A film about childhood and parenthood, At Their Height—winner of the prestigious Jean-Marc-Vallée Award and closing film of FCVQ 2024—is a true ode to childhood, to its beauty and its magic. Now parents, filmmakers Olivier Higgins and Mélanie Carrier take us into the world of their children, where everything remains to be discovered.
Little Béatrice—who does not want to grow up—throws open the door to her imagination, while her older brother Émile, just learning to read and write, wonders whether atoms are alive. Filmed over nearly four years, at school and at home, and blending child-level cinéma vérité, observational filmmaking, and poetic narration, this cinematic journey invites us to pause and reflect. What do we lose as we grow older? What stories do we hope to pass on above all else? Through these questions, the film offers a deep reflection on intergenerational transmission, education, early learning, and the identity we build—and pass on—from one generation to the next.
Written, directed et produced by: Olivier Higgins et Mélanie Carrier
In collaboration with Émile Higgins et Béatrice Higgins
Direction of photography: Olivier Higgins
Editing: Olivier Higgins et René Caron
Coloring: Éric Denis
Infography: Simon Beaudry
Sound designer: Pierre-Jules Audet
Sound mixer: Luc Boudrias
Music: Philippe Brault
We thank our children for taking part in this cinematic and documentary journey, shaped over several years. Although cinema is part of our family life, it can be difficult for a child to fully grasp its scope. This film is, above all, a collaboration lived together, at the heart of our family.
The film’s typography was created by Béatrice, and the title was suggested by Émile; the next chapter of their collaboration is yet to be discovered in the film itself. For us, At Their Height is an essential documentary — an act of transmission, a legacy, and a trace of our reflections as parents on childhood and parenting.
In short, thank you to our children, who experience the world with wide-open eyes and constantly bring us back to what truly matters. Through this film, we chose gentleness and light, deliberately moving against the pull of speed and sensationalism.
A very special thank you as well for their openness, trust, and attentive listening to Marie-Cécile Maltais, Caroline Giguère, the students, the teachers, and the entire childcare team at Chabot School.
This gallery brings together images from the film At Their Height, captured close to the children’s point of view. They reflect everyday moments, play, silence, and questioning, revealing a singular way of inhabiting the world—at a child’s height.
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