Leo visits his grandfather who no longer speaks and finds a way to connect with him.

FROM THE DIRECTOR

“My grandpa had Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases.

I remember when I was a kid going to see him in the retirement home.
I didn’t understand why did I have to meet someone who doesn’t talk, and with whom no discussion seems possible.

That’s what’s happening to Léo, our main character.
Léo doesn’t want to see his grandpa. Léo is scared of this person.

But with the power of music he has the chance to get in touch with his « real » grandpa.

Since the beginning of my writing, I wanted to talk about the relation we often have as a kid with our sick grandparents. Especially when they get a degenerative sickness like Alzheimer or Parkinson.
Then a friend of mine talked to me about the documentary « Alive Inside ».

Directed by Michael Rossato Bennet and public prize at 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the documentary follows Dan Cohen, a social worker bringing iPods and music to nursing homes. As an audience, we quickly discover the power of music on resident suffering from memory loss. Very sick residents « wake up » when they listened to music from their past.

After watching this documentary, I finally found the way Léo will be able to connect with his grandpa.

With the power of music, Léo has the chance to encounter is « real » grandfather, the amazing person he was before being sick.

Thanks to music, a walkman and a little bit of magic, Léo has a privilege to live moments that we would all have liked to spend with our sick and deceased loved ones.”

-Hugo Chetelat