Documentary feature length | 89 minutes | 2015
Original Music Chantal De Villiers
SYNOPSIS
Hôtel La Louisiane is, at its core, a film about freedom and dignity. Freedom for those who wish to live in a place where they are able to feel inspired. Dignity for the hotel owner to stand by his promise to his father and keep their mission alive: to provide an affordable sanctuary for artists and students in search of fulfilling employment, which they certainly won’t find at other hotels. Freedom, too, to be in an environment of tolerance and rid of prejudice. This film is not just a story about a mythical setting in Paris; it portrays the microcosm of a lifestyle in which collective values reign supreme. A film where what’s real and true is placed above national borders or cultural barriers.
Michel La Veaux’s heartfelt sincerity is palpable throughout the film; a sincerity which both inspires and reflects the sincerity of those who make La Louisiane such an extraordinary place, a place where hope is born.
If Saint-Germain-des-Prés isn’t quite what he used to be in terms of intellectual and artistic influence worldwide, what was is able to become whole again when this place called La Louisiane can flourish and proves to be so much more than a hotel. Within its walls lies all that remains of the neighbourhood’s heart and spirit, in a post-war period when Saint-Germain-des-Prés had become the epicenter of the artists who lived for freedom and art.
