The Fireflies are Gone
(La disparition des lucioles)

The Fireflies are Gone (La disparition des lucioles)

Winner of the Best Canadian Feature Film Award at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, The Fireflies Are Gone (La disparition des lucioles) is a luminous coming-of-age story about rebellion, restlessness, and the uncertain glow of youth. Directed by Sébastien Pilote, the film captures the quiet melancholy of a generation growing up in the shadow of lost dreams.

The story follows Léo (Karelle Tremblay), a sharp-witted and disenchanted teenager living in a small industrial town in Quebec. As she prepares to graduate high school, Léo grapples with family conflict, political disillusionment, and the aimlessness of adolescence. Her unlikely friendship with Steve (Pierre-Luc Brillant), a gentle, world-weary guitarist, becomes a fleeting but transformative connection that helps her confront the bittersweet transition into adulthood.

Pilote’s direction is patient and lyrical, painting everyday life with warmth and understated beauty. With tender cinematography and an evocative soundtrack, The Fireflies Are Gone radiates both melancholy and hope—capturing the moment when youthful defiance gives way to self-understanding.

More than a coming-of-age film, The Fireflies Are Gone is a meditation on time, change, and the flickering moments that illuminate our path before they fade.

Screening With:

L’Homme et le Poisson

Canadian Shorts Showcase

Set against the backdrop of a vast, frozen tundra; a grizzled a fisherman gets his comeuppance from a vindictive, yet familiar fish.

4 mins
Canada, 2018
Dir. Lewis Leon
Language: English