Blue Sky Jo

Patrice
Sauvé

Director's biography :
Following cinematic studies at Concordia University, Patrice Sauvé directed many successful series acclaimed by audience and critics alike, such as La vie, la vie (S1, S2, S3), Grande Ourse (S1, S2), Ciao Bella, Vertige, Victor Lessard (S1, S2), Le Monstre, La Faille (S1, S2), and Larry. Sauve’s additionnal director credits include three feature films : Cheech, Grande Ourse la clé des possibles and Ça sent la coupe. He is now working on his next feature film, La Petite et le Vieux.

Director’s filmography:
ÇA SENT LA COUPE, Feature, Fiction, 2017
GRANDE OURSE LA CLÉ DES POSSIBLES, Feature, Fiction, 2009
CHEECH, Feature, Fiction, 2006

Past Awards and Festival selections:
CHEECH : Festival Int' - Toronto, Atlantic Film Festival (Best Actor - Patrice Robitaille), Festival int'l - Vancouver, Festival international - Rio, Festival du Film francophone de Namur, Festival int'l - Denver, Festival int'l - Palm Spring, Festival - Lancaster, Festival Int'l- Delray Beach, Festival Int'l - d’Aubagne, Festival international - d’Istanbul, Festival int'l- de Singapour, Festival - Tampa Beach, Festival int'l- Lima, Festival int'l - Vladivostok

A touching coming-of-age comedy with a hint of nostalgia and warm humor transports us to the 1980s in the working-class neighborhood of Limoilou, Quebec. There, an unusual but deeply human friendship blossoms between a young girl and her elderly neighbor. Hélène (10), called Jo, delivers newspapers daily to help support her family. Her childhood is full of contradictions – she seeks refuge from her strict but loving mother and unhappy father in comic books and the works of Ernest Hemingway. Her life changes when she forms an unexpected bond with Mr. Roger, a grumpy yet kind new neighbor. Their fragile friendship echoes the relationship between the boy Manolin and the old fisherman Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea, Jo’s father’s favorite book – a story that transforms not only Jo’s life but Roger’s as well. This film adaptation of Marie-Renée Lavoie’s acclaimed novel premiered at the Locarno Film Festival.