Stephanian

Stephanian is a portrait of one of Toronto’s last family-owned corner pharmacies. After immigrating to Canada from Syria in the 1950s, Mathilde Stephanian worked seven days a week with her husband Barkev, a pharmacist, at their shop in Downtown Toronto.

Since her husband’s death in 2005, Mathilde has transformed the store into a time capsule filled with remnants of its history as a pharmacy alongside an eclectic array of secondhand items brought into the store from her home. Costume jewellery, Syrian textiles and antique tea sets share display cases with 30 year old bars of soap, slowly-rusting razors and century-old bottles of powders.

Narrated by two generations of Stephanian women, this film tells the story of a family trying to maintain a connection to a space, a neighbourhood and a way of life that they are not ready to see disappear. 

Screenings: 

2012 - DOXA Documentary Film Festival. Vancouver, BC

2012 - 12th Female Eye Film Festival. Toronto, ON

2011 - Los Angeles International New Wave Film Festival. Los Angeles, CA (Honourable Mention - Short Documentary)

Produced with the assistance of: