Manon Barbeau

Manon Barbeau (born 1949) is a Québécois filmmaker and co-founder of Wapikoni Mobile, an organisation that helps First Nations youth learn the art of filmmaking. In 2006, she also founded Musique nomade, which provides recording studios to First Nations musicians. She has been Wapikoni Mobile’s general director since 2004. In 2021, Manon Barbeau has been elected president of the Cinémathèque québécoise.

Personal life

Manon Barbeau was born in Montreal, Quebec, on May 8, 1949. Her father is painter and sculptor Marcel Barbeau and her mother, Suzanne Meloche, is a poet and painter. She and her partner, cinematographer Philippe Lavalette, have a daughter, Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, author and film director, and a son, Manuel Barbeau-Lavalette, educator.

While doing research in the archives of the Université de Montréal for her documentary, Les Enfants de Refus global, Barbeau found correspondence detailing her mother’s love affair with Paul-Émile Borduas, the dissolution of her parents’ romantic relationship, as well as evidence that they had abandoned her at the age of three. For over thirty years, Barbeau has been working as a filmmaker, screenwriter and producer for numerous organizations, including Télé-Québec, the National Film Board of Canada, Vidéo Paradiso, La Maison des Cultures Nomades, Totam and Wapikoni Mobile. Barbeau was also president of the Documentary Network (L’Observatoire du Documentaire) from 2006 to 2008.

From 2010 to 2014, she was part of Culture Montréal’s Board of Directors, and in 2014 she was elected president of the organization. She has often spoken publicly about documentary filmmaking and Aboriginal youth at various events and venues including L’Art en Marge, organized by the Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, and at UNESCO for International Women’s Day in 2014.

Wapikoni

Since 2004, Barbeau has been the general director of Wapikoni Mobile, a mobile film studio that travels to remote First Nations communities. The organization has been credited with providing Aboriginal youth with an outlet to express themselves, as well as the tools and skills to do so.

In 2010, UQAM’s faculty of communication and media offered Barbeau an award (Prix Reconnaissance UQAM) for her contributions to documentary filmmaking and her commitment to Aboriginal youth.

Works

Documentaries 1975: Comptines : Director 1981: Nous sommes plusieur boucoup de monde : Director 1990: Le Marché du couple : Writer 1994: Tristan and Juliette or Love in the Year 2000 (Tristan et Juliette ou l’amour en l’an 2000) : Writer 1996: Les Enfants d’abord : Writer 1997: Raymond Lévesque - d’Amour et d’Amertume : Writer 1998: Les Enfants de Refus global : Director 1999: L'Armée de l'ombre : Director 2000: Barbeau, libre comme l’art : Director 2001: Alain, artiste-démolisseur : Director 2002: La Fin du mépris : Writer 2004: L'Amour en Pen : Director 2004: De mémoire de chats - Les Ruelles : Director 2005: Du bord des bêtes - VLB : Director 2010: Wapikoni - Escale à Kitcisaki : Participant

Films 1991: Un amour naissant : Writer 2007: Un cri au bonheur : Contributor

Fiction 1991: Merlyne: Author 2010: Prix Reconnaissance UQAM for her contributions to documentary filmmaking and her commitment to Aboriginal youth 2012: Nominated for the Prix de la Personalité Internationale de l’Année given by CÉRIUM 2012: Named ‘personality of the week’ by La Presse/Radio-Canada in April 2012: Prix Femmes d'Affaires, OBNL category, from the Réseau des Femmes d’Affaires du Québec 2012: PLURAL+ Honorable Mention Award for Wapikoni Mobile 2012: Telus Community Excellence Award 2014: Elected president of Culture Montreal’s Board of Directors 2014: Prix Albert-Tessier 2016: Named a Member of the Order of Canada.