Lyse Lafontaine (born 1942) is a Canadian

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

known for working with directors

Jean-Claude Lauzon Jean-Claude Lauzon (September 29, 1953 – August 10, 1997) was a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter. Born to a working class family in Montreal, Quebec, Lauzon dropped out of high school and worked various jobs before studying film at the Unive ...

and

Xavier Dolan Xavier Dolan-Tadros (; born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian filmmaker, actor and costume designer. He began his career as a child actor in commercials before directing several arthouse feature films. He first received international acclaim in 2 ...

. She works at Lyla Films in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Canada.

Early life

Born to '' La Presse'' reporter Gaston Lafontaine, Lyse studied literature 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-de ...

and earned her degree. She married Stéphane Venne and managed the rock band Offenbach in 1972. She became a stage manager on the 1974 film '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'', and married her second husband, moving to

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

for two years before returning to Canada.

Career

In 1976, Lafontaine served as location manager for the film ''

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane ''The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane'' is a 1976 cross-genre film directed by Nicolas Gessner and starring Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman, and Scott Jacoby. It was a co-production of Canada and France and written by L ...

'', starring

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...

. Lafontaine met Lauzon when he was pitching his screenplay for ''

Léolo ''Léolo'' is a 1992 Canadian coming of age film, coming of age-fantasy film by director Jean-Claude Lauzon. The film tells the story of a young boy named Léo "Léolo" Lauzon, played by Maxime Collin, who engages in an active Fantasy (psychology), ...

'' (1992), which other producers had rejected. It became the first film she produced, with

Aimée Danis Aimée Danis (September 19, 1929 - May 8, 2012) was a Canadian film director and producer from Quebec.Guy Fournier"Aimée Danis, une femme si effacée" ''Le Journal de Montréal'', May 16, 2012. She produced the films ''Léolo'' and ''My Friend Ma ...

, for which they were nominated for the

Genie Award for Best Motion Picture The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Motion Picture to the best Canadian film of the year.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishin ...

. While in Italy during filming, Lauzon gave Lafontaine a letter thanking her for her ineptitude in business, which he considered necessary to make a film with feeling. She kept it as a cherished keepsake. Working with Dolan, she produced ''

Laurence Anyways ''Laurence Anyways'' is a 2012 Canadian Romance film, romantic drama film written, directed and edited by Xavier Dolan. The film competed in the ''Un Certain Regard'' section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival where Suzanne Clément won the Un Cer ...

'' (2012) and served as an associate producer for '' Mommy'' (2014). Dolan's ''Laurence Anyways'' was inspired by Lafontaine's ex-boyfriend Luc Baillairgé, the father of her son Mikaël, who had a small part in ''Léolo''. With Dolan, she personally traveled to London in 2017 to work on his ''

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. In 2015, Lafontaine produced ''

La Passion d’Augustine ''The Passion of Augustine'' (french: La passion d'Augustine) is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, directed by Léa Pool and released in 2015. The film's cast also includes Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Gilbert Sicotte, Marie Tifo, Danielle Fichaud, ...

'' with

François Tremblay François Tremblay is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2018 provincial election.

, winning the Québec Cinéma Award for Best Film. On 1 June 2017 at the

19th Quebec Cinema Awards The 19th Quebec Cinema Awards ceremony was held on 4 June 2017, hosted by actors Guylaine Tremblay and Édith Cochrane, to recognize talent and achievement in the Cinema of Quebec. Formerly known as the Jutra Awards, the Prix Iris name was announ ...

, she was awarded the Iris Hommage for 30 years of contributions to

Quebec cinema The history of cinema in Quebec started on June 27, 1896 when the Frenchman Louis Minier inaugurated the first movie projection in North America in a Montreal theatre room. However, it would have to wait until the 1960s before a genuine Quebec ...

Filmography

Her films include: * ''

The Decline of the American Empire ''The Decline of the American Empire'' (french: Le Déclin de l'empire Américain) is a 1986 Canadian sex comedy- drama film directed by Denys Arcand and starring Rémy Girard, Pierre Curzi and Dorothée Berryman. The film follows a group of ...

'' (1986) * ''

Jesus of Montreal ''Jesus of Montreal'' (french: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 French Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand, and starring Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening and Johanne-Marie Tremblay. The film tells the story of a grou ...

'' (1989) * ''

'' (1992) * ''

A Sunday in Kigali ''A Sunday in Kigali'' (original French title: ''Un dimanche à Kigali'') is a 2006 Canadian feature film set during the Rwandan genocide. It is directed by Robert Favreau based on the novel '' A Sunday at the pool in Kigali'' by Gil Courteman ...

'' (2006) * ''

Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's ''Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's'' (french: Maman est chez le coiffeur) is a 2008 drama directed by Léa Pool. Synopsis The film takes place in the summer of 1966, in Beloeil, Québec, where a young girl named Élise is enjoying summer vacation. ...

'' (2009) * '' Barney's Version (2010) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Mommy'' (2014) * ''

Love Project ''Love Project'' (french: Love Projet) is a Canadian drama film, directed by Carole Laure and released in 2014. An ensemble drama, the film focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of young theatre professionals who are working to ...

'' (2014) * ''

The Passion of Augustine ''The Passion of Augustine'' (french: La passion d'Augustine) is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, directed by Léa Pool and released in 2015. The film's cast also includes Anne-Élisabeth Bossé, Gilbert Sicotte, Marie Tifo, Danielle Fichaud, ...

'' (2015) * '' A Bag of Marbles'' (2017) * '' Worst Case, We Get Married'' (2017) * ''

'' (2018)

References

External links

*
Lyse Lafontaine
at Lyla Films {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafontaine, Lyse 1942 births Canadian film producers Canadian music managers Canadian women film producers Living people People from Montreal Université de Montréal alumni