Renée Blanchar

Upon completing her studies in directing in Paris, Renée Blanchar returned to Canada and immediately began working. To many, her journey helped not only establish a film and TV industry in Acadia (a cluster of tenacious, French-speaking territories in Eastern Canada); it also opened doors for women in the industry. She was the first Canadian woman to enter the highly competitive school FEMIS (Fondation européenne de l'image et du son). In 1989, she became the youngest woman ever to serve on a jury at the famed Cannes Film Festival, under jury president Wim Wenders. Recognizing the narrative potential of television, she created Belle-Baie -the first TV series written, directed and photographed in a French-speaking minority region of Canada. After guiding Belle-Baie through five seasons (2010@2014)- a tour de force, literally!-Renée took time away from fiction to make three feature length, multi-award-winning documentaries. She made a distinguished return to television, writing and directing the three seasons of Le Monde de Gabrielle Roy (2020@2024). The successful series has earned several nominations at the Gémeaux Awards, including best direction.