Watch Scandale

Scandale is a Canadian comedy film that was written by Robert Geoffrion. Directed by George Mihalka, the film was produced by Robert Lantos and features Sophie Lorain
and Gilbert Comptois. The film concerns a political event referred to as the Pornobec scandal. During November of 1981, certain staff of Claude Charron have been exposed for using video machines to duplicate pornographic movies by a local television network.

The thrust of the film involves the Legislative Assembly's video equipment was being used to make the films in the legislature building. This causes the opposition Liberal Party of Quebec to be quickly ridiculed. For instance, the Montreal Gazette column reports the incident in the November 1981 issue.

As it is a film parody of the event, the article is written hastily and then rushed through the production schedule for the fastest release possible. The script was completed as early as December 11 so that pre-production would commence during December 1981. The movie was shot using 16 mm film between January 11 and February 2, 1982 on a very modest budget. Subsequently, the movie was released theatrically around May, 1982.

In addition to the allegations of duplicated pornography, there were also disputes against the claims that explicit films were being produced by civil servants in an assembly building. They were able to debunk the claims, but by that time, the political damage had already been done.

Ultimately, the group of government workers who were affected by budget cuts at the Ministry of Culture had decided to earn a quick buck by making blue movies in the Parliament of Quebec. When the finished films get entered unexpectedly into a competition at Cannes Film Festival - the prove to be an embarrassment to Canadian society and Quebec's culture, as well as shocking government officials at every level.

Initially released in French with English subtitles, the new version was produced and dubbed in English for its international exposure, broadcast and distribution.