YOUR HIGHER SELF
Life Coaching has become a rather broad term in our culture, akin to “Wellness.” Director Annie St-Pierre explores the various methods in her SXSW 2025 film YOUR HIGHER SELF. Everyone is looking for enlightenment, even if it means wading through the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.
There is an immediate irony to the film as audiences experience the training of life coaches. The overarching theme of these classes focuses on the idea that a coach is not a therapist but an advisor on present and future encouragement and self-realization. Yet, with humans, the transition seems inevitable. One has to weigh the side effects of toxic positivity when not confronting past trauma.
We witness practical workshopping, where a client rehearses for a meeting or event from start to finish. The coach serves as a theatre director, adjusting each word’s delivery and every physical movement, including micro-expressions. Bring in the horse therapy, personal soul cycle session, zoom calls, music, and group work. You name it, we get a taste.
As a product of child therapy, holding a degree in performance, as a choreographer and children’s theatre director, I know so many of these methods in my bones. I provide guidance and feedback like the dopamine hits I craved in my youth. It all falls under a broader umbrella of feel-good self-expression and the need to feel useful.
The camerawork is as engaging as the editing. The film unfolds in nuanced snapshots of industry variations. YOUR HIGHER SELF leans into the absurdity and honors that each person’s path to self-help is a personal choice while acknowledging it is ultimately business. Bravo to those who agreed to appear in the film. Kudos to Annie St-Pierre for giving everyone the confidence and trust to participate.
YOUR HIGHER SELF is a visual and emotional dream board for anyone seeking inspiration. Whatever your motives for watching, you will undoubtedly find yourself fully immersed in these methods while simultaneously poopooing them. SXSW audiences are in for quite the ride and the beginning of long conversations. Equal parts cringe and intriguing, YOUR HIGHER SELF is undeniably entertaining.
Your Higher Self SXSW Remaining Screenings:
Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 1
Mar 10, 2025
5:45pm — 7:05pm
Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 3
Mar 10, 2025
5:45pm — 7:05pm
Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 5
Mar 13, 2025
2:30pm — 3:50pm
Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 6
Mar 13, 2025
2:30pm — 3:50pm
Credits:
Director:
Annie St-Pierre
Executive Producer:
Sylvain Corbeil
Producer:
Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre
Screenwriter:
Annie St-Pierre
Cinematographer:
Etienne Roussy
Editor:
Myriam Magassouba
Sound Designer:
Marie-Pierre Grenier, Bernard Gariepy Strobl, Jean-François Caissy
Music:
Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux
FREUD’S LAST SESSION
Liv Lisa Fries delivers a stunning performance as Anna Freud, Sigmund’s intellectually accomplished daughter. The complexities of the role will undoubtedly touch a nerve with many viewers. Fries navigates the character splendidly. Matthew Goode plays C.S. Lewis. Coming to Freud for an impromptu therapy session, the audience learns about his childhood and the inspiration for his creative spark of genius. Goode effortlessly matches Hopkins’s energy. He once again establishes himself as a go-to casting choice. His raw vulnerability is captivating. Sir Anthony Hopkins remains at the top of his game. As Freud, he brings curiosity, wit, and curmudgeonly stubbornness all at once. It is yet another notch in Hopkins’s impressive career belt. This ongoing tennis match of masterful acting is perfection for historical drama lovers.
The cinematography and production design are luscious. The editing is lovely. Freud moves about his home, passing through doorways only to be transported through time and memories. Meaningful flashbacks fill the screen as each man shares their intimate history beginning in childhood and explores how it informed their development. The script, alongside the editing, has a dazzling theatricality. This makes more sense once you learn the screenplay was based on Mark St. Germain‘s play, adapted for the screen by Germain and director Matthew Brown. A West End production of FREUD’S LAST SESSION would be delicious. The references to literary figures and quotations are smirk-inducing for the well-read audience, while the overarching existential volley proves delightful.
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