What People Are Saying
“The room was full: an audience of different generations and backgrounds. After the screening, no one wanted to leave the room. Audience members stood up to bear witness, to tell their own stories, to say thank you. One woman simply said, “That is my family.” She was from Quebec. She could have been from anywhere.
Shelley Tepperman succeeds where so many others fail: she films the wound that migration can create without pathos, with tenderness and dignity, allowing her characters all their complexity and humanity. A deeply necessary, healing documentary in a world that so desperately needs it.”
— Colette Loumède, Film Producer & Programmer, Les Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma
“A gorgeous piece of art. The quiet but steady build of the widening lens of the story, the moments to just absorb the depth of what we are seeing. I was beyond moved.”
— Alexis Diamond, Playwright
“A universal tale, one of sacrifice and dedication, in which many members of the audience—not necessarily Sicilians or Italians—recognised themselves.”
— Francesco Esposito, Programmer, Italian Contemporary Film Festival & the European Union Short Film Festival
“It made me think about everything our parents went through that often isn’t seen or talked about. I feel grateful that I got to experience it. It’ll stay in my heart long after it ended.”
— Enza Marchica, Second-Generation Italian-Canadian
“I am Moroccan-Canadian, and I felt as though the film were speaking about me—about my family, my journey, and, more broadly, about the experiences of immigrant families, whatever their background.
But the most beautiful part was sharing this experience with my nine-year-old daughter. During the film, she asked many questions. Each time I explained a situation, she would spontaneously reply, “That’s just like us!” She understood that while the film tells a story rooted in the Italian community, the emotions and experiences it portrays are universal. They also belong to Moroccans, Algerians, Haitians, Latin Americans, Asians, and all communities that have experienced immigration, separation, uprooting, and the rebuilding of a life elsewhere.
For me, Il Paese is more than a film. It is a mirror, a memory, an encounter, and a shared feeling. I would happily watch it again and again.”
— Bouchra Fan
pose with Angela Argento
“The direction and cinematography are magnificent, but above all, the film’s characters share their stories with remarkable intimacy.”
— André Boucher, Photographer
“We laughed, we cried, we saw parts of ourselves reflected back—our families, our histories, our quiet struggles, and our joys. The film reminds us that belonging is not always simple, that home can exist in multiple places, and sometimes in none at all—and yet, through connection, we find ways to rebuild it.”
— Dipti Gupta, Filmmaker & Instructor at Concordia University
“Moving, intelligent, funny, with stunning visuals, endearing ‘characters’, and superb music.
— Joanna Gruda, Novelist & Literary Translator
“Il Paese honestly portrays the breach in inter-generational relationships caused by the sacrifices immigrants make to build new lives. The film deals with matters of heart, spirit, land and belonging. Many of those at the premiere were young and responded with warmth and empathy to the film because it speaks to the urgency of these things now.”
— Marilyn Bowering, Author
Tra memoria e migrazione: Joppolo si racconta a Montréal: Il Cittadino Canadese, 15 aprile 2026.
Between memory and migration: Joppolo tells its story in Montreal in Il Cittadino Canadese, the largest Italian-language newspaper in Canada. April 15, 2026. Read in English or French.
