Cohabiter

As a housing shortage worsens, several young people looking to share living quarters explore the prospect of forging genuine connections. In scenes filmed in 15 Montreal apartments, director Halima Elkhatabi paints a complex and engaging picture of a generation accustomed to playing all their identity cards to find their place in the world. Her stationary camera records interviews conducted by various tenants hoping for that rare discovery: the ideal roommate. From the start, the questions and the answers run the gamut, from showering time to awareness of white privilege, polyamory to neuro-inclusive communication, anxiety disorders to unshaven underarms. The topics of conversation reveal a legitimate concern: to gauge the other person’s open-mindedness, but also their limits. These candid and vulnerable discussions cover power relationships and systems of oppression, as each person seeks to define their individuality as well as their physical and mental boundary lines within a shared space.

Through a series of inquisitive encounters and captivating conversations, a mosaic of cultures and ideas emerges, with explorations of community, individualism and the right to housing in constant interplay. The debut feature-length documentary by a filmmaker with a compassionate and generous eye, Cohabiter shows us that finding a place to live is also about finding wellness and shared values.