Programme Overview

True North is the untold story of the Quebec Laurentians (Canada). Prepare for a gripping, hyper-realistic drama of the struggles of a hopeful people, as they cultivate the wild land they must colonize. The heart-wrenching love-triangle between innocent, strong Donalda, her beloved, Alexis, Ste-Adèle’s village hero, and greedy Séraphin, the mayor’s usurary son, show the resilience of the brave against a backdrop of scheming politics. The earthy priest, Curé Labelle, keeps moral order and inspires hope for the poor. He has big plans for a national railroad, to develop the North, bring back the youth draining to the U.S. for work, and political aspirations to link together the French colonies as a stronghold against English Canada.

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For nearly 80 years, the original literary work “Les Belles Histoires des Pays d’en Haut” by Claude-Henri Grignon has been a ubiquitous piece in Quebec’s cultural landscape. This special relationship with the public begins in 1933 with a novel that inspires a radio show that will run for 26 years at Radio-Canada. The work was subsequently adapted to a soap opera format on Radio-Canada from 1956 to 1970. In addition, there are many plays and three films, of which the most recent dates back to 2002. All these productions, without exception, were huge popular successes.

To date, the public interest in Bidou Laloge, Donalda, Alexis, Seraphim, Pegleg, and “Father Ovide” has never wavered. This work is very clearly the most famous and profitable “brand” in all of Quebec’s cultural history.

“Les Belles Histoires”, with its colorful, real and endearing characters, their dramas and amorous passions, is a chronicle of our history that abounds in still untapped wealth.

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