Netflix today announced the acquisition of the award-winning French-Canadian film Les Affamés, written and directed by Robin Aubert (Saint Martyrs of the Damned, Crying Out), one of the most unique voices in Québécois cinema.

The critically acclaimed film stars Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Micheline Lanctôt, Brigitte Poupart, Charlotte St-Martin, Marie-Ginette Guay Luc Proulx and Édouard Tremblay-Grenier. The film is produced by Stéphanie Morissette and C.S. Roy of La maison de prod (Montreal).

In Les Affamés, Aubert returns to his horror roots to tell the story of a changed small and remote village in upstate Quebec. Locals are not the same anymore--their bodies are breaking down and they have turned against their loved ones. A handful of survivors goes hiding into the woods, looking for others like them.

“Les Affamés enraptured audiences in Canada and we’re delighted to bring this unique Québécois voice to other countries around the world,” said Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group. “From the U.S. to Japan to France, millions of Netflix members will be able to stream Robin Aubert’s extraordinary thrill ride. This is another exciting example of the investment the company is making in Canadian culture and bringing its stories and artists to the world.”

“I am so excited that viewers around the world will get the chance to watch Les Affamés. I'm also proud for the Netflix audience to experience its thrills and chills in its original Québécois version, my mother tongue, which is so rich and colorful, full of history and mystery, something that fully characterizes my universe as a filmmaker,” said writer/director Robin Aubert. “Even if I truly believe in mankind, I’m terrified when rage and hate get the best of us. Les Affamés echoes the current state in western societies. Making a zombie movie was my own personal way of expressing both my fears and hopes about what's lying ahead of us.”

Les Affamés premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2017 where it won Best Canadian Feature, and later played Fantastic Fest, Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma where it won the Temps Ø Audience Award, The Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, and Torino Film Festival. Les Affamés is a Les Films Christal presentation of a La Maison de Prod production. Sara May of Paris-based Alma Cinema handled international sales.

The film was released theatrically in Canada in October 2017 and is now nominated for five Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture. In December, TIFF named the film to its list of 2017’s ten best Canadian films.

Les Affamés will be available March 2, 2018, on Netflix in markets around the world, with the exceptions of Canada, Latin America and Eastern Europe. It will be available to Canadian Netflix members starting next year.

About Robin Aubert

Robin Aubert is a writer, filmmaker and actor. From 1997 to 1998, he has been part of the weekly filmmaking competition La Course Destination-Monde (Radio-Canada/CBC) where he won the Audience Award and the SODEC Prize as he finished in second place.

His short Lila has competed at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival and won the Quebec Critics Association Award for best Narrative Short in 2002.

His feature debut, the arthouse horror St. Martyrs of the Damned, played TIFF in 2005, then garnered the Best Director Award at Fantasporto Fest (Portugal) and the Audience Award at the CinEnygma Festival in Luxemburg. The film has been sold to Germany, Austria, Spain, Japan, Brazil and the Netherlands. In 2009, he directed Train to Nowhere (À Quelle Heure Le Train Pour Nulle Part), an improvised, experimental independent feature shot in India with a film crew of three – including the lead actor. The film premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival and won the Gilles-Carle Award for Best first or second feature at the Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois.

The next year, social drama Crying Out (À L’origine D’un Cri) won raving reviews at TIFF and has been screened in Busan, Valladolid, Mannheim-Heidelberg, Seattle, Boston, Mons, Paris, Nîmes, Portland and Barcelona.

In 2012, the short film On Cement won the Jury Prize at Off-Courts Trouville and The Grand Prix National at Regard. Aubert went back to his independent roots with Tuktuq, a feature shot in Nunavit with limited crew and gear, which won the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi- Témiscamingue Oecumenical Award in 2016. Les Affamés is his 5th feature film.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with over 117 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 140 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.