“Love is a gypsy

child, it has

never known

man’s law.”

“And in your arms I’ve known drunkenness.”

“Men are sobeautiful, weare alwaysproud to beseen with onein tow.”

Stéphane Duquette

David Boisclair

“...tell me softly ‘Michèle I love you’, for my love still remains the same.”

David had already produced and directed five shortfilms since graduating from Concordia University’sfilm production program in Montreal. What’s EatingYou? (2002) screened at the Montreal World FilmFestival and the Toronto World of Comedy InternationalFilm Festival. He also had experience in publicityand writing, and had worked in marketing for theNational Film Board of Canada before starting uphis own company, Hysterico Productions.

Meanwhile, Stéphane has worked on a variety ofproductions involving theatre and song, and hasbeen involved in directing as well as setand costume design. He is always lookingfor new ways to incorporate the arts intohis teaching, and believes firmly that theyhave a positive influence on students’ edu-cational progress. The school board agreedto let Stéphane keep his students for twoyears, through both grades one and two.Then he developed a two-year program forthem, built around participation in the film.It touched on art, expression, language andhistory, and also involved studying the per-iod in which the film is set – learning aboutthe songs, their origins, and the backgroundsof both the singers and their countries.

In the Beginning: Two Friends, One IdeaOne day, Stéphane Duquette had a revelation. Hewas teaching a grade one class – perhaps one ofthe greatest class he’d ever had – and he called upDavid Boisclair to tell him he had a very special pro-ject in mind for them. Stéphane, who has taught inthe Grandes-Seigneuries school board since 1994,wanted to make a film featuring his students. AndDavid, who has always been driven by a passion forthe arts, immediately agreed to direct.

While Stéphane was teaching, David threw himselfinto the creation process, making sure the projectcould get off the ground. David is one of these peoplewho is always brimming with visual and story ideasfor projects, and he somehow manages to makethem all a reality. He likes to underline elements ofbeauty and absurdity, using a highly developed senseof aesthetic combined with humour, all built withsurgical precision on the little details that can crackup an audience. Assembling a team as enthusias-tic as he did was proved surprisingly easy.

The atmosphere is cool, but electric. The patrons, dressed to the nines, speak in hushed tones – wecatch snippets of conversation, see eyes meet and smiles exchanged. There’s a sense of anticipa-tion, as though champagne corks are ready to pop. Ladies and gentlemen, the evening is gettingunderway! Couples meet to the sound of a cappella voices singing of love. The music – by LucPlamondon, Patricia Kaas, Edith Piaf, Gérard Lenorman, Jean-Pierre Ferland and others – is sung byadults. But the couples are played by children: 26 seven-year-old whose teacher worked withthem throughout the project. It’s a dance-filled evening of emotion: from love tolaughter, tears, anger, and back to love again. Voices mingle anddancers glide through an evening bursting withlife and excitement.

A chic, 1930s cabaret...

Trivox

Louis-Michel

Taillefer

Virgo

Michèle Chappaz

“Words, words, words...”20 Musical ExcerptsThe soundtrack for Ladies and Gentlemen servedas the underlying material for the film – and led toan unusual storyboard based on choreography setto a musical montage.

Stéphane believes that music opens up our senseof our own humanity, as songs carry thoughts, ideas,feelings and ways of understanding. They pass onphilosophies and stories that give meaning to our rea-ding. In his opinion, the arts are a way to bring childrenout of their shells – to help them take their place onthe stage of life. Give yourself over to the arts andyou have the opportunity to make a lasting mark.

Together, David and Stéphane rifled through theirmusic collections, pulling out the great romanticclassics they love. Soon, Stéphane’s living roomfloor was covered in cut-out lyrics, assembled toform the film’s narrative arc and dialogue. Eachscene is made up of excerpts from 20 songs, pla-ced back to back. They determine every action. ForDavid, directing was like choreographing with greatprecision a ballet set to pre-recorded vocals. Puttogether, each musical excerpt create a uniquemoment within a truly elegant soirée.

A chic, 1930s cabaret. The atmosphere is cool, but elec-tric. The patrons, dressed to the nines, speak in hushedtones – we catch snippets of conversation, see eyesmeet and smiles exchanged. There’s a sense of antici-pation, as though champagne corks are ready to pop.Ladies and gentlemen, the evening is getting under-way! Children play adults, putting on airs, hitting theright notes. Love is never easy. On stage, a cabaret sin-ger starts off the evening with Bizet’s Carmen, and itsfamous chorus: “If I love you, beware!” Carmenserves as a motif that punctuates theevening’s drama, as the film thumbs itsnose at traditional continuity conventions –with three voices, metaphorical charac-ters, and a singer who owns the stage,drawing out her notes, winking at lovewith a smile at the corner of her mouth.

Couples come together and move apart tothe songs’ themes: Mon mec à moi (My Guy);C’est beau un homme (Men Are Beautiful);Coeur de rocker (Cold, Cold Heart); Aimerd’amour (Easy to Love); L’amour est un oiseaurebelle (Love is a Rebellious Bird). Love amuses, betrays,deceives, carries away, confronts, inspires, limits, trans-cends, enrages, illuminates. The voices mingle witheach other and with expectant looks – one gesture sayingit all. And the musical excerpts keep coming: Emmène-moi danser ce soir (Take Me Dancing Tonight); T’esmon amour t’es ma maîtresse (You’re My Love My

to perform the music for Ladies and Gentlemen.Throughout the film, the three voices respond toeach other, intermingle, multiply, and complementeach other through the 20 song excerpts. Together,the three members of Trivox create original and exci-ting interpretations of songs very familiar to anyonewho knows and loves French music.

A Grade Two ClassStéphane frequently finds himself inspired by thestudents in his classes. But this was a class thattook that inspiration to another level. He taught themfor two years, throughout the whole period leadingup to the film shoot, and wanted all 26 to have theopportunity to be more than just consumers of cul-ture. Instead, they would get to participate in itscreation. The students worked on all aspects of thefilm: research, production and distribution. In theprocess, they also learned that we are the actorsof our own lives – and that we can direct our ownactions. It was Stéphane’s goal to become more

than an instructor teaching a program... Hewanted to inspire students to take chargeof their own lives – to create, to reach higher,to amaze themselves.

26 Seven-Year-Old StudentsAll of the students in the class perform onscreen. Every single one participated inthe film. Some are featured more promi-nently than others, because they choseto be. Others may show only a smile.Regardless, all have tremendous pre-sence. Their professionalism, talent andcharm shine clearly onto the screen. Thestudents were fascinated by the film’spreparations and the five demandingdays of shooting. And all are proud ofthe result.

Mistress) Michèle; Paroles, paroles (Words, Words);Si j’étais un homme (If I Were a Man). And it endswith everyone together in chorus, raising glassesand voices – to love, to life, to song, and to film.

Three VoicesThe three voices are known collectively as Trivox.Michèle Chappaz, Virgo and Louis-Michel Taillefermet by chance in 2002, and discovered they had thesame playful creative flair. The three come from dif-ferent backgrounds, and they draw on their variousmusical cultures to perform rich and innovative inter-pretations of songs.

Trivox believes that the passion for singing comesfrom the deepest part of one’s being. It’s a desirethey cultivate in an atmosphere fostering confi-dence, bringing creativity to the forefront.

When David and Stéphane met Trivox, they imme-diately realized these were the voices they wanted

Gabrielle ArchambaultSamuel AubéAlexis BellevilleClaudia BenoîtMathieu BilodeauMarianne BleauChristophe DefoyRosalie DumaisJessica FerreiraAnnie Gagnon-MercierGuillaume GervaisJérémie GuerrierMélodie Langelier

Élizabeth LeoneJasmin LerouxMyriam LetendreJames MidouinBenjamin MorissetteCatherine PelletierJulien PetitLaurence ProulxAntoine RichardJordane SénécalMarc-Antoine SimardAmélie VallerandXavier Vanasse-Piché

“My love, youare my life...”

27 CharactersThe camera slides from one face to another, from asmile to a meaningful look. A voice, then a hand –every movement is choreographed and wrappedinto a highly aesthetic visuals, carefully highlightingeach of the characters with the best possible light.One of the roles is gracefully played by Sylvie Moreau,the only adult in this 15-minute film. She appears inthe cabaret to speak of love for one song – makinga brief appearance as the bartender’s paramour.“As soon as David and Stéphane offered me a rolein the film, I accepted,” she says. “It was fascina-ting for me to watch the children act. They don’tanalyze their performance and they don’t judgethemselves. They play their roles while believing inthem, and that’s impressive. Those are exactly thequalities you’re looking for in an actor.”

And then, the FilmAs the legendary chanteuse Dalida once said,“Beautiful melodies never die; they cross time andare eternal.” This film brings well-known melodiesto life. In a chic cabaret, children sing about life acappella. They are dressed in 1930s elegance. Forthis one great night, they have been given the voicesof adults, and sing of life and love like Diane Tell,Patricia Kaas, Edith Piaf, Gérard Lenorman andothers. Under the cabaret’s lights, couples cometogether and move apart to vocal rhythms. Theymove from love to laughter, tears, anger, and backto love again. Voices mingle and respond, as dan-cers glide through an evening bursting with life andexcitement.

DIRECTORDavid BoisclairORIGINAL IDEA AND SCRIPTDavid BoisclairStéphane DuquetteCHOREOGRAPHYStéphane DuquetteRESEARCHDavid BoisclairGeneviève BoulayStéphane DuquetteIsabelle MorissetteFIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTORLisa SfrisoSECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTORSylvie DuquetteSCRIPT SUPERVISORVirginie JaffredoPRODUCTION COORDINATORGinette RacineCINEMATOGRAPHERClaudine SauvéCAMERA ASSISTANTIna LopezKEY GAFFERYves ArseneauGAFFERSJean-François AbranLuc DupontMarie-Ève LamarcheKEY GRIPDominic ThibaultBEST BOY GRIPChristophe TaetsELECTRICIANRémy VallièrePICTURE EDITORGuillaume MilletSOUND ENGINEER AND VOICE MIXINGMarc ProvençalPIANOMarie-Claude AudetTRUMPETStéphane BoulangerMUSIC RECORDINGRémi-Israël LanciaultPLAYBACKMélodie-Geneviève Racine

“MAKING OF” DV CAMERAIsabelle MorissetteUNIT PHOTOGRAPHYSimon Du SablonKEY STYLISTStéphanie TremblaySTYLISTSDominique DuprasStéphanie LarochelleJosée LemelinASSISTANT STYLISTSStéphane DesjardinsBinita SowCOSTUME DESIGNERGeneviève BoulaySEAMSTRESSESIsabelle ChopinLina ChopinKEY MAKEUPSuzie SareaultMAKEUP ARTISTSErika BrindelKim JulienChristelle ProulxJosiane TrempeARTISTIC DIRECTORValérie SeersASSISTED BYClaude DuquetteStéphane DuquetteSylvie DuquettePhilippe LangloisCARPENTERClaude DuquettePROPERTY MASTERIsabelle ChopinLABVision Globale CitélabPOST-PRODUCTION COORDINATORJean-François Laprise j.COLOUR TIMER AND VIDEO TRANSFERRichard LanoueCOMPUTER GRAPHICSGuillaume MilletTECHNICAL SUPPORT - EDITINGMartine ForgetGRAPHIC DESIGNKarl Rowley

ADMINISTRATORSLouise LamarreCarole HarveyGinette RacineSTORYBOARD ARTISTJeff HughesWRITERFlorence FrançoisENGLISH SUBTITLESLouis-Michel TailleferTYPOGRAPHY AND CREDITSGinette RacineMUSIC CLEARANCESDavid BoisclairPUBLICIST (Canada)Manon GagnonMARKETINGDavid BoisclairStéphane DuquettePRODUCERSDavid Boisclair(Hysterico Productions)Stéphane Duquette(Didaduq)

WITH THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OF

Ministère de l’ÉducationMinistère des Affairesmunicipales, du Sport et du LoisirMinistère de la Culture et des CommunicationsJean Dubuc,Member for La Prairie,Quebec National Assembly

A Team of 50

“Easy to loveis to love

the way I love you.”

“A man is beautiful,

a man is jealous...”

“True, I was not all that faithful, yet I was crazy about her.”

Photos: Simon Du SablonGraphic Design: Krafix – Karl Rowley

IN COLLABORATION WITH