Jennifer Baichwal is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

documentary filmmaker, writer and producer.

Biography

Baichwal was born 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 ...

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, ...

and raised in Victoria,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

."Jennifer Baichwal investigates lightning strikes in Act of God"
''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...

'', May 29, 2009. She is the daughter of Krishna Baichwal Sr. a cardiothoracic surgeon, and Elvina Baichwal. Together they had four children Jennifer, Krishna Jr., Elizabeth and Kristine. She is of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n and British heritage. In 1985, she traveled to Morocco and lived on a farm, inspired by the writing of

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

, who would become the subject of her first feature-length documentary. Baichwal studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, writing her Master's thesis on

Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...

and receiving her master's in arts in 1994. In 1995, Baichwal traveled with her family to India to scatter the ashes of their late father who had died from heart-related issues. Baichwal is married to cinematographer and director Nicholas de Pencier. They were brought together by Baichwal's classmate, Canadian journalist Evan Solomon, after he had suggested de Pencier when she needed a cinematographer for her film. Together, they have two children, a son Magnus born in 2000 and a daughter Anna born in 2003. The couple started a production company in 2000, originally under the name Requisite Productions, now called Mercury Films.

Career

After completing her master's at McGill, Baichwal decided to pursue documentary film work as she found that it provided her the right avenue to explore the questions and issues that she had studied in her program. Baichwal on her career choice: "I wanted to explore these questions of the human condition, but in a medium that was more lateral and more emotionally accessible than an academic paper." She has stated that the documentary "allows you to reflect on ... things that are happening in the real world in a way that is creative". Her films often attempt to investigate problems within documentary film form. She says: "There has to be some kind of mystery as well - a meta-level problem that the film becomes a response to. Our Paul Bowles film is about the impossibility of biography. The Holier It Gets is about the perils of confessional work, and The True Meaning of Pictures is about issues of representation. Manufactured Landscapes, proceeding from Edward Burtynsky's photographs, is about changing consciousness through witnessing the places we are all responsible for, but normally never get to see." Baichwal's production company has produced most of her films, along with other short films and documentaries including ''The Hockey Nomad'' and ''Black Code'', the latter of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016. Many of her films' subjects are artists of other mediums than film. In an interview with the Seventh Art, Baichwal mentions how she is drawn to artists, stating: "There is something about art that can't be paraphrased and just living in the complexity of that world is very rich for me..." In 2016, Baichwal was named a member of 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 ...

Board of Directors. Since their initial collaboration in 1995 and with the exception of ''Manufactured Landscapes'', all of Baichwal's films have been shot by her husband Nick de Pencier.

''Looking You in the Back of the Head'' (1997)

''Looking You in the Back of the Head'' is a short television documentary produced in 1995 featuring 13 Canadian women exploring what they think of their own identity.

''Let it Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles'' (1998)

'' Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles'' is a documentary biography on the American writer

. Made near the end of Bowles' life, Baichwal was able to screen the film for the author before his death in 1999. She says of the experience viewing the film with her subject: "It was very important for me that he see he filmbefore he died; he had just turned 88. I was petrified as to what he would think of it, he's a real misanthrope and recluse. I got to his place, and I wanted him to watch it after I left and then write to me. But he was insistent. So he put it on, and he has quite bad glaucoma, so he was sitting six inches from the screen. I shut the door, and I kind of panicked for 75 minutes while he was watching it."

''The Holier It Gets'' (2000)

'' The Holier It Gets'' is a documentary about Baichwal and her siblings pilgrimage to India to put their father's ashes in the Ganges river. It was filmed on 16mm by Nick de Pencier. The film explores themes of grief, closure, the afterlife and spirituality.

''The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia'' (2002)

'' The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia'' is a documentary on the work of renowned and controversial American photographer Shelby Lee Adams. The film takes a layered approach to Adams' work, it features interviews with the photographer, his subjects and his critics. The film's title comes from one of Adam's subjects and defenders in the face of accusations of exploitation and stereotypes from the photographer.

''Manufactured Landscapes'' (2006)

Notable amongst Baichwal's features, the documentary '' Manufactured Landscapes'' focuses on the work of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky in one of his expeditions to China. The photographs, taken for his ''China'' series, provide the frame for the film that explores the effects that rapid and recent industrialization has had on the environment in this manufacturing and economic superpower.

''Act of God'' (2009)

Act of God In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God, act of nature, or damnum fatale ("loss arising from inevitable accident") is an event caused by no direct human action (e.g. Severe weather, severe or extreme weather and other natur ...

'' is a documentary about the metaphysical questions surrounding the event of being struck by lightning. It features various accounts from people who have either been struck lightning or witnessed the act. It looks into scientific, cultural and religious interpretations of lightning showers from around the world. The film features narration from writer

Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (February 3, 1947 – April 30, 2024) was an American writer, novelist, memoirist, poet, and filmmaker. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), ' ...

and centers his experience witnessing his childhood friend succumb to a fatal lightning strike.

''Payback'' (2012)

'' Payback'' is a documentary film adaptation of Canadian writer

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

's non-fiction book '' Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth.''

''Watermark'' (2013)

Watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations i ...

'', the second collaboration between Baichwal and Burtynsky, sees the photographer co-directing the film alongside her. The documentary looks into the abuse of water, its effect and the dependence as water as a source of life. The film is accompanied by Burtynsky's series titled ''Water'' which he produced while filming the documentary.

''Long Time Running'' (2017)

Baichwal and de Pencier directed

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

documentary '' Long Time Running'', documenting the 2016 farewell tour of the Canadian band following lead singer Gord Downie's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. It was released in 2017.

''Anthropocene'' (2018)

'' Anthropocene: The Human Epoch'' is Baichwal's third collaboration with Burtynsky. The documentary explores humanity's aggregate impacts on the natural world, and whether they justify the creation of a new geologic epoch, equivalent to the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

. It was released in September, 2018.

Filmography

* ''Looking You in the Back of the Head'' (1997) * '' Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles'' (1998) * '' The Holier It Gets'' (2000) * '' The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia'' (2002) * '' Manufactured Landscapes'' (2006) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Payback'' (2012) * ''

'' (co-directed with Edward Burtynsky) (2013) * '' Long Time Running'' (2017) * '' Anthropocene: The Human Epoch'' (2018) * '' Into the Weeds'' (2022) * '' An Optimist's Guide to the Planet'' (2024, executive producer)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Jennifer Baichwal at Mercury Films
*
Interview with Jennifer Baichwal regarding her film ''Into the Weeds''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baichwal, Jennifer 1965 births Canadian documentary film directors Film directors from Montreal McGill University alumni Canadian people of Indian descent Living people Canadian women film directors Canadian documentary film producers Canadian women film producers Directors of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Documentary Film Canadian women documentary filmmakers Asian-Canadian filmmakers Canadian film production company founders Film producers from Quebec Canadian Screen Award winning writers