Finalist
The Inheritors
Pärijad
2026
Entry 26-676 | Canada | 2025 | 79’ | Language: French | Subtitles: English
Estonian
Original title: Les héritiers
The Inheritors offers an intimately arresting observation of the daily life of a colony of ring-billed gulls which nest alongside Canada’s largest landfill to feed their young. Alternating between the perspectives of prey and predator, we follow these unwanted creatures through a full breeding season as they become the targets of invasive data collection, then of harsh deterrence measures using the age-old art of falconry. With sound and cinematography that lets the birds speak for themselves, The Inheritors is a sensory experience which invites us to contemplate new ways of living and dying on a planet haunted by mass consumption and pollution. A foretelling of the ecologies of our future.
Director
Serge-Olivier Rondeau
| Cinematography
Serge-Olivier Rondeau
| Editing
Anouk Deschênes
| Producer
Serge-Olivier Rondeau
| Production Company
Les Films de l'Autre
| Distributor
Les Films du 3 Mars
| Original Title
Les héritiers
2026
Decentering the human gaze is something various films explore this year. This is encouraging – and it is hard. This year’s Grand Prix is awarded to a film that succeeds in conjuring deep empathy for a species that we usually think of as a pest – without voice over, music or any other classic devices. This is bold, courageous filmmaking – it is not always easy to watch, but we are rewarded with a fresh perspective on the world that invites us to reconsider our place in it. This is a super power of film-making.
| Director | Serge-Olivier Rondeau |
| Cinematography | Serge-Olivier Rondeau |
| Editing | Anouk Deschênes |
| Producer | Serge-Olivier Rondeau |
| Production Company | Les Films de l'Autre |
| Distributor | Les Films du 3 Mars |
| Original Title | Les héritiers |
| Entry Number | 26-676 |
| Country of Production |
Canada
|
| Year of Production | 2025 |
| Running Time | 79’ |
| Language: | French |
| Subtitles: | English Estonian |
