Léa Pool

Pool was born in Soglio, Switzerland in 1950,[3] and raised in Lausanne.[4] Her father was Jewish, and a Holocaust survivor from Poland; her mother's family was Christian of Swiss descent.[5][6] She immigrated to Canada in 1975 to study communications at the Université du Québec à Montréal.[3] Pool started work on several student films until she produced her first solo film, Strass Café, at the National Film Board of Canada in 1980.[7] From 1980 to 1981, Pool focused on a television series called Planète et Eva en Transit, which was aired by Radio-Québec. The purpose of this platform was to create a voice for members of cultural minorities, as well as to help them to further develop as individuals.[8] She became a well-known filmmaker, director, producer, and screenwriter, who incorporated personal issues and curiosity around identity into films about exile, wandering, uprooting, states of mind and the quest for identity.[7] Pool's films often opposed stereotypes and refused to focus on heterosexual relations, preferring individuality.[6][9]

Pool is known as a feminist in film studies, producing English-Canadian women's films and videos.[10] Early in her career Pool drew inspiration from the works of author Marguerite Duras [11] where focussing on the notions of expression and themes of exclusion. In 1975, Pool traveled to Canada to study film and video production, graduating with a degree in communications from the University of Quebec.[11] Her film Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) (1988) was selected for official competition in the Venice Film Festival and her film Desire in Motion (Mouvements du désir) (1994) was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.[12] She has been nominated 3 times for the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction for her films A Woman in Transit (La Femme de l'hôtel) (1984), Desire in Motion (Mouvements du désir) (1994), and Set Me Free (Emporte-moi) (1999). In 1997, Pool came out with a documentary, Gabrielle Roy, about the Canadian author Gabrielle Roy.[11] In 2001, Pool's first English-speaking work, Lost and Delirious, was shown at the Sundance Film Festival as well as the Berlin Film festival. Pool adheres to the philosophy "that every film must have its own signature".[13] In her successive productions, she challenges existing views on the role of filmmakers and the creative process. Most of her films that contribute to this idea reflect on woman's view of the female experience.[14]

Since 2004 Pool has been represented by the cultural Montreal agency Agence Goodwin.[11]

In 2006 Pool was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier.[15] In 2011, Pool completed the National Film Board of Canada documentary film Pink Ribbons, Inc., partly based on the 2006 book Pink Ribbons, Inc: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy, which is premiering at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[16]

In 2015, Pool released La passion d’Augustine. In an interview, Pool spoke of how this film taught her about Québec culture and issues, specifically pertaining to nuns:

Pool was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2013.[17]

Pool is a lesbian.[18] She has a personal connection with her work, with many themes in her own life appearing in her films, including the exploration of identity and exile, as well as her Jewish heritage and her sexuality.

• 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
• Set Me Free (Emporte-moi) — 1999
• Lost and Delirious — 2001
• The Blue Butterfly — 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[19] — 2017

Léa Pool has won several awards, both from the press and the public. In 1984 La femme de l’hôtel was awarded the Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 1986 she received the Audience Award for Anne Trister at the International Women's Film Festival in Créteil, and Best Feature Film at the Paris Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival, both in France. In addition, In 1988 Pool won 3 awards for À corps perdu, Emporte-moi, and the documentary on Gabrielle Roy.[11] In 2001 Pool received the Jutra Award for Lost and Delirious. In 2006 Pool received the Prix Albert-Tessier.[20] From 2002 to 2014, Pool won 14 awards and in 2017 accepted the Vancouver Women in Film and Television Artistic Merit Award at Vancouver International Film Festival.[11][21]

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

• Léa Pool at IMDb
• Lea Pool at The Canadian Encyclopedia, accessed September 6, 2019