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The Downtown Project

Just a stone’s throw from downtown Montreal is the largest social housing complex in Quebec. Built in 1959 where the red-light district used to be, Les Habitations Jeanne-Mance have retained something of the area’s seedy reputation for poverty, prostitution, drugs and violence. But who really knows the projects and the people who live there? Delving beneath the prejudices and stereotypes, director Isabelle Longtin ventured inside the buildings and met the residents. The result is The Downtown Project, a documentary that reveals a complex multi-ethnic reality made up of compelling personal stories and social movements.
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Just a stone’s throw from downtown Montreal is the largest social housing complex in Quebec. Built in 1959 where the red-light district used to be, Les Habitations Jeanne-Mance have retained something of the area’s seedy reputation for poverty, prostitution, drugs and violence. But who really knows the projects and the people who live there? Delving beneath the prejudices and stereotypes, director Isabelle Longtin ventured inside the buildings and met the residents. The result is The Downtown Project, a documentary that reveals a complex multi-ethnic reality made up of compelling personal stories and social movements.

Urbanism Social Issues Cultural Diversity and Multiculturalism Families All subjects
  • writer
    Isabelle Longtin
  • director
    Isabelle Longtin
  • producer
    Raymonde Provencher
    Colette Loumède
  • cinematography
    Charles Latour
  • sound recording
    Simon Plouffe
  • editing
    Robert Cornellier
    Elric Robichon
  • original music
    Ghislain Poirier
  • research
    Isabelle Longtin
  • additional cinematography
    François Beauchemin
  • additional sound recording
    Marcel Fraser
  • transcription
    Marjorie Lenneville
  • translation
    Paula McKeown
  • subtitles
    Paula McKeown
  • video post-production
    Post-Moderne
  • colorist
    Alexandre Domingue
  • assistant editor
    Pier-Luc Latulippe
  • post-production coordinator
    Anne-Marie Bousquet
  • post-production sound
    Patrice Gill
  • sound design
    Bruno Pucella
  • sound editing
    Bruno Pucella
  • mix
    Richard Pelletier
  • technical consultant
    Denis Boisvert
  • legal consultant
    Lussier & Khouzam
  • administrator
    John Chretien
    Johanne Dubuc
  • production manager
    Mélanie Lasnier
  • production coordinator
    Mélanie Lasnier
    Hélène Regimbal
    Dominique Brunet
  • marketing officer
    François Jacques
  • marketing officer - assistance
    Émilie Nguyen Ngoc
  • technical coordinator
    Richard Cliche
  • administrative assistant
    Lise Lévesque
  • associate producer
    Maryse Chapdelaine
  • visual archives
    National Film Board of Canada
  • executive producer
    Robert Cornellier
    Patricio Henríquez
    Raymonde Provencher
The Downtown Project
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