Manon Barbeau (born 1949) is a Québécois

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 ...

, director, writer, and co-founder of

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 ...

, an organisation that helps

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

youth learn the art of filmmaking. She has been Wapikoni Mobile’s general director since 2004.

Personal life

Barbeau was born 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 ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, on May 8, 1949. Her father is painter and sculptor

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 ...

and her mother, Suzanne Meloche, is a poet and painter. She and her partner, cinematographer Philippe Lavalette, have a daughter,

Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette 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 cinematogra ...

, who is an actor and film director. While doing research in the archives of 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- ...

for her documentary, ''Les Enfants de

Refus global Le Refus global ( en, Total Refusal, link=yes) was an anti-establishment and anti-religious manifesto released on August 9, 1948, in Montreal by a group of sixteen young Québécois artists and intellectuals that included Paul-Émile Borduas, Je ...

'', Barbeau found correspondence detailing her mother’s love affair with

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 ...

, the dissolution of her parents’ romantic relationship, as well as evidence that they had abandoned her at the age of three.

Career

Barbeau graduated in cinema and communications from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She has written for TV and, in 1991, published a novel, ''Merlyne'', with

Boréal Boréal (French: Congrès Boréal) is an annual French-language science fiction and fantasy convention in Canada, held in a number of different cities since its founding in 1979, though all of them, save Ottawa in 1989, were located in the prov ...

. For over thirty years, Barbeau has been working as a filmmaker, screenwriter and producer for numerous organizations, including

Télé-Québec The Société de télédiffusion du Québec (; en, Quebec Television Broadcasting Corporation), branded as Télé-Québec (), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Cro ...

, the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

, ''Vidéo Paradiso'', ''La Maison des Cultures Nomades'', ''Totam'' and

. Barbeau was also president of the Documentary Network (''L’Observatoire du Documentaire'') from 2006 to 2008. From 2010 to 2014, she was part of Culture Montréal’s Board of Directors, and in 2014 she was elected president of the organization. She has often spoken publicly about documentary filmmaking and Aboriginal youth at various events and venues including ''L’Art en Marge'', organized by the ''Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec'', and at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

for

International Women’s Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

in 2014.

Wapikoni

Since 2004, Barbeau has been the general director of

, a mobile film studio that travels to remote First Nations communities. The organization has been credited with providing Aboriginal youth with an outlet to express themselves, as well as the tools and skills to do so. In 2010, UQAM’s faculty of communication and media offered Barbeau an award (''Prix Reconnaissance UQAM'') for her contributions to documentary filmmaking and her commitment to Aboriginal youth.

Works

Documentaries

*1975: ''Comptines'' : Director *1981: ''Nous sommes plusieur boucoup de monde'' : Director *1990: ''Le Marché du couple'' : Writer *1994: Tristan and Juliette or Love in the Year 2000 (''Tristan et Juliette ou l’amour en l’an 2000'') : Writer *1996: ''Les Enfants d’abord'' : Writer *1997: ''Raymond Lévesque - d’Amour et d’Amertume'' : Writer *1998: ''Les Enfants de Refus global'' : Director *1999: ''L'Armée de l'ombre'' : Director *2000: ''Barbeau, libre comme l’art'' : Director *2001: ''Alain, artiste-démolisseur'' : Director *2002: ''La Fin du mépris'' : Writer *2004: ''L'Amour en Pen'' : Director *2004: ''De mémoire de chats - Les Ruelles'' : Director *2005: ''Du bord des bêtes - VLB'' : Director *2010: ''Wapikoni - Escale à Kitcisaki'' : Participant

Films

*1991: ''Un amour naissant'' : Writer *2007: ''Un cri au bonheur'' : Contributor

Fiction

*1991: ''Merlyne'': Author

Awards

*2003: Won five ''

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 ...

'' from the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

, immortalizing her as one of the academy's "Legends" *2006: Honoured at the ''Femmes du Cinéma, de la Télévision et des Nouveaux Médias'' (FCTNM) Gala for her body of work *2009: Elected as a Canadian Ashoka Fellow for civic engagement *2010: ''Prix Reconnaissance UQAM'' for her contributions to documentary filmmaking and her commitment to Aboriginal youth *2012: Nominated for the ''Prix de la Personalité Internationale de l’Année'' given by CÉRIUM *2012: Named ‘personality of the week’ by ''La Presse/Radio-Canada'' in April *2012: ''Prix Femmes d'Affaires'', OBNL category, from the ''Réseau des Femmes d’Affaires du Québec'' *2012: PLURAL+ Honorable Mention Award for Wapikoni Mobile *2012: Telus Community Excellence Award *2014: Elected president of Culture Montreal’s Board of Directors *2014: Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

*2014: ''

Prix Albert-Tessier The Prix Albert-Tessier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in Quebec cinema. It is awarded to script-writing, acting, composing music, directing, producing a ...

'' *2016: Named a Member of the Order of Canada."Order of Canada's newest appointees include Paralympian, Supreme Court judge and astrophysicist"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...

, December 30, 2016.

References

External links

Wapikoni Mobile's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbeau, Manon 1949 births Living people Canadian women film directors Canadian women screenwriters French Quebecers Film directors from Montreal Writers from Montreal Université du Québec à Montréal alumni Canadian documentary film directors Canadian documentary film producers Canadian women film producers Members of the Order of Canada Officers of the National Order of Quebec Canadian screenwriters in French Prix Albert-Tessier winners Canadian women documentary filmmakers Ashoka Canada Fellows