Salut, Gadou!

When she learns that the local youth centre is in danger, Geneviève refuses to give in without a fight. She tries to convince her friend Gadou to participate in the movement to save it.

Salut, Gadou! is a fictitious tribute to the Saint-Jean-Baptiste neighbourhood’s history of community involvement (downtown Quebec). It is based on a novel by the same name by Malcolm Reid, published in 1982. Reid’s novel was inspired by the neighbourhood’s Saint-Gabriel movement (1976) and the operation to rescue what is now the community’s youth centre.

Starting in June 2021, a cultural outreach project transformed an entire inner-city neighbourhood into a playground for fiction and learning about civil society. Readings and group discussions were fuel for writing scenes and poems. Young people imagined how the story might take shape in today’s world before participating in organizing, filming, and creating the original soundtrack.

Salut, Gadou! involved 10 youths for an entire summer, four of whom worked on screenwriting. Twenty-odd youths had speaking parts while just as many were extras. Thirty-odd adults, including historian Réjean Lemoine and four professional actors (Charlie Cameron, Justice Rutikara, Jean-Marie Alexandre, Thomas Langlois) were also involved, as well as a choir of 12 children from immigrant backgrounds who are neighbours. Salut Gadou! also had its own band and features five never-before-released songs. More than 20 neighbourhood businesses supported the project, which was produced in collaboration with the Comité populaire Saint-Jean-Baptiste, the Maison des jeunes Saint-Jean-Baptiste and La Bande Vidéo.

Project directed by Hélène Matte, in collaboration
with the filmmakers of tomorrow
Co-directed by Jérémie Thibault
Camera and editing by Marco Chantal

Salut, Gadou!
Prix Intergénérations Québec 2022
o Award Winner, Spotlight Film Award, Atlanta 2023
o Award Winner, Youth Sunrise Trophy, Better World Film Festival, Munich 2022
o Award Winner, Cotswold Festival, Angleterre, 2022
o Finalist, Bridge of Peace, Paris 2022
o Nominee, Social Change Film Festival, Atlanta / Chicago, 2022
o Nominee, Montreal Independent Film Festival, 2022
o Semi-finaliste, Courage Film Fest, Berlin, novembre 2022
o Long Short Story, Bucharest, novembre 2022
o Liberty Film Awards, États-Unis, novembre 2022
o Short Stop International Film Festival, Roumanie, 2022
o Metropolis Film Festival, Milan, Italie septembre 2022
o Sipontum Arthouse International Festival, Puglia, Italie, septembre 2022

« Thank you for your interest in Salut, Gadou!. This medium-length film, possibly divided into 4 episodes, is a project made in Quebec with little budget but with a lot of solidarity and luck. We made it with what we had at our disposal. Fortunately, we have resources considering our history and our community, so it was possible.
Salut, Gadou!, despite the keen interest it has aroused and the awards obtained, is in its current version, a pilot project.
Written scenes were not shot, and others would have deserved better preparation. The project was done quickly and we are convinced that it could be the subject of a feature film or a substantial series, benefiting from an appropriate budget and optimal shooting conditions. I dream of a new shoot in Quebec where we could engage the participants in the longer term. The challenge is to come up with something more accomplished and refined, without losing the spontaneity, simplicity and singularity of Salut, Gadou!.
May your support help Salut, Gadou! to flourish.»
Hélène Matte