Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre, born in Murdochville in 1978, is a

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and producer of

animated films Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

. She is an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

, a theorist, and an author on women's animation cinema.

Cinematographic Career

In 2004, she founded the independent production company MJSTP Films, dedicated to the creation and production of her own films. She specializes in animated documentaries. She notably uses the technique of

rotoscoping Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, to produce realistic action. Originally, live-action film images were projected onto a glass panel and traced onto paper. This pr ...

and also incorporates archival footage into her creations. Two themes stand out in her cinematic work:

motherhood A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case ...

, which she explored in ''Post-Partum'', '' Passages'', ''Femelles'', and ''Your Mother is a Thief!''; and artistic creation, with '' McLaren's Negatives'','' The Sapporo Project'', '' Jutra'', ''Snowflakes'', ''Oscar'', and ''The Lauzon Theory''.Racine, D. (Automne 2022). Recension: La Théorie Lauzon, ''Séquences'', No. 332. As a producer, she is also credited with ''The Blue Marble'' by Co Hoedeman and '' The Delian Mode'' by Kara Blake. Her films have been showcased worldwide in competitive events, including the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

and the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. She also served as artistic director and animator on Patricio Henríquez's feature documentary '' Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd''.

Academic career

Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre studied in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, where she earned a bachelor's degree in animation cinema and a master's degree in film production. She then obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in art studies and practices from the

Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...

, with a doctoral concentration in

feminist studies ''Feminist Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering women's studies that was established in 1972. It is an independent nonprofit publication housed at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. Besides scholarly artic ...

from the Institute of Feminist Research and Studies (IRéF). Her graduate studies were funded by the Vanier CGS Scholarship. She is an

, her

academic research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

focuses on women and animation cinema, animated documentaries and research-creation using artificial intelligence tools in animation.

Filmography

Screenwriter, director and producer

*''2004
Post-Partum
' *''2006
McLaren's Negatives
' *''2008
Passages
' *''2010
The Sapporo Project
' *''2012
Female
' *''2014
Flocons
' *''2014
Jutra
' *''2016
Oscar
' *''2018
Your Mother is a Thief!
'

Screenwriter and director

*''2022
Lauzon's Theory
ref name=":0" />''

Producer

* 2009
The Delian Mode
by Kara Blake * 2014:
The Blue Marble
' by Co Hoedeman

Publications

Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre is also an author on women and animated cinema: she has published books and scientific articles on the subject.

Books

* *

Scientific publications

* Saint-Pierre, M.-J. et Lebel, E. (2023). Celebrating and Sharing a Heritage of Black People : Martine Chartrand, Animation Filmmaker. ''Recherches Féminist''es. vol. 35, no.1. * Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (2020). Quebec animation cinema and women's agentivity: an exploration of sexuality and desire through the works of three animators produced at the National Film Board of Canada. ''Animation Studies, The Peer-reviewed Open Access Online Journal for Animation History and Theory'', Volume15. partie de ISSN 1930-1928 * Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (2019). Cinéma d’animation québécois et agentivité féminine: une exploration de la sexualité et du désir à travers trois oeuvres d’animatrices produites à l’Office national du film du Canada. ''Nouvelles Vues'', Volume 20 (1-18).

Book Chapter

* Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (2022). La ''Ménagère'' (''The Housewife'', Bennett, 1975) et la notion de sexage. Dans Julie Ravary-Pilon et Ersy Contogouris (Dir.). ''Pour des histoires audiovisuelles des femmes au Québec : diversité, divergence et confluence''. Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal. ''part of''

Other publications

* Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (2023) Compte-rendu: ''Johanne Jutras, Pornographies.'' ''Recherches Féministes''. * Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (2023). Women and animated film: an introduction. ''International Animated Film Association Magazine''. vol. 34, no.1. OCLC: 300299292 * Saint-Pierre, M.J. et Brun, J. (2023). ''Estelle Lebel (1945–2022), chercheuse, professeure, réalisatrice et militante féministe.'' ''Recherches Féministes''. vol. 35, no.1. * Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (2021) Compte-rendu
Julie Ravary-Pilon, Femmes, nation et nature dans le cinéma québécois
''Recherches Féministes'', vol. 34, no.1. (248-253). * Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (2020). Francine Desbiens récompensée du prix René Jodoin aux 18e Sommets du Cinéma d’Animation de Montréal. ''Synoptique, An Online Journal of Film and Moving Images Studies'', Volume 9.1 (162-167). ''partie de'' ISSN 1715-7641 * Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (22 mai 2014). I am caught up in the whirlwind of Cannes. HuffPost Canada: the blog. * Saint-Pierre, M.-J. (20 mai 2014). My first time at Cannes: the trip of my life! HuffPost Canada: the blog.

Completed Research Projects

As part of her academic research, she led the creation of two animation series, developed in collaboration with students under her supervision. 2021: Series of twenty-two documentary animated short films produced for the web documentary ''Les infirmières de la folie.'' 2024: Series of four experimental animated short films (
Passer au traversEspoirMontages russes
e
Impuissance
'' produced for the project
Visuallys
For a Visual Language of Mental Health: Exploring the Power of the Image to Change Social Representations.''

Awards

''Lauzon's Theory (2022)''

Source: * Official selection Not Short on talent at Cannes 2022 * Nomination for the Quebec College Cinema Award (PCCQ), 2022 (Canada) * Official selection Regard - Saguenay International Short Film Festival 2023 (Canada)

''Your Mother is a Thief!'' (2018)

* Most innovative film Award, Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth, 2019 (Canada)

''Oscar'' (2016)

* Animation,

Yorkton Film Festival Yorkton Film Festival (YFF) is an annual film festival held in late May in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1947, the Yorkton Film Council (YFC) was founded and in 1950 the first international documentary film festival officially opened in we ...

, 2017 (Canada) * Audience Choice Award for Program A, New York City Short Film Festival 2016 (USA) * Nomination at the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois (Canada) * Nomination for best animated short film at the 2016 Quebec Cinema Gala (Canada) * Official selection Regard - Saguenay International Short Film Festival 2017 (Canada)

''Jutra'' (2014)

Source: * Gémeaux Award, Best animated television show 2015 (Canada) *

Jutra Award Jutras may have several meanings : * Claude Jutra: an award-winning French Canadian filmmaker **Jutra Award: Film awards formerly given in the Canadian province of Quebec, named after the filmmaker and now known as Prix Iris **The Claude Jutra Awa ...

, Best short animated film 2015 (Canada). *

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

, Best short documentary 2015 (Canada) * Méliès "Light of Québec", Festival du Film Court de Mont-Tremblant 2014 (Canada) * Mention best animated film from Canada, Sommets du cinéma d’animation 2014 (Canada) * Official selection at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2014 (Canada) * Official selection in international short film competition at the Montreal International Documentary Meetings 2014 (Canada)

''Femelles'' (2012)

Best Short Documentary Film, St. Louis International Film Festival 2012 (USA)

'' Passages'' (2008)

Source: * Best Documentary Film, Sapporo International Shortfest 2009 (Japan) * Best Animation Film, Brooklyn International Film Festival 2009 (USA) * Public Award for Best Foreign Short Film Public, Créteil's Woman Film Festival 2009 (France) * Special Jury Award, Personal Expression and Advocacy, Austin Festival 2008 (USA) * Honorable Mention, Best Canadian Short Film, Atlantic Film Festival 2008 (Canada) * Special Mention, Golden Key Award, Kassel Dokumentarfilm und Videofest 2008 (Germany) * Nomination for Best Short Documentary Film,

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

2010 (Canada) * Selection for the Canada's Top Ten, Best Short Films, by the

, 2009 (Canada)

'' McLaren's Negatives'' (2006)

for Best Animated Film 2007 (Québec) * Honorable Mention best short film,

Silverdocs The AFI Docs (formerly Silverdocs) documentary film festival was an American international film festival. Created by the American Film Institute and the Discovery Channel, it was held annually in Silver Spring, Maryland and Washington, D.C., fro ...

2006 (USA) * Best Debut Film, Animation, Message to Man International Film Festival, St Petersbourg 2006 (Russia) * Best Short Contemporary Film, Sapporo International Shortfest 2006 (Japan) * Bear in Gold, Festival Der Nationen 2006 (Austria) * Best Short Documentary Film, Animation Block Party New York 2006 (USA) * Best Animation Film, Dokufest 2006 (Kosovo) * Best International Documentary, Santiago International Short Film Festival 2006 (Chile) * Best Director Animation, Monstramundo 2006 (Brazil) * Best Script Animation, Monstramundo 2006 (Brazil) * Youth Jury Award for Most Inspirational Short Film, Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth 2007 (Canada) * First Prize in the Documentary Section, 10 Mostra Internacional de Curtmetratges de Sagunt 2007 (Spain) * Best Documentary, PA Film Institute Festival 2007 (USA) * Platinum Remi, Best Animation, Worldfest Houston 2007 (USA) * Special Jury Prize, Directing, Indianapolis Film Festival 2007 (USA) * Best Documentary, Arizona International Film Festival 2007 (USA) * Special Jury Award for Best Animated Film, Ismailia International Film Festival 2007 (Egypt) * Best Documentary, Filmest Badalona Festival 2007 (Spain) * Honorable Mention, Best Short International Film, Festival International de Curtas de Belo Horizonte 2006 (Brazil) * Honorable Mention, International Animation Competition, Monterrey International Festival 2006 (Mexico) * Special Mention Animation, Seddicorto International Festival 2006 (Italia) * Special Mention Animation, Luciana Film Festival 2006 (Italia)

''Post-Partum'' (2004)

* Special Jury Prize for Most Innovative Approach, Guangzhou International Documentary Festival 2005 (China) * Gold Special Jury Award, Worldfest Houston 2005 (USA) * GAIA Award, Moondance International Film Festival 2005 (USA) * Shoestring Award, Rochester International Film Festival 2005 (USA) * Artistic Development Award, Imperial Tobacco Canada Arts Council 2004 * J.A. De Sève Graduate Award 2004, Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema (Canada)

References

External links

Professeur at Université Laval
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Pierre, Marie-Josee 1978 births Living people Film directors from Montreal Concordia University alumni People from Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Canadian documentary film directors Canadian animated film directors Women animated film directors Canadian women film directors Canadian women animators Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Short Documentary Film Academic staff of Université Laval Canadian women documentary filmmakers