Lyse Lafontaine | |
---|---|
Born | 1942 (age 81–82) |
Nationality | French Canadian |
Alma mater | Université de Montréal |
Occupation | Film producer |
Awards | Prix Iris Hommage |
Lyse Lafontaine (born 1942 [1]) is a Canadian film producer known for working with directors Jean-Claude Lauzon and Xavier Dolan. [2] [3] [4] She works at Lyla Films in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. [2]
Born to La Presse reporter Gaston Lafontaine, [3] Lyse studied literature at the Université de Montréal and earned her degree. [5] She married Stéphane Venne and managed the rock band Offenbach in 1972. She became a stage manager on the 1974 film The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, and married her second husband, moving to The Bahamas for two years before returning to Canada. [3]
In 1976, Lafontaine served as location manager for the film The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, starring Jodie Foster. [6] Lafontaine met Lauzon when he was pitching his screenplay for Léolo (1992), which other producers had rejected. [2] It became the first film she produced, [4] with Aimée Danis, for which they were nominated for the Genie Award for Best Motion Picture. While in Italy during filming, Lauzon gave Lafontaine a letter thanking her for her ineptitude in business, which he considered necessary to make a film with feeling. She kept it as a cherished keepsake. [3]
Working with Dolan, she produced Laurence Anyways (2012) and served as an associate producer for Mommy (2014). [2] Dolan's Laurence Anyways was inspired by Lafontaine's ex-girlfriend Luce Baillairgé, the mother of her son Mikaël, who had a small part in Léolo. [3] With Dolan, she personally traveled to London in 2017 to work on his The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. [4]
In 2015, Lafontaine produced La Passion d’Augustine with François Tremblay, [7] winning the Québec Cinéma Award for Best Film. [8] On 1 June 2017 at the 19th Quebec Cinema Awards, she was awarded the Iris Hommage for 30 years of contributions to Quebec cinema. [9]
Her films include: [1]