Pierre Sidaoui left Lebanon during that country's civil war. He eventually moved permanently to Montréal. Director of the film and author of its narrative text, he recalls how Canadian policies and procedures made it difficult to reunite his family in Canada.

Evaluate the extent to which Canada’s reputation as a welcoming land is deserved. Base your judgment on past practices and the immigration policy that restricted some members of the Lebanese family from staying in Canada, as well as the domestic and international circumstances that led the Canadian government to accept successive waves of immigrants from 1970 onwards.

Growing up in the small Lebanese town of Abey, Pierre Sidaoui had a carefree childhood. But civil war forced him and his family to flee their hometown in 1982, the first in a series of moves that would ultimately separate him from his parents, brother and sisters.

He arrived in Montreal at the age of 30 and has made the city his home. A decade later, Sidaoui pauses to reflect. His precious family photos, carefully kept in a shoebox, bring forth a flood of memories--of family, landscapes, music and war.

Sidaoui's father, who found refuge in Mexico, remains a constant inspiration. Through his father's journals, poems and letters, Pierre rediscovers the joyful and profound nature of the man who raised him.

A Scent of Mint is a touching meditation on the pursuit of happiness and the immigrant experience. Shot in Montreal, the film's images draw an unlikely parallel between a Lebanese village and a Canadian metropolis. The relationship between the two places reminds us that no matter what happens, our true home lives within ourselves.