LÉA
POOL (Director)
Lost
and Delirious
marks the English language directorial debut for Léa Pool, who stands out
in the world of cinema for her own originality. Her films have won several
international awards. In 1979, she wrote, directed and produced Strass
Café, a short film, that
won awards at four festivals. In 1984, she wrote and directed her first feature
film, La femme de l’hôtel, which was selected at the Forum, Berlin
1985. This film won seven awards, including the international press award
from the World Film Festival in Montreal, Best Canadian film at the Festivals
of the Festivals in Toronto, The Award for Best Actress – Louise Marleau –
at the Chicago International Film Festival and a Genie Award also for actress
Louise Marleau in a leading role. In 1986, she shot Anne Trister, which
was chosen for participation in some fifteen international film festivals,
including the official competition of the Berlin Film Festival. It won numerous
awards, among them a Genie Award for cinematography in Toronto. The film also
received a Tribute in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement in the Art of
film at the Denver Festival, USA.
In
1988, Pool brought A corps perdu,
an adaptation of Yves Navarre’s novel Kurwenal, to the big screen.
The film was selected in the official competition of the Venice Film Festival,
and the official competition at the Chicago International Film Festival. Featured
in 34 international festivals, the film won Premiere magazine’s first
prize at the Festival de la francophonie de Namur (Belgium), the award of
excellence at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax. Her 1991 feature film
La demoiselle sauvage, based on the short story by Corinna Bille, won,
among other prizes, the Super Ecran Award for best Canadian feature. Following
on this success, Pool went on to write and direct Mouvements du désir
in 1992-93, which was a finalist in eight categories at the Genie Awards and
was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. She also created a short
vignette for the film Montreal vu par… in 1991.
Emporte-moi,
her sixth feature film, was selected for the official competition at the 1999
Berlin International Film Festival and won the Special Prize from the Ecumenical
Jury. The film was also selected in the prestigious New York Film Festival
in 1999. The film won numerous awards: the Silver Gryphon at the 1999 Giffoni
Film Festival in Italy, the Silver Hugo for the Best Screenplay at the Chicago
International Film Festival, the Youth Prize at the Valladollid International
Film Festival (Spain), the Best Canadian Film Award by the Toronto Film Critics
Association, the Best Feature Film Prize from Les prix du cinéma Suisse, a
special prize from the jury at the Toronto International Film Festival, the
Gold Bayard for Best Actress at the Festival international de film francophone
de Namur, 4 Jutra Awards and a Special Mention at the Sarajevo Film Festiival.
Léa
Pool expresses how impressed she is with the talents demonstrated by her young
actors, notwithstanding their relative inexperience. “These three young actresses
feel free to go as far as they can. They are so confident. I am amazed by
them. I just give them some marks and then the space where they can explore.
We have great trust among us and it works well.”
(taken
from the Lions Gate Films press kit, 2001)
update
from A Tribute to Lost and Delirious, Stef:
In
2002 Léa Pool was the script advisor for the movie “Undying Love” directed
by Helene Klodawsky.
The
film is about courage, redemption and love in a dramatic adventure.
The movie was filmed in the rain forests of Costa Rica and in Montreal.