Aerlyn Weissman (born 1947 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

) is a two-time Genie Award-winning Canadian documentary filmmaker and political activist on behalf of the lesbian community.

Career

Weissman trained in sound recording in the United States before coming to Canada in 1970, and worked as a sound designer at 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 ...

- one of very few women in that role. She worked on

Janis Cole Janis Cole (born 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, producer, writer, editor and professor. She has directed several films over the span of her career. Most of these films were done in cooperation with her friend and professional partner, Holly Dale. ...

and

Holly Dale Holly Dale (born December 23, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and television director. Over the course of her career, Dale has worked in the Canadian film and television industry as a director, producer, writer, and editor. Although she has comple ...

’s '' P4W: Prison for Women'' (1981), and '' Hookers on Davie'' (1984). After the success of '' Forbidden Love'', Weissman collaborated with Lynne Fernie on a film about lesbian writer

Jane Rule Jane Vance Rule (28 March 1931 – 27 November 2007) was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed works. Her first novel, ''Desert of the Heart'', appeared in 1964, when gay activity was still a criminal offence. It turned Rule into a reluctant m ...

, the Genie-winning '' Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule'' (1995). She also directed the film ''Without Fear'' (1993), about women surviving violence. Weissman's indie documentary '' Little Sister’s vs Big Brother'', a stirring and comprehensive epic of the bookstore's struggles against state censorship, premiered in 2002. Included in the NFB's 2003 queer pedagogical package, this film's heroic portraits of the bookstore's activist triumvirate

Janine Fuller Janine Fuller (born 1958)Inductee: Janine Fuller
.

Jim Deva Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, also known as Little Sister's Bookstore, but usually called "Little Sister's", is an independent bookstore in the Davie Village/West End neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The bookstore wa ...

, Bruce Smyth (and writer/employee Mark Macdonald), are already enshrined in the Canadian queer pantheon. Since 2001 Weissman has also directed for the TV documentary series ''

KinK Kink or KINK may refer to: Common uses * Kink (sexuality), a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behavior * Kink, a curvature, bend, or twist Geography * Kink, Iran, a village in Iran * The Kink, a man-made geographic feature in remote e ...

'', as well as making ''WebCam Girls'' (2004, 52). She is best known for the Genie Award-winning 1992 film '' Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives'', which she co-directed with Lynne Fernie, and the 2002 film ''Little Sister's vs. Big Brother'', about the longstanding censorship battle between

Canada Customs The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cus ...

and

Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, also known as Little Sister's Bookstore, but usually called "Little Sister's", is an independent bookstore in the Davie Village/ West End neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The bookstore wa ...

, a prominent LGBT bookstore in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. She was one of the co-directors, alongside

Louise Clark Louise Clark is a Canadian businesswoman, producer, and broadcast executive. Her most notable work is attributed with the Canadian television show ''Corner Gas''. She has worked on "television drama and comedy shows, feature films, movies-of-the-w ...

Jackie Burroughs Jacqueline "Jackie" Burroughs (2 February 1939 – 22 September 2010) was a British-born Canadian actress. Early life Born in Southport, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England, she emigrated to Canada on 26 August 1948 with her mother Edna, ...

, John Walker and

John Frizzell John B. Frizzell (born in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian screenwriter and film producer. After several years writing, directing and co-producing the documentary series ''A Different Understanding'' for TVOntario, Frizzell joined partners Niv ...

, of the landmark Canadian feminist feature film '' A Winter Tan'' (1987), the controversial semi-fictional account of Maryse Holder's sex odyssey to Mexico. Her other films include ''Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels'' (1996), ''Lost Secrets of Ancient Medicine: The Blue Buddha in Russia'' (2006) and ''The Portside'' (2009), as well as episodes of the television series ''

''. Based in Vancouver, Weissman has studied at the

Centre for Digital Media Centre for Digital Media (CDM) is a multidisciplinary graduate institution based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It offers a Master of Digital Media (MDM) program accredited by its four partner institutions, the University of British Columbia, Sim ...

and taught at

Emily Carr University of Art and Design Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co ...

. Currently, she mentors at the

Gulf Islands Film and Television School The Gulf Islands Film and Television School (GIFTS) is a film school located on Galiano Island, British Columbia, Canada. It was initially founded by George Harris in 1995, but was purchased by Evan Allen and Barbara Allen in 2014. Reference ...

on Galiano Island, British Columbia. She has also participated in many panels and academic symposiums about filmmaking, and offers workshops at VIVO, a Vancouver Media Arts Centre. She is a member of the Canadian Independent Film Caucus, and Vancouver Women in Film and Television, and received the award for Woman of the Year in 1996. Now living on the West Coast of British Columbia, she continues to explore her interest in independent cinema and innovative television. Alongside documentary making, Weissman has worked on digital media projects including interactive signage for Sky Train commuters of InTransit BC, creating a template for heritage tourism in BC with The Saturna Project, and sustainable strategies for the fishing industry with the UBC Fisheries Project. Weissman's documentary ''Little Sister's vs. Big Brother'' was included in the NFB's 2003 queer pedagogical package. She is interviewed in

Matthew Hays Matthew Hays is a Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He won a Lambda Literary Award for his 2007 book '' The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers''. Hays teaches film studies, journalism ...

' 2007

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted ...

-winning book '' The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers''.

Themes

Aerlyn Weissman's work has covered topics ranging from forensic archaeology, digital technologies, censorship, and social software. She is also interested in politics and aesthetics of urban space, locative art/mapping, public rituals, and peace building. Her work is deeply engaged with Canadian women's, sexual, and lesbian history. She has remarked that Studio D films often ignored the Canadian context and wanted to take on the “politics of specificity”.

Personal life

Aerlyn Weissman was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

and moved to Canada in 1970.

Awards

''Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule'' won the 1996

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 sc ...

for Best Short Documentary, the L.A. Outfest Outstanding Documentary Short Film, as well as Best Documentary at the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Weissman also won the Genie Award for Best Feature Length Documentary in 1993 for ''Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives''. Her first feature film, ''A Winter Tan'' was nominated for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Actress, and Best Sound at the 1989 Genies. She received the Vancouver Women in Film and Television award for Woman of the Year in 1996. She has received two Gemini Awards for her recording excellence. She was awarded the Mayor's Arts Award for Film and New Media in 2009 by the City of Vancouver. 0She received an honourable mention in 2008 for her film ''Crossing'' at the Webby Awards. For her film ''Webcam Girls'' has a HotDocs Selection.

Filmography

Director

*'' A Winter Tan'', 1987 *'' Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives'', 1992 *'' Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule'', 1995 *''Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels'', 2002 *''Little Sister's vs. Big Brother'', 2002 *''

'', 2002-2003 *''Lost Secrets of Ancient Medicine: The Journey of the Blue Buddha'', 2006 *''Lost Secrets of Ancient Medicine: The Blue Buddha in Russia'', 2006 *''The Portside'', 2009 *'' Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride'', 2009

Sound

*''My Friends Call Me Tony'', 1975 *''Tree Power'', 1979 *''

A Wives' Tale ''A Wives' Tale'' (french: Une histoire de femmes) is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Sophie Bissonnette, Martin Duckworth and Joyce Rock and released in 1980. The film explores the role of women in the community during the 1978 Inco st ...

(Une histoire de femmes)'', 1980 *''The Breakthrough'', 1981 *''The KGB Connections'', 1982 *''Portrait of the Artist... as an Old Lady'', 1982 *''Body by Garret'', 1982 *'' Hookers on Davie'', 1984 *''Inner Rhythm'' 1986 *''Blue Snake'', 1986 *''No Way! Not Me'', 1987 *''Eternal Earth'', 1987 *''

Artist on Fire ''Artist on Fire'' (also known as ''Artist on Fire: Joyce Wieland'' or ''Artist on Fire: The Work of Joyce Wieland'') is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Kay Armatage and released in 1987. The film is a portrait of Canadian feminist artis ...

'', 1987 *''

Calling the Shots ''Calling the Shots'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Janis Cole and Holly Dale and released in 1988.Christopher Hume, "Women zoom in on movie-making". ''Toronto Star'', September 10, 1988. The film analyzes the changing role of wom ...

'', 1988 *'' Strand: Under the Dark Cloth'', 1989 *''Meeting Place'', 1990 *''Distress Signals'', 1990 *''John Wyre: Drawing on Sound'', 1991

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weissman, Aerlyn 1947 births Living people Canadian documentary film directors Canadian television directors Canadian women film directors Canadian LGBT film directors LGBT people from Illinois Film directors from Illinois Film people from Chicago 20th-century Canadian LGBT people Film directors from Vancouver Academic staff of the Emily Carr University of Art and Design Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Documentary Film Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Short Documentary Film Canadian women television directors LGBT television directors 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Canadian women documentary filmmakers Canadian lesbian artists