Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette (born 1979) is a Canadian novelist, film director, and screenwriter from Quebec. Her films are known for their "organic, participatory feel." Barbeau-Lavalette is the daughter of filmmaker Manon Barbeau and cinematographer

Philippe Lavalette Philippe Lavalette is a Canadian cinematographer, writer and documentary filmmaker from Quebec. He is most noted for his work on the 2012 film ''Inch'Allah'', for which he was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Cinematography at the 1st Canad ...

, and the granddaughter of artist

Marcel Barbeau Marcel Barbeau, (February 18, 1925 – January 2, 2016) was a Canadian painter, sculptor, graphic and performance artist who used different forms of abstraction and art techniques and technology to express himself. Career Born in Montreal, he stu ...

. Originally prominent as a child actor, her credits included the series ''

Le Club des 100 Watts ''Le Club des 100 Watts'' was a youth TV show aired on Radio-Québec (now Télé-Québec) from 1988 to 1994. It was hosted by Marc-André Coallier. It also featured Quebec celebrities such as Marc Labrèche, Guylaine Tremblay, and Claude Legault ...

'' and '' À nous deux!''. She later began making

documentary films A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

, including ''Les Petits princes des bidonvilles'' (2000), ''Buenos Aires, no llores'' (2001)"Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette nommée Artiste pour la paix"

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, February 14, 2013. and ''Si j'avais un chapeau'' (2005),"Five Questions with Inch'Allah Director Anais Barbeau-Lavalette"
''

Filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

'', September 8, 2012. before releasing her first feature film, '' The Ring'', in 2007. In 2010, she also published ''Je voudrais qu'on m'efface'' (translated as ''Neighbourhood Watch''), a novel which revolves around some of the same characters as ''The Ring''. In 2015, her second novel, ''La femme qui fuit'' (translated as ''Suzanne''), inspired by the life of her grandmother, artist Suzanne Meloche, was short-listed for the 2016

Governor General's Award for French-language fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each ...

, in addition to winning a number of other prizes and being a best-seller. Barbeau-Lavalette is best known to international audiences for her award-winning 2012 film ''

Inch'Allah ''In sha'Allah'' (; ar, إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ, ʾIn shāʾ Allāh ), also spelled In shaa Allah, InshAllah, Insya Allah and İnşAllah is an Arabic language expression meaning "if god wills" or "god willing". It was mentioned i ...

''.

Early life

Barbeau-Lavalette was born on February 8, 1979, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, the daughter of Manon Barbeau, a filmmaker and director, and Philippe Lavalette, a cinematographer. She is the granddaughter of the Canadian artist

, who studied under

Paul-Émile Borduas Paul-Émile Borduas (November 1, 1905 – February 22, 1960) was a Québecois artist known for his abstract paintings. He was the leader of the avant-garde Automatiste movement and the chief author of the Refus Global manifesto of 1948. Bor ...

, and is known for being one of the first

non-figurative Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19t ...

painters in Canada. As a young adult, Barbeau-Lavalette lived and studied in the heavily disputed

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

area. In 2000, after finishing her first full-length documentary, ''Les Petits princes des bidonvilles'' (2000), Barbeau-Lavalette enrolled at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

, where she majored in International Studies. She then went on to study Film Production at the

INIS INIS may refer to: *International Nuclear Information System *Iraqi National Intelligence Service *iNiS Corporation *Institut national de l'image et du son * Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service *INIS character set See also * * Innis (d ...

. Following her time at INIS, Barbeau-Lavalette travelled to

Ramallah, Palestine Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusal ...

to attend Birzeit University.

Film career

Documentaries

Barbeau-Lavalette started her film career as a documentary director. Following a year spent in Honduras, Barbeau-Lavalette directed ''Les Petits princes des bidonvilles'' (2000), which followed young Hondurans growing up in Montreal. In 2002, Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette represented Canada in the United Nation's Volunteers' Odyssey (Odyssée du voluntarist), in which she traveled the world creating 15 short documentaries on the theme of volunteerism. On her return, Barbeau-Lavalette directed more documentaries, including the features ''Si j'avais un chapeau'' (2005), which detailed the lives of children across four different countries, and ''Tap-Tap'', a "poetic portrait of Montreal's Haitian community."

Fiction features

In 2007, her debut fiction ''The Ring'' came out and was received warmly by critics. Her second fiction feature film, ''

'', has become her most recognizable piece of work. Her 2020 film, ''

Goddess of the Fireflies ''Goddess of the Fireflies'' (french: La déesse des mouches à feu) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette and released in 2020.Jared Mobarak"Berlin Review: Goddess of the Fireflies Brings 1990s Adolescent Energy to Life" ...

(La déesse des mouches à feu)'', is an adaptation of the novel by

Geneviève Pettersen Geneviève Pettersen (born 1982) is a Canadian writer from Quebec.

. In 2022, she released '' White Dog (Chien blanc)'', an adaptation of

Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He i ...

's 1970 novel '' White Dog''.

Short films

Barbeau-Lavalette has created many short films spanning across different mediums and genres. Barbeau-Lavalette directed and shot 15 documentary short films during her time with the United Nation's Volunteers' Odyssey, and has continued to release short films throughout her career. Her filmography includes such short films as ''Seven Hours Three Times A Year'' (2012), '' Ina Litovski'' (2012), and an 11-minute animated short film, ''Take Me'' (2014).

Videoclips

Barbeau-Lavalette is part of the

Wapikoni Mobile Wapikoni Mobile is a non-profit organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that hosts educational workshops and film screenings to raise awareness and educate the wider public about Indigenous cultures, issues and rights. Each year, an avera ...

audiovisual adventure. Through this Barbeau-Lavalette has directed videoclips for musicians, including Canadian singers Catherine Major and

Thomas Hellman Thomas Hellman (born 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, radio columnist, and author. Born to an American father and a French mother, he sings both in French and English. Music and writing Hellman's M.A thesis in French literature in McGill ...

and hip hop artists Samian and Dramatik.

Bibliography

* ''Je voudrais qu'on m'efface'' (2010). ''Neighbourhood Watch'', trans. Rhonda Mullins (Coach House, 2020). * ''Embrasser Yasser Arafat : chroniques palestiniennes'' (2011). * ''La Femme qui fuit'' (2015). ''Suzanne'', trans. Rhonda Mullins (Coach House, 2017).

Awards and nominations

''Si j'avais un chapeau'' (2005) was nominated for the "Best Social Documentary and Best Research" at the

Prix Gémeaux The Prix Gémeaux () or Gémeaux Awards honour achievements in Canadian television and digital media that is broadcast in French. It has been sponsored by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television since 1987. Introduced as a French-language equ ...

in 2006. Her feature film, ''Le Ring'' (2007) was extremely well received by critics. The critically acclaimed film, was chosen in the Pusan and Berlin film festivals in 2008. ''Le Ring'' received international awards including the New Talent Grand Prize and the

Golden Lion Award The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

Taipei Film Festival The Taipei Film Festival (TFF; ) is a film festival promoted by the city of Taipei, Taiwan, through the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Taipei City Government. It was first held in 1998, from September 28 to October 5. Currently chaired by ...

, the Special Jury Award at Vladivostok Film Festival in Russia, and the Best Director Award at Miradas Madrid Film Festival. A

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

and international development activist, Barbeau-Lavalette was named artist of the year for 2012 by Les Artistes pour la paix, a

-based organization that honors works of art involving themes of peace, in February 2013. In the same month, ''Inch'Allah'' was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize for the Panorama section of the

2013 Berlin International Film Festival The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival took place in Berlin, Germany between 7 and 17 February 2013. Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai was announced as the President of the Jury and his film '' The Grandmaster'' was the opening film ...

."Inch'Allah wins the FIPRESCI prize at the Berlin Film Festival"
''

The Gazette The Gazette (stylized as the GazettE), formerly known as , is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa in early 2002.''Shoxx'' Vol 106 June 2007 pg 40-45 The band is currently signed to Sony Music Recor ...

'', February 15, 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbeau-Lavalette, Anais 1979 births Activists from Montreal Canadian child actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian documentary film directors Canadian women film directors Canadian women novelists Film directors from Montreal Writers from Montreal Actresses from Montreal Living people Canadian pacifists Canadian human rights activists Women human rights activists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian women screenwriters Canadian screenwriters in French 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian novelists in French 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Best Director Jutra and Iris Award winners Canadian women documentary filmmakers