It’s Not Me, I Swear! (C’est pas moi, je le jure!) April 18, 2009

This touching and amusing bittersweet comedy follows 10-year-old Leon on a neighborhood tear after his parents' marriage disintegrates and his mother flees for Greece. His older brother Jerome, also wounded by the event, seems like a model child in contrast to Leon, who ramps up from minor crimes like vandalism and theft to breaking and entering. Yet Leon's vivid imagination, combined with an insatiable crush on his exasperating neighbor Lea, help him navigate a way forward. Together, he and Lea hatch a plan to steal some money and fly to Greece to reunite with Leon's mother. Although their plans are thwarted, the sheer energy behind the mission temporarily mitigates the pain of growing up. Director Phillipe Falardeau creates a richly textured portrait of late 1960s urban Quebec, and that setting is brought vividly to life by Antoine L'Ecuyer's extraordinary performance as Leon.
In French with English subtitles
Canada, 2008, 110 minutes, Color

In Person: Director Philippe Falardeau