Accessibility: Subtitled / Captioned Screening
In a world saturated with noise and pressure, wildlife photographer Jean-Simon Bégin chooses emptiness, cold, and stillness. Trans-Taïga is an intimate and sensory journey, a film that lies between poetic essay and expedition journal, where solitude, obsession, and raw beauty converge in the vast wilderness of northern Quebec.
For years, Jean-Simon has returned to the Eeyou Istchee region, hoping to catch the elusive gaze of the grey wolves. Each winter, he sets out again with the same hope, even if the true encounter always slips through his fingers. The film tells the story of this patient obsession, this quest marked by cold, silence, and distance.
But Trans-Taïga goes beyond the pursuit of wildlife. It is a reflection on a shifting landscape, on a North that is slowly moving south, and on the fragility of natural balance. It is also an inner journey, where painting becomes a refuge. In his studio, Jean-Simon reconstructs what the wild denies him: a visible wolf, a controlled world, a perfect light.
Through minimalist visuals, introspective narration, and breathtaking landscapes, the film captures the tension between the desire for connection and the need for distance. Jean-Simon has seen wolves, finally, but not as he had dreamed. Perhaps the essence lies there – in the waiting, the unreachable, the eternal return.
Trans-Taïga is a tribute to untamed nature and to the things we pursue without ever fully capturing.
I was born in the Eastern Townships in Quebec, Canada. When I was only a few weeks old, my father took me fishing on a boat. By the age of 3, I was fishing like a big boy. A little later, at the age of 12, I started hunting. That’s where it all began. We started filming our hunts with my friends. I really wanted to film every adventure we had. Now my goal is to show others how I see things outside. I always try to find a different way to film or photograph things and show stories in the wilderness that not many people have heard of. Small, efficient teams or even solo adventures are my specialty, and I am never afraid to be alone in the wilderness for a while, because that’s where I can unleash my creativity.
Jean-Simon Bégin is a professional painter and wildlife photographer from Quebec City. Active in both disciplines for over 18 years, he has participated in some sixty solo and group exhibitions and received over fifty awards in Canada and internationally. He is considered one of Canada’s most influential photographers. In 2022, he was named Canadian Wildlife Photographer of the Year by Canadian Geographic.
A permanent artist at two prestigious Quebec galleries for several years, he launched his own business in 2019. That same year, he founded a publishing house to publish his first photographic art book, Contemplation, about Quebec’s wildlife in a winter context. The book sold over 2,000 copies. Solstice followed in 2021 with over 2,500 copies and Contemplation II in 2023.
Jean-Simon reaches tens of millions of subscribers annually through his various platforms. He acts as a content creator and shares all of his adventures with as many people as possible for free.
With his work, he attempts to raise awareness and educate the population about the fragility of biodiversity and the importance of safeguarding it.
Sharing our festival will help us grow and get important film content to new viewers!
