Barbaracadabra
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
An 80-something actress wants to make a film after a long delay. She works with a younger director and struggles with self-doubt and the shadow of her famous husband's career.
introspectivereflectivevulnerablecontemplativewrygentlemetafictionalslow-burn
What happens
Barbaracadabra is a Canadian docufiction film, directed by Barbara Ulrich and Renaud Lessard and released in 2025. Described by media as a "cinematic unidentified flying object", the film centres on Ulrich's desire to direct a film, 60 years after her star-making role in the 1963 film The Cat in the Bag (Le Chat dans le sac). It documents her friendship and collaboration with Lessard during the COVID-19 pandemic through her creative struggles with her fear of failure and her uncertainty about what kind of film she even wants to make, as she continually compares herself against the cinematic legacy of her late husband, film director Gilles Groulx. The film premiered in the national competition at the 2025 Festival du nouveau cinéma, before going into commercial release in March 2026. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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Nayantara- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.