"Pouding Chômeur" by Frank Tremblay

As is well-known, at parties we tend to gravitate toward the kitchen—around the food and drink (it's true, Google it).

Unshocking news, perhaps. Caveman-level evolution. The timeless allure of our glorious fountainhead for drama, a watering hole for all. Dinner and a show.

Frank Tremblay would agree.

"I love narratives that revolve around the culinary world. The Bear naturally comes to mind, but other films such as The 100-Foot Journey, Boiling Point, and Chef are films I’m quite fond of and revisit yearly."

For the unlucky few living West of, say, the Great Lakes, or East of the Atlantic seaboard, you won't see what's called a "sugar shack" for thousands of miles, but it's a big part of the heritage in Quebec, Tremblay's home.

"I have so many cherished memories of going there, from early childhood into adulthood. It’s a true institution. Setting the story there was very intentional."

And, as he adds, "specificity can lead to universality."

"There wasn’t any narrative film or TV project in Quebec centered around a sugar shack. I was thinking about family recipes, and I realized that if my mom were to pass unexpectedly, I didn’t even know her signature recipe. So I set out to make a film that explored that idea (and in the process, I also asked her what it was so I could carry on the family tradition)."

A sugar shack in Montreal, a Koji BBQ truck in L.A., a Waffle House in Nashville ... all circle back to the same communal experience, a spot to reminiscence amidst the great, universal equalizer: the dinner table.

Shot on location at a sugar shack in Quebec, Pouding Chômeur features the all-Canadian cast of Jade Charbonneau, Étienne Cardin, Christian Cardin, David-Alexandre Coiteux, and Félixe Ross. Frank Tremblay writes and directs. A sweet addition to the filmmaker's growing short film library.

Odds & Ends

• On the first day of shooting, the young actor playing Simon (Étienne Cardin) binged on dessert leftovers between takes. (Tbf, who among us ... ?). He did the same on Frank's first short film, Monsters, where he’d ask if they were done with food used onscreen. "If you’re looking for ways to reduce waste on set, that’s one way to do it!"

About Frank Tremblay

Frank Tremblay is a bilingual writer-director from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a staff writer on Indefensible, a courtroom drama that was the most-watched network show in Canada in 2025. He has directed several short films, including Serenity (2025), which won the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at Cinéfest Sudbury, and Pudding Chômeur: A Sugar Shack Story (2024). His debut short, Monsters (2021), premiered at the 32nd San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, won the Jury Prize at the Cluj Shorts Festival in Romania, and screened at numerous festivals worldwide. He also created the concept for and co-wrote the proof-of-concept short Legend Has It (2025), which won the Midnight Audience Award at the Sapporo International Film Festival and Market.