Educational Catalogue: French-Language Films
La petite et le vieux (Blue Sky Jo)
Director
Patrice Sauvé
Writers
Sébastien Girard, Marie-Renée Lavoie
Cast
Juliette Bharucha, Gabrielle B. Thuot, Gildor Roy
Producers
Sonia Despars, Marc Biron
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation
Original Language
French
Brilliantly adapted from Kim Thúy’s Governor General Award-winning novel of the same name, this compassionate story of resilience in the face of adversity is uplifting and deeply moving.
“An exceptional and beautiful film.” – Isobel Grieve, Montréal Guardian
Director
Charles-Olivier Michaud
Charles-Olivier Michaud is a director, writer, and producer from Saint-Romuald, Quebec. His directing credits include 4 Minute Mile, On the Beat, and Snow & Ashes, which have won awards from the Slamdance Film Festival and the Washington DC Independent Film Festival. Ru had its world premiere at TIFF 2023 and was nominated for nine Canadian Screen Awards.
Writers
Kim Thúy, Charles-Olivier Michaud, Jacques Davidts
Cast
Chloé Djandji, Jean Bui, Chantal Thuy
Producers
André Dupuy, Marie-Alexandra Forget
Genres
Drama, Family
Interests
BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Global Experiences, Literary Adaptation, Newcomer Stories
Original Languages
French, Other Language
Les Pee-Wee (The Pee-Wee: The Winter that Changed My Life)
In this uplifting story, 12-year-old Janeau (Pilon) and his father have moved to a new town after the tragic death of his mother. As they struggle to adjust, Janeau is befriended by Julie (Morel-Michaud), a goalie for the local pee-wee hockey team, The Lynx, who are preparing for a province-wide championship.
Julie immediately sniffs out Janeau’s hockey talent, and eventually convinces her coach to let Janeau join the team, much to the dismay of the team’s current star, Joey (Goulet), and his overbearing father.
This stirring hockey comedy will have audiences cheering for The Lynx as they race to settle their differences — both on and off the ice — before the championship.
Director
Éric Tessier
Tessier’s first film was the award-winning short Viens dehors! His feature films include Sur le seuil, Vendus, 5150 rue des Ormes, Junior Majeur, and Les Pee-Wee: L’hiver qui a changé ma vie, which won the Best Feature Film award at TIFF Kids. He recently directed the films Tu te souviendras de moi and When Love Blooms, and episodes of Hôtel and Transplant. He is currently directing The Amityville Curse.
Writers
Martin Bouchard, Emmanuel Joly, Jean-Sébastien Poirier
Cast
Alice Morel-Michaud, Rémi Goulet, Antoine Olivier Pilon
Producer
Christian Larouche
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Family
Interest
Sports
Original Language
French
Paul à Québec
Director
François Bouvier
Film and TV director Bouvier was nominated for the Best Director Genie in 1990 for his film Les matins infidèles. Since then, he has directed numerous television shows and films, including Histoires d'hiver and Maman Last Call, starring Patrick Huard. He recently directed the TV series Ruptures and the film La Bolduc. Currently he is completing work on the film La Cordonnière.
Writers
François Bouvier, Michel Rabagliati
Cast
François Létourneau, Julie LeBreton, Gilbert Sicotte, Louise Portal
Producers
Nathalie Brigitte Bustos, Valérie d'Auteuil, André Rouleau, Karine Vanasse
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Family Relationships, Literary Adaptation
Original Language
French
De père en flic (Father and Guns)
The pair infiltrates an outdoor camp for fathers and sons to snag Charles Bérubé (Girard), the biker gang's lawyer. As Jacques and Marc try to locate their missing colleague, they find the camp's bonding activities are having an emotional and hilarious impact on their own relationship.
De père en flic is the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history.
"A can't-miss buddy comedy about a pair of dysfunctional father-son cops who are forced to go undercover at a touchy-feely bonding retreat...a genuinely amusing hybrid." — Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
Director
Émile Gaudreault
Gaudreault co-wrote Louis 19, le roi des ondes, which Ron Howard adapted into EDtv. Gaudreault both co-wrote and directed De pere en flic (the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history), Le vrai du faux, Le sens de l'humour and Mambo Italiano, which earned six Canadian Comedy Award nominations. He also wrote and directed De père en flic 2, and most recently, the comedy Menteur. He also co-wrote the upcoming Lignes de fuite, and is producing the English-language remake of De père en flic, Fathers and Guns.
Writers
Émile Gaudreault, Ian Lauzon
Cast
Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Rémy Girard, Patrick Drolet, Caroline Dhavernas
Producers
Denise Robert, Daniel Louise
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Interest
Family Relationships
Original Language
French
Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés (Saint Martyrs of the Damned)
The town’s inhabitants are a strange group — a mayor who rules with an iron fist, the creepy twins running the motel, the woman who serenades cows, a masked mechanic, and many others. But Flavien can’t get anyone to help him, as they’re all suspicious and even downright aggressive toward him. With an arresting visual style and quirky sense of humour, the film pushes the boundaries of the conventional thriller, tackling questions about identity, responsibility and mortality in a refreshing way.
Director
Robin Aubert
Aubert is a filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. He has starred in many critical and box office hits, such as De père en flic (Father and Guns), Guibord s’en va-t-en guerre (My Internship in Canada), and Mon cirque à moi (My Very Own Circus). He has directed numerous films, including Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés (Saint Martyrs of the Damned), À l'origine d'un cri (Crying Out), and Les Affamés (Ravenous), which won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF and ten Prix Iris.
Writer
Robin Aubert
Cast
François Chénier, Isabelle Blais, Sylvie Boucher
Producers
Luc Vandal, Roger Frappier
Genres
Drama, Horror
Interest
Family Relationships
Original Language
French
Fabuleuses
Laurie (O’Farrell) desperately wants to become a social media influencer, much to the chagrin of her roommate Elizabeth (Zazham). When she befriends her idol, Clara (Gosselin), a prolific content creator who seems to have a perfect life, Laurie starts to gain a following herself, and finally gets a taste of the life she wants. But as their friendship continues, and the façade that Clara constructed starts to fall away, Laurie comes to see the dark side of internet celebrity, and that she may already be in too deep.
An insightful look at contemporary young female relationships, Mélanie Charbonneau’s debut feature Fabuleuses was nominated for 5 Prix Iris, including best film and best actress.
Director
Mélanie Charbonneau
Quebec-based director Charbonneau started her career with directing commercials. Her first short film, Seule played several international festivals including Cannes. Her short film Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous collected over 30 prizes at festivals internationally. Fabuleuses was her first feature. Most recently she directed episodes of Je ne suis pas un robot.
Writers
Mélanie Charbonneau, Geneviève Pettersen
Cast
Noémie O'Farrell, Alexandre Nachi, Juliette Gosselin, Genevieve Boivin Roussy, Mounia Zahzam
Producer
Nicole Robert
Genres
Comedy, Drama
Interests
Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker
Original Language
French
Le sens de l’humour (A Sense of Humour)
With little to trade for their freedom other than their comedy skills, the duo offer to teach Roger the art of comedy and make him a local star. Thinking it might help him win the girl of his dreams, Roger accepts, and the hilarity and hijinks begin.
Director
Émile Gaudreault
Gaudreault co-wrote Louis 19, le roi des ondes, which Ron Howard adapted into EDtv. Gaudreault both co-wrote and directed De pere en flic (the highest-grossing French-language film in Canadian history), Le vrai du faux, Le sens de l'humour and Mambo Italiano, which earned six Canadian Comedy Award nominations. He also wrote and directed De père en flic 2, and most recently, the comedy Menteur. He also co-wrote the upcoming Lignes de fuite, and is producing the English-language remake of De père en flic, Fathers and Guns.
Writers
Émile Gaudreault, Benoît Pelletier
Cast
Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde, Benoît Brière, Anne Dorval
Producers
Daniel Louis, Denise Robert
Genre
Comedy
Interest
Bullying
Original Language
French
Babine
In the small village of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, whenever something bad happens, the villagers blame Babine, the son of the village witch. Babine was born an outsider, and has spent his life being teased. When the local church burns down, the new priest becomes determined to find the culprit, and puts the blame on Babine, deciding he must be punished once and for all.
Babine is an offbeat comedy and a charming fairy tale filled with eccentric characters and has a strong message of acceptance that will resonate with audiences of all ages.
Director
Luc Picard
Luc Picard is a celebrated actor with over 50 film and television credits and two Jutra Awards to his name. He has directed Audition, Babine, Ésimésac, and a segment in the anthology film 9. Les rois mongols earned six Canadian Screen Award nominations. His latest film is Confessions and he recently starred in Arsenault & Fils and French Girl.
Writer
Fred Pellerin
Cast
Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Luc Picard, Alexis Martin, Isabel Richer, René Richard Cyr
Producer
Lorraine Richard
Genres
Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Interest
Bullying
Original Language
French
La mystérieuse mademoiselle C. (The Mysterious Miss C.)
Based on the popular children’s book series, The Mysterious Miss C. is a fun and heartwarming story that encourages kids to be positive, to use their imagination and to discover the joy of reading.
Director
Richard Ciupka
Ciupka is a cinematographer and filmmaker who has directed episodes of Emily of New Moon and The Hunger, and films such as Curtains, Atlantic City, La mystérieuse mademoiselle C. (The Mysterious Miss C.), and Nouvelle adresse (New Address), and Duo. He also directed 14 Heritage Minutes for Historica Canada. As a cinematographer, his work on the series Nouvelle adresse earned him a Gémeaux Award for Best Cinematography.
Writer
Dominique Demers
Cast
Marie-Chantal Perron, Gildor Roy, Eve Lemieux, Benoît Brière
Producers
Jacques Bonin, Claude Veillet
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Interest
Literary Adaptation
Original Language
French