The nostalgic yet sharp-eyed story of the bond that develops between two very different neighbours, BLUE SKY JO is a richly nuanced adaptation of an award-winning novel by Marie-Renée Lavoie. Juliette Bharucha gives a terrific performance as Hélène, a 10-year-old girl growing up in a working-class corner of Quebec City in the early 1980s. Though the youngster’s vivid imagination provides her with an escape, Hélène’s perceptive nature means she’s well aware of the growing tensions within her family. That’s why her connection to Monsieur Roger (Gildor Roy), an elderly grouch who lives nearby, becomes more valuable than either of them could predict. The winner for best French-language feature at Cinéfest and one of Quebec’s most warmly received films of the year, director Patrice Sauvé’s drama movingly conveys the warmth and solace that we can sometimes find in the people near us, provided we’re ready to look for them.

L’histoire nostalgique et sans concession d’un lien improbable entre deux voisins très différents, LA PETITE ET LE VIEUX est une adaptation richement nuancée du roman primé de Marie-Renée Lavoie. Juliette Bharucha livre une performance exceptionnelle dans le rôle d’Hélène, une fillette de 10 ans grandissant dans un quartier ouvrier de Québec au début des années 1980. Si son imagination vive lui permet de s’évader, sa nature perceptive lui fait aussi comprendre les tensions croissantes au sein de sa famille. Sa relation avec Monsieur Roger (Gildor Roy), un vieil homme bougon du voisinage, devient alors une ressource précieuse et inattendue. Lauréat du meilleur long métrage francophone à Cinéfest, le drame de Patrice Sauvé transmet avec émotion la chaleur et le réconfort que l’on peut parfois trouver auprès des gens qui nous entourent, à condition d’être prêt à les chercher.

Thanks to our friends and supporters at Le Centre Culturel Frontenac for providing translation services!

Director: Patrice Sauvé

Cast: Juliette Bharucha, Gildor Roy, Gabrielle B. Thuot, Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Marilyn Castonguay

Language: French (with English subtitles)

Runtime: 105 minutes

Content advisory: 

PATRICE SAUVE, DIRECTOR

Director Patrice Sauvé is known as an audacious visual master. Although he made his mark working on television, that is just one facet of his talent. His extraordinary career path has led him into television, the museum world, advertising, film and theatre. Following cinematic studies at Concordia University, he broadened his horizons by working on cultural shows, public affairs magazines and documentaries. However, it was in 2001 that he found his true voice with the cult series La vie, la vie, which was twice awarded Prix Gémeaux (2001, 2002) for best directing in a drama series. He then directed the sci-fi series Grande Ourse (Prix Gémeaux 2004), L’héritière de la Grande Ourse (Prix Gémeaux 2005), the dramatic comedy Ciao Bella (Gemini Awards 2005), the miniseries Vertige (Prix Gémeaux 2011), a thriller broadcast in 2012 on the Serie+ Network, Karl & Max in 2015 and the police thriller Victor Lessard in 2017 and Victor Lessard: Violence à l’Origine (S2) that hit over a million viewings, as well as being the most-watched original series ever on Vidéotron’s VOD platform Club Illico. His drama series based on Ingrid Falaise’s autobiographical novel Le Monstre was acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. Patrice’s crime drama series La Faille in the fall of 2019. Both series were selected in the Official International Competition at Larochelle TV Fiction Festival. Patrice’s latest TV series Larry was broadcast on Ici Tou.tv Extra in 2022.Patrice Sauvé has directed several notable feature films: Cheech (2006), Grande Ourse, la clé des possibles (2009) and Ça sent la coupe (2017), and his latest work, La Petite et Le Vieux (Blue Sky Jo) (2024). The latter was selected for the prestigious Locarno Film Festival and has since grossed over $1.5 million at the box office.