LOUIS 19TH (1992)
- Run Time: 95 min.
- Rating: AA
- Director: Michel Poulette
- Writer(s): Sylvie Bouchard, Emile Gaudreault, Michel Michaud and Michel Poulette
- Producer(s): Jacques Dorfmann, Richard Sadler & Pierre Laberge
Stills
Plot Summary
Years before Survivor kicked off the reality TV boom, Quebec filmmaker Poulette made Louis 19th, a film that anticipated such programming. In this engaging comedy, Louis Jobin (Drainville), a TV addict and electronic store salesman, wins a contest to become the subject of a “reality” television series. As the winner, Louis will be followed everywhere by a camera crew, non-stop for three months. A lonely and goofy guy, Louis is initially thrilled and expects his life to change for the better. But when a huge audience responds to the show and media frenzy starts building around him, Louis discovers that it’s not easy being a celebrity. “Particularly astonishing…its commentary was both funny and telling.”—Mathew Hays, Montage. Winner of the Golden Reel Award at the Genies for highest grossing Canadian film. As well, Poulette garnered the Genies’ Claude Jutra prize for Best Directorial Debut.
About the Director
Michel Poulette
Montreal writer/director Michel Poulette won numerous awards for Louis 19th, including the Claude Jutra Award for the direction of a first feature film and the Golden Reel Awards. For television, Poulette directed Agent of Influence and Bonnano: A Godfather’s Story.