Ridgewood Poppies

February 2021, in the midst of a global pandemic. Shaghayegh, an Iranian woman living in Montreal for five years, suddenly finds itself ordered to evacuate the apartment that she shares with her friend Ben and to go stay at the hotel, the time that is resolved alleged security issues in his building. The building, located Ridgewood Avenue, has been sold to a company that wants to renovate and rent more expensively, and uses aggressive methods to push its tenants to leave. Most refuse and decide to stand firm. For Shagha, who does not not mastering French, the legal proceedings that follow, complicated by social distancing measures, are trying. She who had gradually rebuilt his life after fleeing a country that was liberating again in a situation of great instability, which arouses anxieties and painful memories. Some elements of comfort: drawing, Ben and her strong friendship, the warm atmosphere of the Iranian grocery store where she works, the support of social workers and some neighbors – including a neighbor who tells him that in French, Shaghayegh translates to “poppy”. Through a story that navigates between past and present, Shaghayegh Moazzami tells the trials and small victories that made her the woman she is Today.