Comic book artist and screenwriter Samuel Cantin studied film and literature before creating the graphic novels Phobie des moments seuls (2011) and Vil et misérable (2013). The first volume of his dark romantic comedy, Whitehorse, came out in 2015 and won the Bédélys award for best comic published in Quebec. Volume 2 was released in 2017 and published as a collected edition in 2021. Cantin also wrote the screenplay for the web series Sylvain le Magnifique and the short film Monsieur Cachemire before directing The Turtle Syndrome, his first collaboration with the NFB.