''Blue Sky Jo'' (, lit. "The Little Girl and the Old Man") is a Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by

Patrice Sauvé Patrice Sauvé is a Canada, Canadian film and television director from Quebec, most noted as director of the fantasy thriller television series ''Grande Ourse'' and its film adaptation ''The Master Key (2009 film), The Master Key (Grande Ourse, la c ...

and released in 2024. Adapted from

Marie-Renée Lavoie Marie-Renée Lavoie (born February 21, 1974, in Quebec City) is a Canadian writer from Quebec. She is most noted for her 2010 novel ''La petite et le vieux'', which won the 2012 edition of ''Le Combat des livres''. ''Mister Roger and Me'', an Engl ...

's 2010 novel ''La petite et le vieux'', the film stars Juliette Bharucha as Hélène, a young girl in the blue-collar Limoilou neighbourhood of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

who befriends her elderly neighbour Roger ( Gildor Roy). The cast also includes Vincent-Guillaume Otis and Marilyn Castonguay as Hélène's parents, as well as Gabrielle B. Thuot, Mia Drolet, Élia St-Pierre, Denis Houle, Jack Robitaille, Amélie Bernard, Marie Michaud, Marie Bernier, Marie-Hélène Gendreau, Linda Laplante, Pierre-Yves Charbonneau, Sacha Lapointe, Amélie Pelletier, Jean-Philippe Côté, Ariane Bellavance-Fafard, Luc Bélanger-Morissette, Karl-Patrice Dupuis, Pierre-Luc Fontaine, Marguerite Bouchard, Andréanne Fortin and Charles Roberge in supporting roles.

Production

The film began production in September 2023, in Quebec City.

Distribution

The film premiered on August 16, 2024, at the 77th Locarno Film Festival. It had its Canadian premiere as the opening film of the 2024 Quebec City Film Festival, and screened at the

2024 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival The 2024 edition of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, the 36th edition in the event's history, was held from September 14 to 22, 2024 in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario. The first titles in the program were announced on August 1 ...

, before opening commercially on October 4.

Awards

It won the award for French-Language Feature Film at Cinéfest, and the award of the FIPRESCI Jury at the Schlingel International Film Festival 2024.

References

2024 films 2024 comedy-drama films 2020s Canadian films 2020s French-language films Canadian comedy-drama films Films set in Quebec City Films shot in Quebec City Films based on Canadian novels Films directed by Patrice Sauvé French-language Canadian films {{2020s-Canada-film-stub