Mireille Dansereau (born December 19, 1943) is a Canadian

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

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

who is known for "emulating the style and approach of her aesthetic role model,

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

". She received several accolades throughout her film career which spans over 50 years.

Biography

Mireille Dansereau was a dancer for 15 years before turning to filmmaking. After finishing her studies at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, she made her first film, a short entitled ''Moi, un jour...'' for

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 28 to October 29, 1967. It was a category one world's fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most s ...

. The film was well received and enabled her to move to

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to attend the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

. She obtained her master's degree in Film and Television and made another short film, ''Compromise'', which won first prize at the 1969 Great Britain Student Film Festival. Dansereau worked a variety of jobs - researcher, script assistant, sound recorder - before returning to Quebec. There, she co-founded L’Association Coopérative des Productions Audio-visuelles (ACPAV) and became the first woman in Quebec to direct a fiction feature film in the private sector; the film, ''La vie rêvée'' (1971) was produced by the ACPAV and became a landmark that received a wide theatrical release and national critical acclaim. '' Dream Life'' was the first privately produced feature film in Canada to be directed by a woman. She joined the NFB following her success and directed 2 feature documentaries for the ''En tant que femmes'' Series, ''J'me marie, j'me marie pas'' (1973) and ''Famille et variations'' (1977). She returned to the private sector to direct her next fiction feature, ''L'Arrache-Coeur'' (1979), a bleak, and penetrating examination of a marriage in crisis which earned Dansereau a

Genie Award for Best Screenplay The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presents one or more annual awards for the Best Screenplay for a Canadian film. Originally presented in 1968 as part of the Canadian Film Awards, from 1980 until 2012 the award continued as part of the G ...

nomination, and ''Le Sourd dans la ville'' (1987), a dark, disturbing and experimental adaptation of

Marie-Claire Blais Marie-Claire Blais (5 October 1939 – 30 November 2021) was a Canadian writer, novelist, poet, and playwright from the province of Quebec. In a career spanning seventy years, she wrote novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, newspa ...

's novel centered on a rooming house. In 2022, she was named the winner of the

Prix Albert-Tessier The Prix Albert-Tessier is an award by the Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to r ...

for lifetime achievement in the film industry.Charles-Henri Ramond
"Mireille Dansereau : Prix Albert-Tessier 2022"
''Films du Québec'', December 5, 2022.

Filmography

Fiction

*''Moi, un jour...'' (Short film, 1967) *''Compromise'' (Short film, 1968) *''Coccinelle'' (Short film, 1970) *'' Dream Life (La Vie rêvée)'' (1972) *''Le Père idéal'' (Short film, 1974) *''Rappelle-toi'' (Short film co-directed with Vartkes Cholokian, 1975) *'' Heartbreak (L'Arrache-cœur)'' (1979) *'' Deaf to the City (Le sourd dans la ville)'' (1987) *''Duo pour une soliste'' (1997) *''O comme obsession'' (aka ''O-Obsession'') (Short film, 1999) *''La vie d'abord'' (Short film, 1999) *''L'idée noire'' (Short film, 2000)

Documentaries

*''Forum'' (1968) *''Les marchés de Londres'' (Short film, 1969) *''Couples - Étude pour un lit et une baignoire'' (Short film, 1971) *''J'me marie, j'me marie pas'' (1972) *'' Famille et variations'' (1977) *''Germaine Guèvremont'' (Short film, 1980) *''Les Baltes à la recherche d'un pays'' (1980) *''Les Nordiques ou un peuple sans artifice'' (1980) *''Un pays à comprendre'' (1981) *''Le Frère André'' (1982) *''Entre elle et moi'' (Short film, 1992) *''Les seins dans la tête'' (Short film, 1994) *''Les cheveux en quatre'' (Short film, 1996) *''Danny le montagnais'' (Short film, 2001) *''Eva'' (Short film, 2003) *''Louisiane, pour mémoire'' (2005) *''Les cerisiers ont envahi les espaces comme incendie'' (Short film, 2010)

References

Works cited

External links

*
Essential Guide to Canadian film by Wyndham Wise - Mireille Dansereau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dansereau, Mireille 1943 births Living people Film directors from Montreal Canadian women film directors Canadian screenwriters in French Canadian television directors Canadian documentary film directors National Film Board of Canada people Canadian female dancers Canadian women screenwriters Writers from Montreal Canadian women television directors Canadian women documentary filmmakers Prix Albert-Tessier winners Screenwriters from Quebec