Ken Scott: "After seeing this movie, everyone in the audience will be calling their mothers."

Parenthood is difficult. Motherhood is even more difficult. But how difficult is it to be the child of these parents who have it so difficult? Canadian filmmaker Ken Scott directs 'Once Upon a Mother', the film adaptation of Roland Perez's famous novel 'My Mother, God and Sylvie Vartan', one of those stories that are so real they seem totally fantastic. "It tells the story of a mother who goes out of her way for her children, but who isn't perfect. That was something I was very interested in—not to talk about a perfect, courageous mother, but about a woman who may believe what she's doing is the right thing, but who sometimes makes mistakes. For now, I can tell you that those who have seen the film have told me that when it was over they had a crazy desire to call their mothers," says Scott.

Roland Perez is a celebrated lawyer specializing in intellectual property, who decided to fictionalize his unusual life. He was born with a foot deformity that prevented him from walking. His mother refused to accept the advice of doctors, who urged her to use special prosthetics. Convinced that her son would be a normal child, she eventually found a healer who proposed an aggressive therapy that would allow him to level the boy's ankle and allow him to walk normally. Fighting with neighbors, social services, and her own family, this overprotective mother fought tirelessly to ensure her son had a normal life, and she succeeded. "What I was interested in was showing the moral dilemma this story presents. The doctors aren't the bad guys. Social services aren't the bad guys. Neither is the mother. Everyone thinks they're doing the right thing, which only makes the drama greater," says Scott.

The film doesn't dwell on the boy's childhood, but follows his life over the course of some 50 years , from when he begins ballet classes with his foot restored to when he becomes a father with grown children and experiences filial ingratitude firsthand, having become a famous lawyer. "I love these films in which we see an entire life summarized on screen. It was a challenge because I didn't want to make an episodic work; I wanted the viewer to fill in the ellipses with their imagination," says the filmmaker.

Another theme of the book is the power of art to transform people's lives. Perez learned to read thanks to the songs of Sylvie Vartan . "I am completely convinced of the healing power of art and its ability to inspire people to extraordinary actions. Music, literature, and films are balms in our hands that can motivate us to change the world," Scott notes.

The film stars Sylvie Vartan as herself, in what is almost her film debut, or at least as a character who is the driving force behind the action. "She was very excited because her only regret is not having made more films. Her agent didn't inform her about any of the proposals she was receiving. Once, she ran into filmmaker Jacques Demy in New York , and he asked her why she hadn't accepted his offer to star in 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.' She, with her mouth open, told him she had no idea what he was talking about," says Scott.

Of course, he's also had access to songs, books, and movies that have changed his life. In his case, he's very clear about it: 'Star Wars.' "I was born in 1970, so when it came out I was seven, the perfect age for something like that to blow your mind. It was the first time a movie stayed with me after it ended, that it continued to influence me long afterward and shaped my entire imagination." Then came Spielberg with 'ET' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' From then on, there's been no escaping it; his life had to be linked to cinema.