Louis is a terminally ill writer who has come home after 12 years away to tell his family he is dying. What he doesn’t realize is that they don’t want to hear it, or maybe they already know. His mother has tried to keep her family together despite their struggles in the wake of Louis’ departure, and his siblings and introverted sister-in-law have problems of their own. Instead of listening to Louis, he is talked at, yelled at and fawned over. His arrival causes more chaos than good, brings buried and painful memories to the surface but ultimately shows the profound love they have for each other.Jean-Luc Lagarce was 38 when he died of AIDS, four years older than Louis, the protagonist of his play It’s Only the End of the World. Adapted here for the screen by Canadian director Xavier Dolan, Lagarce’s play allows the young helmer to assemble a dream cast of great French actors: Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux and Gaspard Ulliel. Dolan described the project as “my first film as a man,” a maturity that was absent in his previous features. At age 27, Dolan has released six movies in a span of eight years. His first film I Killed My Mother attracted international acclaim and won three awards at the Director’s Fortnight program at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. He then went on to release Heartbeats, which premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2010 Cannes Festival, Laurence Anyways, which also premiered at Un Certain Regard in 2012, and Tom at the Farm, which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. His last film Mommy won the Jury Prize in Cannes in 2014. It’s Only the End of the World won the Grand Prix and the Ecumenical Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.