''Bonjour Timothy'' is a 1995 Canadian-New Zealander

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Wayne Tourell and starring

Dean O'Gorman Dean Lance O'Gorman (born 1 December 1976) is a New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer. He played the dwarf Fíli in the ''Hobbit'' trilogy and the Norse God Bragi/Anders Johnson in the fantasy series ''The Almighty Johnsons''. He also po ...

Stephen Papps Stephen Papps is an actor from New Zealand. He trained at the Academy Corporate Theatre Actors Workshop and the Wellington Performing Arts Centre, New Zealand. Career Stephen Papps has appeared in projects that range from the critically acclai ...

and

Sabine Karsenti Sabine Karsenti is a French Canadian retired actress. Karsenti has played in both film and television, in French and in English from Montreal to Los Angeles. Career On the big screen, Karsenti has been in the role of Chrissie in '' Battlefiel ...

Plot

''Bonjour Timothy'' is a coming of age story of a young French-Canadian girl who goes on exchange to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. The story follows Timothy, played by Dean O'Gorman, a young New Zealand boy who develops a crush on Michelle, played by Sabine Karsenti, the young French-Canadian girl from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

who is living with his family on her exchange. The story follows Timothy, a social underdog in his school, as he goes through a period of self-discovery, and tries to gain the attention of his crush, Michelle. This story depicts the trials and tribulations associated with being in high school, and the awkward stages that accompany being a young adult. The New Zealand Film Commission describes ''Bonjour Timothy'' as, "In ''Bonjour Timothy'' (1995) the underdog wins the affection of the girl against all odds, in a film about coming-of-age anxieties over sex and love" (Aveyard, Moran & Veith 2018). Buzzfeed described ''Bonjour Timothy'' as,
The Best Teen Movie You've Never Heard Of.

Cast

as Timothy Taylor *

as Mr. Blisker *

as Michelle Dubois * Sylvia Rands as Mary * Sydney Jackson as Roger * Milan Borich as Nathan *

Angela Bloomfield Angela Bloomfield (born 11 December 1972) is a New Zealand actor and director. Early life Bloomfield attended Massey High School in West Auckland, New Zealand. Career Bloomfield has starred in ''Shortland Street'' continuously on and off for 2 ...

as Vikki * Richard Vette as Derek * Raewyn Blade as Ms. Brathwaite *

Nathaniel Lees Nathaniel Lees is a New Zealand theatre actor and director and film actor of Samoan descent, best known for film roles in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and for starring in ''You ...

as Mr. Wiley * Jay Saussey as Melissa Anderson

Production

The film was shot largely at and around

Avondale College Avondale College is a state coeducational secondary school located in the central Auckland, New Zealand, suburb of Avondale. With a roll of students from Years 9–13 (ages 12–18), it is the third largest secondary school in New Zealand. ...

in Auckland, New Zealand. Film Crew: * Director: Wayne Tourell * Producers: Murray Newey, Micheline Charest * Writer: David Preston * Editor: Jean-Marie Drot * Cinematography: Matt Bowkett * Production Design: Brett Schwieters * Composer: Daniel Scott * Costumes: Pauline Bowkett

Awards

* 1996 Berlin Film Festival; Kinderfilmfest, Children's Jury - Honourable Mention * 1995 New Zealand Film and Television Awards; Nominated for Best Director, Best Male in a Dramatic Role (Dean O'Gorman), Best Female in a Dramatic Role (Sylvia Rands) and Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role (Milan Borich) * 1995 Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People (Northern Ireland); Best Feature Film * 1995 Griffoni Film Festival (Italy); Critics Prize, Nominated for Best Actor (Dean O'Gorman) New Zealand Film Commission
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References

External links

*
''Bonjour Timothy''
at The Film Archive
NZ On Screen page
1995 films DHX Media films English-language Canadian films New Zealand romantic comedy films Canadian romantic comedy films 1995 romantic comedy films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films English-language romantic comedy films {{1990s-Canada-film-stub