At Work

Powerful and moving, this is the story of a man who leaves a comfortable life to devote himself to writing and ends up in the trenches of the gig economy. All for an unrelenting passion: the need to create.

Paul was a successful photographer who switched careers to become a writer and earned critical acclaim for his debut novel. Now divorced, with his ex-wife and children preparing to move from Paris to Montreal, his publisher is unhappy with his latest manuscript. Determined to keep writing, Paul gives up his apartment, moves into a borrowed basement studio, and signs up on an app offering grueling day jobs to those willing to work for the lowest pay. Yet there is light amid the darkness. A well-acted, thought-provoking exploration of the balance between artistic freedom and economic reality.

• Pia Lundberg