Hot Docs

In the 1960s, thousands of young women swooned over Quebec heartthrob crooner Michel Louvain. They still do, and Louvain continues to perform and seduce huge audiences with his voice and charisma. Now-elderly women line up like teenagers to get a glimpse, an autograph, a chance to touch the man who has epitomized their dreams and desires for over 50 years. Intimate, subtle, funny, and touching, Ladies in Blue takes us into the homes and lives of five irrepressible women who idolize the singer. Photographs of Louvain hang side-by-side with wedding pictures and sit beside plastic-covered Virgin Mary statues. Their love for Louvain has accompanied them through the birth of their children, broken marriages, illnesses, and growing frailty. This Genie-nominated film is a heartwarming portrait of fans whose obsession has lasted half a century, and a perceptive glimpse at the relationship between age, celebrity, and the persistence of romantic ideals. - Lynne Fernie

Co-presented with Cinéfranco.