Marie-Josée Corneau

As the only First Nations student in an all-white 1940s school, eight-year old Wato is keenly aware of the hostility towards her. She deeply misses the loving environment of the reserve she once called home, and her isolation is sharpened by her father’s serious illness. When Wato’s teacher reads from a history book describing First Nations peoples as ignorant and cruel, it aggravates her classmates’ prejudice. Shy and vulnerable Wato becomes the target of their bullying and abuse. Alone in her suffering, she finds solace and strength in the protective world of her magical dreams.

The Cheval-Serpent is a male strip club with a sulphurous reputation whose success cannot be denied thanks to the work and vigilance of its owner and manager. But a change at Montreal's City Hall has repercussions on the bar and puts the institution in danger...