Neon Dreaming

Bluesky

Childhood is full of mysteries. When people are intentionally keeping secrets from you, it’s natural to look for solutions. Adults may begin with logic and reason. Children, with more pressing emotional needs, are as likely to begin with imagination.

Eight-year-old Billie (Maélya Boyd) lives with her grandmother Marthe (Genevieve Langlois) and father Fred (Corey Loranger). She can’t remember her mother, but realises that she must have one. Enchanted by luminous black and white visions of dancers in tutus, she becomes convinced that the missing woman is a famous ballerina called Karen. Marthe insists this isn’t true and that her mother’s name is Geneviève, refusing to let her make the dancer the subject of her school presentation. She concludes that Marthe is lying to her, that her family is trying to keep her and her mother apart, and that she will have to go out and find the truth for herself.

With many scenes shot from Billie’s height, so that adults are seen from the waist down even as they speak, Marie-Claire Marcotte’s feature début demonstrates an astute awareness of what it’s like to be eight. The structures of the story unfold from the child’s perspective, even though we also get glimpses of what happens when she’s not around, allowing us to piece together what’s really going on. Although it acknowledges its young heroine’s shortcomings, the film is never patronising, showcasing her courage and formidable will. It’s particularly impressive in its depiction of her relationship with best friend Sherry (Maïna Rose Caméus), which is all kinds of complicated, full of transgressions and moments of forgiveness which reveal the awareness both girls have of what it means to be young.

The room in which Billie hides away, doing her best to live independently because she doesn’t want to be around liars, is very much a child’s realm, full of soft fabrics and small glowing things. She and Sherry play with jewellery, easily distracted by anything shiny. Marcotte weaves together this visual language with a crisp, clear vision of the adult world. A young teacher (Sheila Isaro) tries to bridge the two, to persuade Billie to confide in her. She, too, knows more than she’s letting on.

Screened as part of the 2025 Glasgow Film Festival, Neon Dreaming benefits from fresh, naturalistic performances which create a real sense of intimacy with the characters. Both Boyd and Caméus make a big impression, but the adults are not neglected, with Langlois deftly revealing through small gestures what Marthe is not free to say in words. The result is a spellbinding film.

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