''Gilles'' is a Canadian short drama film, directed by
Constant Mentzas Constant Mentzas is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and restaurateur from Montreal, Quebec.Marie Paris"Portrait de chef : Constant Mentzas" ''Voir'', October 3, 2019. He is most noted for the short films '' Aspiration'', which was a Jutra Awa ...
and released in 2008. The film stars
Hélène Loiselle
Hélène Loiselle (March 17, 1928 – August 7, 2013) was a Canadian actress living and working in Quebec.
Life
She was born in Montreal and studied acting with Charlotte Boisjoli, François Rozet, and during the 1940s. Loiselle joined t ...
as an elderly woman who has spent her life caring for her developmentally disabled son Gilles (Réjean Lefrançois), but who is now terminally ill and struggling to prepare him for the day he will have to move into
assisted living
An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is s ...
.
The film was the last significant acting role for Loiselle, one of Quebec's major actresses of the 20th century, before her own death in 2013.
The film was a
Genie Award
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...