''Paul à Québec'' (lit. "Paul in Quebec City") is a Canadian drama film from
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, directed by
François Bouvier
François Bouvier is a Canadian film and television director from Quebec."A paradoxical people put on quite the show". ''The Globe and Mail'', June 15, 1985.
He was a Genie Award nominee for Best Director at the 11th Genie Awards in 1990 for '' ...
Montreal Gazette
''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
It is the only English-language daily newspape ...
'', September 17, 2015.
Based on Michel Rabagliati's graphic novel of the same title, the film stars
François Létourneau
François Létourneau (born 1974 in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Sainte-Foy, Quebec) is a Canadians, Canadian actor and writer, best known as co-creator and star of the television series ''Les Invincibles'', ''Série noire (2014 TV series), Série noire'' ...
and Julie Le Breton as Paul and Lucie, a happy couple struggling to cope with Lucie's father Roland's (
Gilbert Sicotte
Gilbert Sicotte, (born February 18, 1948) is a Canadian actor.
Career
Sicotte is known for roles in '' The Vultures (Les Vautours)'', ''Little Tougas (Ti-Cul Tougas)'', ''The Years of Dreams and Revolt (Les Années de rêves)'', '' The Secret ...
) diagnosis with terminal
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
. The cast also includes
Louise Portal
Louise Portal (born May 12, 1950) is a Canadian actress, film director, singer and writer. She won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film ''The Decline of the American Empire'', and was a nominee for Best Actress f ...
, Bobby Beshro, Brigitte Lafleur, Myriam LeBlanc,
Julien Poulin
Julien Poulin (; April 20, 1946 – January 4, 2025) was a Canadian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He portrayed numerous roles in several popular Quebec films and series.
Elvis Gratton films
His most memorable role was El ...
Karine Vanasse
Karine Vanasse (, ; born 24 November 1983) is a Canadian actress, who had roles in the films '' Polytechnique'', '' Séraphin: Heart of Stone (Séraphin: un homme et son péché)'', ''Switch'' and '' Set Me Free (Emporte-moi)''. Internationally ...
.
Rabagliati originally approached Bouvier about adapting either ''Paul à Québec'' or ''Paul a un travail d'été'' for film, because he was a fan of Bouvier's earlier film '' Winter Stories (Histoires d'hiver)''. Around the same time as that personal contact, Karine Vanasse and Nathalie Brigitte Bustos, two of the film's producers, approached La Pastèque, Rabagliati's publisher, to inquire about optioning film rights to ''Paul à Quebec''."Paul à Québec: à l'image de la BD" ''
La Presse
is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust.
' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...
'', September 14, 2015.
Sicotte won the
Québec Cinéma
Québec Cinéma is a Canadian organization based in Quebec, whose mission is to promote and develop the Cinema of Quebec.
The organization's programs include the Prix Iris, the annual film awards for Quebec films; the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, ...