Character Relationship Map: This Place

Characters

• Kawenniióhstha (played by Devery Jacobs) — protagonist

  Kawenniióhstha is one of the film’s two central young queer women. She falls in love with Malai while searching for her estranged Iranian father, bringing questions of family separation and personal i...

• Malai (played by Priya Guns) — protagonist

  Malai is one of the film’s two central young queer women and Kawenniióhstha’s romantic partner. While their relationship develops, Malai confronts the serious illness of her father, creating an emotio...

• Dr. Campbell (played by Janïsa Weekes) — supporting

  Dr. Campbell is Malai’s academic mentor and encourages her to pursue graduate research in algebraic combinatorics. Their support gives Malai a possible path forward, although Malai remains concerned a...

• Ahrun (played by Alex Joseph) — supporting

  Ahrun is closely involved in Malai’s life: they are trying to have a baby together, and Malai worries about depending on Ahrun if she pursues graduate study. Ahrun speaks about the difficulty of visit...

• Wari (played by Brittany LeBorgne) — supporting

  Wari is close to Kawenniióhstha and talks with her about studying in the city and the possibility that she may move again before graduation. Wari makes clear how much she will miss her, while Kawennii...

• Behrooz (played by Ali Momen) — supporting

  Behrooz arrives in Montreal by plane but is stopped by a border agent because he cannot produce his papers, saying they are with his friends. He is connected to Wari, and her decision to return to Kah...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Wari → Behrooz (Romantic Partners) — Wari feels compelled to return to Kahnawà:ke, while Behrooz’s fear of losing her makes that choice painful for him.

  Wari’s decision to return to her community causes pain for Behrooz, who fears losing her.

• Malai → Dr. Campbell (Professional Academic Mentor) — Dr. Campbell encourages Malai’s academic ambitions while Malai weighs the cost and her dependence on Ahrun.

  Dr. Campbell encourages Malai to pursue graduate research in algebraic combinatorics and expresses belief in her abilities.

• Malai → Ahrun (Family Siblings) — They support one another through their father’s illness and their own emotional difficulties, though Malai’s romantic future remains uncertain.

  Malai and Ahrun discuss their father’s illness and take comfort in having each other; Ahrun also responds supportively when Malai says she has fallen...

• Kawenniióhstha → Malai (Romantic Partners) — Their developing love connects their different struggles with identity, family, and belonging.

  The character profiles identify Malai as Kawenniióhstha's romantic partner and describe their relationship developing as they confront family separati...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Malai → Behrooz (Social Friends) — No direct relationship is established in the supplied plot reference.

  The plot reference says Malai tells Ahrun she is going back to Kahnawà:ke, while separately describing Behrooz’s distress over Wari’s return; it does...

• Kawenniióhstha → Wari (Social Close Friends) — Their conversation reveals affection and the strain of Kawenniióhstha leaving home.

  Kawenniióhstha and Wari discuss her studying in the city and possibly moving again; Wari makes clear how much she will miss her.

Story Analysis

Two young women and their families confront love, illness, identity, and the pull of home amid personal and community upheaval.

Plot Progression

1. Leaving and Imagining Futures — Behrooz encounters a border problem, while Kawenniióhstha and Wari discuss study, moving, and home. Malai is encouraged to pursue graduate research but weighs its costs and her responsibilities with A...
2. Writing Through Identity — Malai joins a poetry workshop and begins writing about family. Conversations about identity and colonialism accompany her growing difficulty keeping up with school.
3. Crisis Reaches Home — Malai learns that her father has cancer, intensifying her personal strain. Reports of an effigy burning and military movement around Kahnawà:ke raise the pressure on Wari and the others.
4. Return and Family Strain — Wari decides to return to her community despite Behrooz's fear of losing her. Overwhelmed by city life, Malai also tells Ahrun she is going back to Kahnawà:ke for a while.
5. Acceptance Without Certainty — Ahrun reflects on the difficulty of visiting their father, and the siblings find comfort in one another and consider therapy. Ahrun accepts Malai's feelings for a woman, while Malai remains uncertain...