Round table on March 31st // 6:30 to 8:30pm // FB-411 (1250 rue Guy)

The Cinema Student Association in association with Réalisatrices Équitables presents a round table with filmmakers Helene Klodawsky, Vanya Rose and Isabelle Hayeur; they all have in common a long term experience in narrative, documentary and alternative fiction films. Students from all departments are invited to come and participate in the exchange by submitting their questions to this blog. Take this opportunity to have the filmmakers’ insight on filmmaking, the industry, cinema from a woman’s perspective!

The discussion will be held in English but questions in French are also welcome!

POST YOUR QUESTIONS AS A COMMENT BELOW!

The guests

VANYA ROSE

Vanya Rose studied theatre and visual arts from an early age, spending her childhood between the classrooms of a French colonial school in Montreal, the wilds of the Eastern Townships, and the hallways of the Chelsea Hotel in New York. After acting in and creating theatre productions with the Garrick Players for five years, Vanya began formal theatre training at 15 with Stanislavsky disciple Polina Klimovitskaya. She went on to train in performance at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for two years, however, soon changed her attention to directing, completing her degree at McGill University in English/Theatre with first class honours, and receiving numerous prizes for both her directing and stage adaptations. Parallel to her studies, she began to act in film, allowing her the opportunity to observe various approaches of filmmaking from directors from around the world.

After spending a number of years living in London, Paris, and throughout Italy, where she created several theatre productions, she returned to Montreal in order to complete a master’s degree in theatre directing with an FRSC grant for excellence. It was while creating her thesis production that her thesis director recommended she explore filmmaking and she has continued to do so since.

In 2008, she completed Montreal Stories, a series of three poetic portraits that take place throughout the 20th century, starring Lise Roy, Gabriel Gascon, Carl Alacchi, Kaniehtiio Horn, Tobie Pelletier and Rebecca Windheim. Vanya has just completed the Directors’ Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, is presently in post-production for her latest short Impossible starring Tyler Hynes and Charlotte Le Bon and is developing her first feature-length film As the night the day to be produced by Martin Paul-Hus (Amerique Film).

Check her website!

The guests

ISABELLE HAYEUR

(bio only available in French)

Avant de faire du cinéma, Isabelle Hayeur a beaucoup écrit: du théâtre, de la poésie, des nouvelles. Elle a aussi fait de la danse contemporaine, de la performance et de la mise en scène. Cette exploration des arts de la scène n’a cessé d’influencer son approche de l’image. Après des études en cinéma à l’Université de Montréal, son premier film, Londeleau, une courte fable médiévale, remporte plusieurs prix, dont le prix du meilleur scénario au Festival International de Ste-Thérèse. Dans Cinébulles Sylvie Beaupré écrit que “Londeleau éblouit par son puissant souffle poétique”. Suit de près un premier long métrage, La Bête de Foire, présenté au Festival des films du monde puis aux Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois où il remporte le prix Luce Guilbault. Dans Le Devoir, Jean-Claude Marineau parle “de vrai talent, d’un vrai sens du cinema”. Elle poursuit parallèlement une démarche d’adaptation au cinéma d’oeuvres pour la scène et signe une dizaine de films et vidéos avec les chorégraphes Ginette Laurin, Marie Chouinard et Susan Marshall à New-York. Elle signe ensuite un long métrage de science-fiction qui explore le monde de l’adolescence, Les Siamoises, remarqué par la critique et par deux des plus prestigieux magazines de cinéma fantastique : Fangoria aux États-Unis et L’Écran Fantastique en France. Les Siamoises est présenté dans des festivals à Montréal, à Manchester, à Barcelone, ainsi qu’au prestigieux London Institute of Contemporary Arts. Suit ensuite le long métrage Le Golem de Montréal, issu d’un atelier de théâtre avec onze enfants, puis la très élaborée captation du spectacle de Richard Desjardins KANASUTA, qui lui vaut une nomination à l’ADISQ pour le meilleur DVD de musique de l’année – et une comparaison avec Martin Scorcese par le critique musical Sylvain Cormier… Elle rédige en ce moment Ovo, une réflexion sur la destinée de l’oeuf humain, et Julie la nuit, un film de danse contemporaine pour jeune public en collaboration avec la chorégraphe Hélène Langevin. Depuis trois ans, elle s’occupe activement du groupe de pression Réalisatrices Équitables.

Son site web ici !

The guests

HELENE KLODAWSKY

Helene Klodawsky has been writing and directing social, political and arts films for over 25 years. Her films have been screened and televised around the world, and have received more than 25 awards, including honours from the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Jerusalem International Film Festival, the Mannheim International Film Festival, Hot Docs, Les Rendez-vous du Cinema Quebecois and the Academy of Canadian Cinema. Painted Landscapes of the TimesMotherlandWhat If (1986), (1994), (1999) Undying Love (2002) No More Tears Sister (2005), and her dramatic feature, Family Motel (2007) are some of her credits.  Her latest feature documentary, Malls R Us, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC – the second time Helene participated in The Canadian Front Selection.

She is a graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.  Reviews and articles about Helene’s work have appeared in many periodicals, including Globe and Mail, National Post, New York Times, Newsweek International, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, La Presse, The Independent, BBC News Service, Hindu Times, and the Asian Tribune.

Helene Klodawsky is a member of Doc Organization, the Writer’s Guild of Canada, Réalisatrices Équitables, and the  Quebec Executive of the Director’s Guild of Canada.

Check out her website!