Guilda: Elle est bien dans ma peau

There doesn’t seem to be enough epithets to describe Jean Guilda: comedian, singer, costume and make-up innovator, transvestite extraordinaire. It seems the best one, however, is the simplest: artist. Elegantly talented and altogether groundbreaking, Guilda – his stage name recalling his real last name, as well as Rita Hayworth’s portrayal of Gilda, that indomitable mame – graced theatrical stages and television screens from France to Québec for decades. Having established himself in Montréal in 1955 where he remained until his death in 2012, he helped introduce Québec to the fabulous world of female impersonation, approaching his craft with dignity and a pioneering spirit. More than just a celebration of this irreplaceable artist, Guilda the film pays homage to the once thriving swirl of cabarets and is a love letter to Montreal and parenthood, a tribute to the majesty of fleet-footed time, and a reminder of the impact of being oneself. A documentary both affecting and triumphant, Guilda traces one spectacular life through the people and places that touched and transformed Guilda so that Guilda could transform and touch us.