Genèse (Genesis), the second feature film from Canadian documentary filmmaker Philippe Lesage is a coming-of-age drama about three teenagers going through all the ups and downs of first love experiences. The film starring Noée Abita, Théodore Pellerin, Édouard Tremblay-Grenier, Pier-Luc Funk, Émilie Bierre, Maxime Dumontier and Paul Ahmarani, will make its US theatrical premiere on August 23 at at Film at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Three teenagers are shaken up by their first loves in the turmoil of their youth in Genèse (Genesis), which chronicles the life of young Felix (Édouard Tremblay-Grenier), and two Quebecois teen siblings, Guillaume (Théodore Pellerin) and Charlotte (Noée Abita). While the charismatic, Salinger-reading Guillaume wrestles with his sexual identity at his all-boys boarding school, the more ostensibly grown-up Charlotte discovers the casual cruelty of the adult world that awaits her post-graduation. Director Philippe Lesage and his young actors depict the aches of becoming oneself with nuance, honesty, and compassion, and the result is one of the most beautiful coming-of-age stories in years.

In addition, Film at Lincoln Center will also premiere The Demons, Lesage’s first narrative feature from 2015, making its US theatrical debut. Based in part on Lesage’s own childhood, the film stars Tremblay-Grenier as Félix, a ten-year-old boy living with his family in a quiet suburb of Montreal who’s prone to excessive worry. As a series of child abductions begins to grip the town, however, his vague and needless fears begin to give way to something much more real.  The Demons played more than 40+ festivals and was selected as the Best Canadian Film by the Quebec Film Critic Association and Guy Lodge’s Top Ten Films in Variety.