Peggy Thompson is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

screenwriter, producer, playwright, and professor. She is known for her films '' The Lotus Eaters'' and ''

Better Than Chocolate ''Better Than Chocolate'' is a 1999 Canadian romantic comedy film shot in Vancouver and directed by Anne Wheeler. Plot Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) has moved out on her own and has started a relationship with Kim (Christina Cox). Maggie's mother Lila ...

''.

Career

Thompson's 1989 short film ''

In Search of the Last Good Man ''In Search of the Last Good Man'' is a Canadian comedy-drama short film, directed by Peg Campbell and released in 1989."Video festival is giving a voice to women artists". ''Calgary Herald'', November 26, 1989. Cowritten with Peggy Thompson as a ...

'' won the

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; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

for Best Live Action Short Drama at the

11th Genie Awards The 11th annual Genie Awards were presented March 20, 1990, and honoured Canadian films released in 1989. For this year, CTV had negotiated to serve as broadcaster and the academy formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, ACCTV Productions, to independe ...

in 1990. She won the award for

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

at the

14th Genie Awards The 14th Genie Awards were held on December 12, 1993."Glenn Gould Still Scoring Prizes". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 13, 1993. In a bid to increase the visibility of the Genie Awards in the francophone market in Quebec, the ceremony was held in ...

in 1993 for '' The Lotus Eaters''. Thompson wrote the screenplay and co-produced the 2000 film, ''

.'' She began conceiving the film in 1993, shortly after finishing ''The Lotus Eaters'', while on a retreat with ''Better Than Chocolate'''s other producer, Sharon McGowan.The two dared each other to create a lesbian coming out comedy. Thompson was committed to not having ''Better Than Chocolate'' be in "the tradition of the celluloid closet" and thus gave the lesbian characters in the film a happy ending. Her other credits include the films ''

Saint Monica Monica ( – 387) was an early North African Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, partic ...

'' and ''Bearded Ladies: The Photography of Rosamond Norbury'', the television series ''

The Beachcombers ''The Beachcombers'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that ran on CBC Television from October 1, 1972, to December 12, 1990. With over 350 episodes, it is one of the longest-running dramatic series ever made for English-language Canad ...

'', ''

Da Vinci's Inquest ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' is a Canadian dramatic television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven seaso ...

'' and ''

Big Sound ''Big Sound'' was a Canadian produced television programme which aired for a run of 22 episodes. The show was set in the offices of a fictional record label, concentrating on the interactions between characters therein. It starred Greg Evigan. As ...

'', and stage plays including ''Brides in Space'' and ''The Last Will and Testament of Lolita''. She was also coauthor, with Saeko Usukawa, of two coffee table books on film history, ''Hard Boiled: Great Lines from Film Noir'' and ''Tall in the Saddle: Great Lines from Classic Westerns''. Thompson is currently an associate professor of screenwriting at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Personal life

Saeko Usukawa, an art book writer and editor with

Douglas & McIntyre Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd. is a Canadian book publishing firm. Douglas & McIntyre was founded by James Douglas and Scott McIntyre in 1971 as an independent publishing company based in Vancouver. Reorganized with new owners in 2008 as D&M P ...

, was Thompson's partner from 1978 until her death in 2009."A behind-the-scenes force guiding books onto shelves". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', July 31, 2009.

References

External links

* Canadian women screenwriters Film producers from British Columbia Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Canadian LGBT screenwriters LGBT producers Canadian lesbian writers Living people Best Screenplay Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian women film producers Canadian women television writers 1952 births Lesbian screenwriters Lesbian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian LGBT people {{Canada-screenwriter-stub