Léa Pool facts for kids

Léa Pool is a talented filmmaker from Canada and Switzerland. She was born on September 8, 1950. Léa Pool has made many documentaries and movies that have won important awards. She was the first woman to win the award for Best Film at the Quebec Cinema Awards. Her films often challenge common ideas and focus on showing unique people and their stories. She also taught film at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Early Life and Education

Léa Pool was born in Soglio, Switzerland, in 1950. She grew up in Lausanne. Her father was from Poland and had to leave his home during World War II. Her mother is Swiss. Léa Pool uses her mother's last name for her work.

In 1975, she moved to Canada to study at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She earned a degree in communications in 1978. Later, she even taught at the same university where she studied. After her studies, she started directing many documentaries, short films, and movies, as well as TV shows.

Léa Pool became a well-known filmmaker, director, producer, and writer. She often put her own experiences and questions about identity into her films. Her movies explore themes like being away from home, searching for who you are, and different feelings.

Léa Pool's Filmmaking Career

Léa Pool is known in film studies for making movies that focus on female characters. Early in her career, she was inspired by the writer Marguerite Duras. Pool's films often explored themes of feeling left out.

Early Works and TV Shows

In 1978, Léa Pool helped direct and edit a film called Laurent Lamerre Portier. In 1980, she wrote, directed, and produced her first solo film, Strass Café. This film was made at the National Film Board of Canada.

From 1980 to 1983, she directed 10 episodes of a TV show called Planète. This show was for Radio-Québec, which is now called Télé-Québec. The episodes were about different cultural groups. The next year, she directed Éva en transit, a show about a singer named Éva.

First Feature Films

From 1978 to 1983, Léa Pool also taught classes about cinema at the Université du Québec à Montréal. In 1984, she wrote and directed her first full-length movie, A Woman in Transit (La Femme de l’hôtel). This film was very popular with both critics and the public.

She then wrote and directed Anne Trister in 1986. This film was part of a series about women trying to find their identity. It was shown at fifteen international film festivals.

In 1988, Pool's film Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) was released. This movie was based on a novel by Yves Navarre. It showed how important she was to filmmaking in Quebec and Canada. The film won awards at the Festival de la Francophonie de Namur and the Atlantic Film Festival of Halifax.

Documentaries and Collaborations

In 1990, Léa Pool made her first full-length documentary, Hotel Chronicles. This was part of a series from the Office national du film. In 1991, she directed her fourth full-length movie, The Savage Woman (La Demoiselle sauvage). She wrote this film with Michel Langlois and Laurent Gagliardi.

In 1992, she directed a part of the film Montreal Stories (Montréal vu par...). This film was made by several directors, including Patricia Rozema and Denys Arcand. From 1992 to 1993, she wrote and directed her fifth full-length movie, Desire in Motion (Mouvements du désir). This film was nominated for eight Genie Awards, including Best Direction. It was also shown at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

In October 1994, a film festival in France showed many of her works. The French Minister of Culture gave her the title of Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France.

From 1994 to 1995, she directed two hour-long documentaries for TV. These were part of a series about women's freedom. In 1996, she directed a short film called Lettre à ma fille. In 1997 and 1998, she helped write and directed a documentary about the Canadian author Gabrielle Roy.

Award-Winning Films

From 1998 to 1999, Léa Pool co-wrote the film Set Me Free (Emporte-moi) with Nancy Huston. She also directed this film. It was her sixth full-length movie and was chosen to open the Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois festival. It also won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Since 1989, she has received many honors from around the world. Her work has been recognized in Switzerland, France, Japan, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, and the United States. In 1993, she received an award from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

In 2000, Pool directed her first full-length movie in English, Lost and Delirious. This film starred Piper Perabo and Jessica Paré. In 2002, she directed the movie The Blue Butterfly, starring William Hurt. This film was based on the life of Georges Brossard.

From 2004 to 2005, she led workshops for actors. From 2004 to 2006, she taught film direction at Université du Québec à Montréal.

In 2006, she received three awards for all her work. She was given the Prix Reconnaissance from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She also received the Prix des Femmes de Mérite and the Prix Albert-Tessier. The Prix Albert-Tessier is the highest honor given by the government of Quebec for great contributions to film.

Recent Projects and Recognition

In 2007, she wrote and directed a documentary for the CBC called Hidden Lives. This series explored the lives of people in her neighborhood. She also directed the movie Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's (Maman est chez le coiffeur). In 2008 and 2009, she directed The Last Escape (La Dernière Fugue), based on a novel.

From 2009 to 2011, she wrote and directed Pink Ribbons, Inc., a full-length documentary. In 2014, she co-wrote the movie The Passion of Augustine (La passion d’Augustine) with Marie Vien, and she also directed it. This film was very successful in 2015. It won six awards at the 18th Quebec Cinema Awards, including best film and best director. Léa Pool was the first woman to win the best film award at this festival since it started in 1999.

In 2016, she directed a documentary called Double Peine. She also directed the movie Worst Case, We Get Married (Et au pire on se mariera), which was released in 2017. This film was made with both Canadian and Swiss teams.

Throughout her career, Pool has been a judge at international film festivals in Chicago, Locarno, and Taormina. She has also won the Jutra Prize three times for her successful films shown outside Quebec. These films include Set Me Free, Lost and Delirious, and Mommy Is at the Hairdresser’s.

Besides her impressive career as a filmmaker, Pool has shared her knowledge by teaching. She has taught screenwriting and directing at the Université du Québec à Montréal and at the Institut national de l'image et du son (INIS) in Montreal. She has also led workshops for actors since 2004. In 2013, she was given the title of Membre de l'Ordre du Canada. In 2017, she received the prestigious Prix Hommage de Ciné-Québec.

Léa Pool believes that "every film must have its own signature." In her movies, she explores new ideas about what filmmakers do and how they create. Many of her films show a woman's perspective on female experiences.

Filmography

• Strass Cafè — 1980
• A Woman in Transit (La Femme de l'hôtel) — 1984
• Anne Trister — 1986
• Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) — 1988
• Montreal Stories (Montréal vu par...) — 1991, segment "Rispondetemi"
• The Savage Woman (La Demoiselle sauvage) — 1991
• Desire in Motion (Mouvements du désir) — 1994
• Gabrielle Roy : L'auteure la plus célèbre du Québec — 1998
• Set Me Free (Emporte-moi) — 1999
• Lost and Delirious (Rebelles) — 2001
• The Blue Butterfly (Le Papillon bleu) — 2004
• Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's (Maman est chez le coiffeur) — 2008
• The Last Escape (La dernière fugue) — 2010
• Pink Ribbons, Inc. — 2011
• The Passion of Augustine (La Passion d'Augustine) — 2015
• Worst Case, We Get Married (Et au pire, on se mariera) — 2017
• Hotel Silence (Hôtel silence) — 2024
• We'll Find Happiness (On sera heureux) - 2025

Awards and Accolades

Léa Pool has won many awards from both critics and the public.

• In 1984, La femme de l’hôtel won Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival.
• In 1986, she received the Audience Award for Anne Trister at a film festival in France. She also won Best Feature Film at the Paris Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival that year.
• In 1988, Pool won three awards for À corps perdu, Emporte-moi, and her documentary about Gabrielle Roy.
• In 2001, Pool received the Jutra Award for Lost and Delirious.
• In 2006, Pool received the Prix Albert-Tessier.
• From 2002 to 2014, Pool won 14 awards.
• In 2017, she accepted the Vancouver Women in Film and Television Artistic Merit Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

See also

In Spanish: Léa Pool para niños

• List of female film and television directors