MONTREAL — The central character of Claude Demers’ doc Les dames en blue — 75-year-old seamstress Margo Jasmin — stole the show at the opening of the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Wednesday night when she sang a classic Quebec love song for the enthusiastic crowd of roughly 800 gathered downtown at a former vaudeville theater, The Imperial.

”Thank you. I have always dreamed of singing in front of an audience,” said Jasmin, clad in a blue outfit with hair to match in honor of the film, which is a portrait of five women who adore 72-year-old Quebec crooner Michel Louvain. His most popular song is Ladies in Blue. Jasmin was joined on stage by her four co-fans as well as the object of their adoration, Louvain, who, with tears in his eyes, sang along with her.

It was indeed a blue-tinged evening. FNC rolled out the blue carpet for its special guests and the audience was also asked to wear blue. Quebecor head Pierre Karl Péladeau, the festival’s chief sponsor, had his picture taken with Louvain and, of course, festival founder Claude Chamberlan got in on the act, too. He was decked out in a blue satin Sergeant Pepper’s outfit.

‘When I saw the film I cried. It is really an honor to have this film at the festival,’ said Chamberlan

Programming Les dames as the opening flick made the potentially staid event festive. The reserved art-house crowd that usually attends Montreal film events was clearly charmed by the five women — who likely reminded many of their aunts and grandmothers. Their vitality and humor loosened things up.

Lauraine Campeau, 44, one of the women featured in the film, has seen Louvain sing over 100 times. And like most of the women featured in Demers’ film, she has a portrait of him in her bedroom. ”Seeing him is always like the first time for me,’ said Campeau. ‘It is very intense.’

Louvain, who began his career in the 1950s, is a genuine pop culture phenomenon in Quebec. For five decades he has been singing to sold-out crowds across the province. ‘I have seen this film three times and each time it brings tears to my yes,’ he told Playback Daily. What’s the secret to his success? ‘I’m close to the fans. After each concert I sign autographs. I have been doing that for 50 years. They give me love and I give it back to them.’

The 39th edition of FNC runs to Oct. 18.