« Quel numéro - What number ? » ou le travail automatisé
The film deconstructs the promises of the 1980s "computer revolution" by placing humans, rather than machines, at the center of the narrative. Service sector workers—secretaries, telephone operators, cashiers, and postal employees—find themselves confronted with the arrival of new technologies that reshape their workplace. With lucidity, humor, and emotion, they share their experiences of these transformations, singing and even reenacting scenes from their work.
| Director | Sophie Bissonnette |
| Actor | Christine Chevarie |
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With Quel numéro – What number?, Sophie Bissonnette offers a reflection on the value and meaning of work that, despite dating back to the early 1980s, remains highly relevant today. Our tools may have changed, but the same fundamental questions persist.
In the film, the director listens closely to female workers as they share how automation has stripped their jobs of their deeper meaning—whether through the loss of genuine customer interactions or the inability to see a task through to completion. They describe how new technologies have made their work feel mechanical, solitary, and transactional. Speaking with remarkable openness, they do not hesitate to criticize their employers' decisions—freedom of speech they could exercise only because they were protected by their union!
One of the film’s greatest strengths is how Bissonnette integrates creative activities into her documentary approach, giving workers another way to express their experiences. Grocery store cashiers write and perform a song about their changing reality while scanning products for customers. Bell telephone operators gather in a theater studio, where they improvise scenes that dramatize the daily stress of their work. Watching their camaraderie, shared laughter, and moments of solidarity is a true delight.
The film also features an original song by Clémence Desrochers, who captures the workers' experiences with simple yet powerful lyrics.
It is impossible to watch this film without considering the looming presence of artificial intelligence and wondering, like so many others, how it is set to transform the world of work in a very short time—for better or for worse.
Christine Chevarie
Filmmaker
-
Français
1h21
Language: Français
- Année 1985
- Pays Quebec
- Durée 81
- Producteur Les productions du regard, Les Productions Contre-Jour
- Langue French
- Résumé court An exploration of the impact of the 1980s "computer revolution" on service sector workers.
With Quel numéro – What number?, Sophie Bissonnette offers a reflection on the value and meaning of work that, despite dating back to the early 1980s, remains highly relevant today. Our tools may have changed, but the same fundamental questions persist.
In the film, the director listens closely to female workers as they share how automation has stripped their jobs of their deeper meaning—whether through the loss of genuine customer interactions or the inability to see a task through to completion. They describe how new technologies have made their work feel mechanical, solitary, and transactional. Speaking with remarkable openness, they do not hesitate to criticize their employers' decisions—freedom of speech they could exercise only because they were protected by their union!
One of the film’s greatest strengths is how Bissonnette integrates creative activities into her documentary approach, giving workers another way to express their experiences. Grocery store cashiers write and perform a song about their changing reality while scanning products for customers. Bell telephone operators gather in a theater studio, where they improvise scenes that dramatize the daily stress of their work. Watching their camaraderie, shared laughter, and moments of solidarity is a true delight.
The film also features an original song by Clémence Desrochers, who captures the workers' experiences with simple yet powerful lyrics.
It is impossible to watch this film without considering the looming presence of artificial intelligence and wondering, like so many others, how it is set to transform the world of work in a very short time—for better or for worse.
Christine Chevarie
Filmmaker
-
Français
Duration: 1h21Language: Français1h21
- Année 1985
- Pays Quebec
- Durée 81
- Producteur Les productions du regard, Les Productions Contre-Jour
- Langue French
- Résumé court An exploration of the impact of the 1980s "computer revolution" on service sector workers.
