Montreal: Quebec filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée can’t quite get over it. C.R.A.Z.Y., his $8-million labor of love, has become the Canadian success story of 2005, and might just extend its winning streak into 2006, given that it’s Canada’s selection in the best foreign-language film category for the Academy Awards.

‘Obviously, I am very happy,’ says Vallée. C.R.A.Z.Y. has broken the $6-million mark in ticket sales in Quebec alone, making it Canada’s top domestic film at the national box office in 2005. And after a warm reception at the fall film festivals – where it was named best Canadian feature at the Toronto and the Atlantic festivals and got rave notices at Venice – C.R.A.Z.Y. garnered considerable international interest, signing about 25 distribution deals at TIFF alone, for territories including Europe, Australia and South America.

Not bad for a modest coming-of-age movie about a confused young teen struggling to come to terms with his emerging homosexuality and his overbearing father. Quebec audiences have connected with the film’s central character, Zachary, played artfully by rising star Marc-André Grondin.

It is certainly worth noting the irony of the story behind the film: Vallée had originally intended to shoot the entire thing in English in the U.S. What makes that most surprising is the fact the finished film is so specific to Quebec, and so full of Catholic imagery and themes, but to Vallée, it was a matter of scale.

‘We censor ourselves in Quebec, because we know we don’t have a lot of money,’ says Vallée, best known for his previous 1995 feature Liste noire. ‘We don’t necessarily allow ourselves to have fantasy or magic in our films. When I was writing, I said to myself, ‘Forget about that, let yourself go, write whatever you want.’ And I was sure I’d have to make the film in the U.S., because they have bigger budgets there.’

The film’s budget was driven up by flourishes of magical realism – in one sequence, Grondin flies above his church’s congregation during mass – and its soundtrack, which features Patsy Cline, The Rolling Stones and David Bowie. ‘I didn’t see the film working without the artists who were part of my life when I was growing up,’ Vallée says.

As luck would have it, Vallée discussed the script with actor friend Michel Côté, who begged him to keep the project in la belle province. His pleading worked, which turned out to be a good thing for the actor, who landed the part of the harsh-but-well-meaning father figure.

Another irony is that the film was initially rejected by SODEC for funding. But Vallée and Montreal production house Cirrus Communications aren’t expressing bitterness over that – they would rather focus on all the great things happening for C.R.A.Z.Y.

‘This has been a fantastic journey,’ says Vallée, who is back and forth between Montreal and L.A., where he’s active in the film’s Oscar campaign.

Part of that campaign also saw the film screen at the recent Cinéma du Québec à Paris event backed by SODEC. According to SODEC communications director Nancy Bélanger, the Nov. 23 screening of C.R.A.Z.Y. ‘was a wonderful success. The cinema was full and the reaction was very enthusiastic.’ The award strategy for the film is to win over Hollywood’s foreign press for a possible foreign-language film Golden Globe nomination, which would then boost its Oscar chances.

But Vallée’s initial goal in making the film was far more personal. ‘I wanted to give this film to my two sons as a gift,’ he says. ‘It’s full of love, passion, and faith.’

While he hasn’t provided many details, Vallée has stated that for his next film, he is aiming for something in the $30-million budget range.