Stratford Film Festival presents Peak Everything

Filmmaker Anne Émond, pictured, will appear via Zoom in a post screening Q-and-A moderated by Stratford Film Festival director Megan Smith-Harris.

The Stratford Film Festival (SFF) welcomes spring with the April screening of the bilingual Quebecois film Peak Everything, the latest film by acclaimed filmmaker Anne Émond. The screening takes place April 11 at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Stratford City Hall auditorium.

The film stars Piper Perabo as an Anglophone help-line operator and Patrick Hivon as a francophone kennel operator who, grappling with eco-anxiety, falls in love over the phone with Perabo’s character.

Peak Everything premiered as the closing film of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), a prestigious position. Megan Smith-Harris, SFF festival director, was drawn to bring it to the local audience.

“Stratford audiences are incredibly curious and open – they really embrace films that are a little offbeat but emotionally grounded. Peak Everything is exactly that kind of film. It’s thought-provoking, but also deeply human, and I feel it will spark great conversation,” said Smith-Harris.

Set in a not-so-distant future shaped by ecological collapse, Peak Everything follows an unlikely connection between an Anglophone help line operator and a francophone dog sitter. What unfolds is a surprising and deeply human story; at once unsettling, funny and quietly moving. Émond brings her singular perspective to a world that feels both heightened and eerily familiar, balancing stark realities with moments of absurdity and grace.

“People are carrying a quiet sense of unease about the world these days and Peak Everything taps into that in a way that feels honest, scary, and unexpectedly funny. Human beings will continue to mess up the world but will also keep trying to fix it in our own imperfect way,” said Smith-Harris.

Following each screening, audiences will enjoy a special post-screening Zoom conversation with Émond, moderated by Smith-Harris. The pre-recorded conversation offers exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into the making of the film and Émond’s creative process. 

When asked about what she hoped the audience would take away from the film, Smith-Harris had this to say, “Peak Everything holds both a sense of looming crisis and a thread of hope, and I think that duality will resonate. If it prompts even a deeper reflection on our relationship with the environment, and the fact that this is no longer abstract, but immediate – then it’s done something meaningful. Plus, love is important for survival.”

Screenings are April 11th at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Stratford City Hall auditorium. Tickets are available online at www.stratfordfilmfestival.com/tickets-and-passes or at the door unless sold out in advance.