102 minutes – Comedy-Drama
Language: French
Release date: September 4, 2009
Canadian Distributor: Alliance Vivafilm

Moving to a new neighbourhood in the Québec City area, Ricardo is in sixth-grade and struggles to gain acceptance despite his Italian origins. To win approval, he promises his classmates copies of Playboy and has a crush on the smartest girl in the class. He also figures that a little creative fibbing might be the best way to ingratiate himself with would-be pals Jérôme (Gabriel Maillé), Marchand (Dany Bouchard) and Plante (Léo Caron). Meanwhile, his parents are finding it tough making the mortgage payments on their new, larger home, which leads to major tensions between the them. To top it all off. Ricardo`s little sister Nadia (Rose Adam) has lost her beloved cat in the woods. Mildly ashamed of his background, Ricardo pretends not to recognize his father playing the accordion in a restaurant. He also argues with his mother over the cost of living. 1981 is a charming slice of unabashedly autobiographical filmmaking inspired by the high drama in director Ricardo Trogi’s life. This, his third feature, was selected to be the opening film of the 2009 Montreal World Film Festival.