Imelda Trilogy

The Imelda Trilogy is a series of short comedy films created by Martin Villeneuve, produced by Imelda Films Inc. and distributed by Prends ça court ! / [ghost]. It consists of Imelda (2014), Imelda 2: The Notary (2020) and Imelda 3: Simone (2020). The films center on Martin and Denis Villeneuve's paternal grandmother, Imelda (AKA Mélenda Turcotte-Villeneuve). Canadian playwright Robert Lepage plays Imelda's son, a notary, Canadian actress and singer Ginette Reno portrays Simone, Imelda's lifelong adversary, while Martin Villeneuve himself impersonates Imelda.

Synopsis
A year after the death of his paternal grandmother at the age of 101, filmmaker Martin Villeneuve brings her back to life using a special talent. In the second opus, inspired by real letters that Imelda used to pen to her son, a notary, the filmmaker re-imagines a conversation. And in the third opus, Villeneuve envisions how his two grandmothers, lifelong adversaries, might have made peace before the end.

Characters and cast

 * Imelda • Martin Villeneuve
 * Jean Villeneuve (the Notary) • Robert Lepage
 * Simone • Ginette Reno

Production background
Filmmakers Martin and his older brother Denis Villeneuve are the descendants of three generations of notaries. Mélenda “Imelda” Villeneuve was the quirky and incorruptible paternal grandmother. Martin has been impersonating her for years, originally to entertain family and friends. Following her death in 2012, Martin brought her back to life by creating the short film Imelda in 2014. After its success, Villeneuve wrote a script for a feature film. He approached Robert Lepage to play Imelda’s son Jean, and Ginette Reno to portray his other grandmother Simone, but was unable to finance the project. Rather than abandon it, he rewrote it into two other short films: Imelda 2: The Notary (2020) and Imelda 3: Simone (2020).

Release and reception
The first Imelda had its world premiere and opened the Quebec City Film Festival on September 21, 2014. Imelda 2: The Notary had its world premiere and opened the Quebec City Film Festival on September 16, 2020. Imelda 3: Simone had its world premiere and opened the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue on October 31, 2020. The Imelda Trilogy was released online on December 21, 2020, including an interview with the real Imelda.

The Imelda films have altogether been presented in over 20 film festivals so far.