch irrigation practices to Puglia, forged a successful enterprise growing and selling tulips, and bravely faced off armed extortionists with blistering kung fu moves. Immacolata also makes other, more sombre claims, ones that will shake up Anna's entire sense of identity and prompt her to settle some old scores on her parents' behalf. (Toronto International Film Festival)