Winner of the ‘Best Canadian Short Film’ award at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, Vincent Biron’s Les Fleurs de l’âge is a sweet and touching tale that captures poignant little (but hugely significant) events in the lives of its young characters. Inspired to create a plot that orbits around “that tiny moment where you have to kiss your childhood goodbye due to a transformative event”, Biron’s subtle storytelling follows four adolescents as they all experience turning points in their young lives. Building his narrative from the childhood stories he remembers from his own youth, coupled with tales he had heard from others, the director has created a film with such universal themes it will be hard for anyone not to connect with the characters and relate to their journeys.

Reliant on a young cast, speaking to Biron over email, the director was eager to distill that old myth that you should ‘never work with animals or children’. “I really had a great time working with the kids in my film, he says, “of course it all boils down to good casting and you also have to be conscious that they get tired quicker than adults. Kids are great actors in that regard that they don’t tend to over intellectualise their performance as much as some adult actors do. They’re really good at finding their own motivation and I think the best way to get a good performance from them is just to avoid talking down to them”. He’s obviously found just the right formula for working with children in film, as the performances of his young actors is pitch-perfect. Driving the film on with their assured turns, as the story concludes it all feels so real and so plausible that as a viewer you almost have to remind yourself you’re not actually experiencing real-life moments from their young lives.

At times Les Fleurs de l’âge may feel a little leisurely-paced and wandering, but when the film culminates and the thematic connection between the four narrative threads is revealed, it’s a truly magical and moving moment. And that powerful moment at the resolution of his narrative is one the director is more than happy to acknowledge – “I think the ending is what resonated the most with audiences”, Biron says, “the fact that all the stories come together to highlight the universality of those moments really strikes a chord in people’s mind”

Since the release of Little Flowers Biron continues to work as a cinematographer on features, shorts and tv shows, has completed two other short films and is currently in post with his first feature-length narrtive. The first of his shorts, Horrible Things, is set to be released online shortly, whilst A delusion of grandeur, which chronicles the political defeat of a small-town mayor, is still touring the festival circuit (it was in competition at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival earlier this year). With his debut feature Prank, a coming-of-age comedy about a loner kid that falls in with the wrong crowd, aiming to be released in September, 2015 looks set to be a busy year for Vincent Biron.