Michèle Cournoyer (born November 14, 1943) is a Canadian
animator who on 1 March 2017 received a
Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for her body of work.
Early life
Born in
Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel
Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel is a town in the Regional county municipality of Pierre-De Saurel, in Montérégie, Quebec. It is located north of the Tracy section of Sorel-Tracy. Champlain Street marks the town's southern limit from Sorel-Tracy, and th ...
,
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 ...
, Cournoyer began drawing at the age of five, and started painting at 12 when she was hospitalized, and her father bought her an oil paint set. At the age of 17, she had to halt her art education when her mother became ill, with Cournoyer caring for her ailing mother and the family. Her mother died when Cournoyer was 20 years of age. After two years studying in Quebec City, she moved to Montreal, then to London to study graphic arts.
Studying in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
during the 1960s, she was influenced by
Pop Art, the
Dada movement
Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (Zurich), Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 192 ...
and
surrealism.
During the 1970s she worked as a set designer, art director, costume designer and screenwriter for several Quebec-based film companies.
Independent film and animation work
Her first animation film, ''Papa! Papa! Papa! (L'Homme et l'enfant)'', came about when a friend had a baby and Cournoyer, fascinated by the relationship between parent and child, created a photography
flip book that would evolve into this film. Her 1973 short ''Alfredo'' was made during her time in Italy. Upon returning to Quebec, she worked in film as a set designer, art director, costume designer and screenwriter, with credits on such films as
Mireille Dansereau
Mireille Dansereau (born December 19, 1943) is a Canadian director and screenwriter who is known for "emulating the style and approach of her aesthetic role model, John Cassavetes".
Biography
Mireille Dansereau was a dancer for 15 years before ...
’s ''La vie rêvée'' (1972) and ''L’arrache-coeur (''1979), as well as
Gilles Carle
Gilles Carle, (July 31, 1928As fully funny, Carle had pleasure to always give himself one year less, and to let people think wrongly that he was born in 1929, "The Year of the Big World Crash": see on the Quebec French newspapers that many writer ...
’s ''
La Mort d’un bûcheron'' (1973). She also made her independent films ''Spaghettata'', ''Toccata'', ''Old Orchard Beach, P.Q.'' and ''Dolorosa''.
[
]
Working with the NFB
In 1989, Cournoyer won 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 ...
's French Animation Studio's 9th Cinéaste recherché competition in 1989, leading to the completion of her first NFB animated short ''A Feather Tale''. Her films with the NFB have explored powerful themes. ''The Hat
The Hat is a Southern California fast-food restaurant chain specializing in pastrami
Pastrami (Romanian: '' pastramă'') is a food originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket, lamb, pork, chicken sometimes from turkey. The raw m ...
'' is a film about incest that was part of the International Critics' Week
The International Critics' Week (french: Semaine de la Critique) was founded in 1962 and is organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created following the showing of '' The Connection'' directed by Shirley Clarke which had been ...
during the Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, and was ranked as one of the 100 Best Animated Films of All Time in ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' 2005 survey. ''Accordion'' deals with sexuality, while ''Robes of War'' looks at terrorism and religion through a female suicide bomber. Her 2014 film, ''Soif'' explores alcoholism.[
]
Technique
While she has experimented with computerization in such works as ''An Artist'' (1994), Cournoyer usually uses traditional animation
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Proc ...
methods. ''The Hat'', which started on a computer, was completed by her on paper. ''Soif'', an ink-on-paper film, took her four years, with 10,000 drawings required to arrive at the final 1,800 used in the film. She traditionally makes her drawings in pen with black ink, on white pages in black note books.
Filmography
*''Papa! Papa! Papa! (L'Homme et l'enfant)'', 1969
*''Alfredo'', 1973
*''Spaghettata'' (co-directed with Jacques Drouin), 1976
*''La Toccata'', 1976
*''Old Orchard Beach P. Q.'', 1981
*''Dolorasa'', 1988
*''A Feather Tale (La Basse-cour)'', 1992
*''An Artist (Une Artiste)'', 1994
*''The Hat
The Hat is a Southern California fast-food restaurant chain specializing in pastrami
Pastrami (Romanian: '' pastramă'') is a food originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket, lamb, pork, chicken sometimes from turkey. The raw m ...
(Le Chapeau)'', 1999
*''The Accordion'', 2004
*''Robes of War (Robe de guerre)'', 2008
*'' Soif'', 2014
Honours
In 2015, she was the subjective of a special retrospective and art exhibition at the Ottawa International Animation Film Festival
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...
.[ On February 27, Cournoyer was announced as a recipient of a 2017 ]Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts
The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts are annual awards for achievements in visual and media arts in Canada. Up to eight awards are presented annually with the prize amount is $25,000
Created in 2000 by then Governor General Adrie ...
.
References
External links
*
Watch films by Michèle Cournoyer at NFB.ca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cournoyer, Michele
1943 births
Living people
Film directors from Quebec
Canadian women artists
National Film Board of Canada people
Canadian animated film directors
Canadian women film directors
Feminist artists
Canadian women animators
Artists from Quebec
French Quebecers
People from Montérégie
Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts winners
Prix Albert-Tessier winners