Aerlyn Weissman facts for kids

Aerlyn Weissman (born in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois) is a Canadian filmmaker. She makes documentaries, which are films that tell true stories. She has won two Genie Awards for her work. Aerlyn also works to support the LGBTQ community.

Making Films and Teaching

Aerlyn Weissman first learned about sound recording in the United States. In 1970, she moved to Canada. She worked as a sound designer at the National Film Board of Canada. This was a special job, and she was one of the few women doing it.

She helped with films like P4W: Prison for Women (1981). Later, she became a director. She is well known for her 1992 film, Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives. She made this film with Lynne Fernie. It won a Genie Award. The film shares stories about people's lives and relationships.

Aerlyn also directed Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule (1995). This film was about the writer Jane Rule. It also won a Genie Award. Another important film she made is Little Sister's vs. Big Brother (2002). This documentary tells the story of a long fight against censorship. It was about a bookstore in Vancouver called Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium. The store fought for the right to sell books freely.

Her other films include Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (1996) and The Portside (2009). She also directed Without Fear (1993), which was about women who survived violence.

Aerlyn lives in Vancouver. She has studied at the Centre for Digital Media. She also taught at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Today, she helps young filmmakers at the Gulf Islands Film and Television School. She also leads workshops about making films.

What Her Films Are About

Aerlyn Weissman's films explore many different topics. She has made films about history and new technologies. She also looks at how people fight for their rights, like in the film about censorship.

Her work often focuses on the history of Canadian women. She is interested in how cities are built and how people use public spaces. She also explores ideas about peace.

Awards and Recognition

Aerlyn Weissman has won many awards for her films.

• In 1996, Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule won the Genie Award for Best Short Documentary. It also won awards at film festivals in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
• In 1993, she won the Genie Award for Best Feature Length Documentary. This was for her film Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives.
• Her first feature film, A Winter Tan, was nominated for several Genie Awards in 1989.
• She received the Woman of the Year award from Vancouver Women in Film and Television in 1996.
• She has also won two Gemini Awards for her excellent sound recording work.
• In 2009, the City of Vancouver gave her the Mayor's Arts Award for Film and New Media.
• Her film Crossing received an honorable mention at the Webby Awards in 2008.

Films Directed by Aerlyn Weissman

• A Winter Tan, 1987
• Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives, 1992
• Without Fear, 1993
• Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule, 1995
• Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels, 2002
• Little Sister's vs. Big Brother, 2002
• 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

See Also

• List of female film and television directors
• List of lesbian filmmakers
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women