MONTREAL — To mark the 100th anniversary of Canada’s most famous hockey club, Quebec’s Cité-Amérique will release a $6-million French-language feature film about the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 4, 2009, 100 years from the day the franchise was founded.

Director Sylvain Archambault and screenwriter Jacques Savoie — the duo behind the popular Gemeaux Award-winning television series Les Lavigueur, la vraie histoire — earlier this week held a press conference at Montreal’s arena, the Bell Centre, to mark the start of the shoot for Pour toujours, les Canadiens! (The Canadiens Forever), which wraps Dec. 10.

‘It’s a drama about two young boys, but the history of the hockey club will be weaved through it,’ Lorraine Richard, who is coproducing with Luc Martineau, tells Playback Daily. Although the film is a drama, archival footage featuring classic Canadiens moments will be an integral part of the film, including the Rocket Richard riot in 1955. ‘We want to try to touch on all [24] of those Stanley Cup wins,’ says Richard.

This week, Archambault shot scenes with the real Habs, and also plans to film a number of exhibition games. Several current and former Canadiens players will participate in the film, including captain Saku Koivu, goalie Carey Price and legendary Habs captain Jean Béliveau.

The plot revolves around the interconnected lives of a young boy who is waiting for a kidney transplant — played by C’est pas moi, je le jure! star Antoine L’Écuyer — and a 17-year-old star player from a Montreal junior team named William (Dhanaé Audet-Beaulieu). William is struggling with adolescence and isn’t getting much support from his dad (Stéphane Jacques), who is a filmmaker preoccupied with a documentary he’s making about the 100th anniversary of the Habs.

The film has received financial assistance from Telefilm Canada and SODEC. Roughly 20% of the budget is gleaned from the private sector. The Bell Centre’s La Cage aux Sports restaurant is the principal sponsor.

Richard says the cooperation of the Canadiens club has been indispensable.

‘They have given us exclusive rights to make this film for the 100th anniversary. We have access to archives and to players, both past and present,’ she says.

TVA Films will distribute Pour toujours, les Canadiens! across Quebec on 100 screens.