Making Movie History: Monique Fortier

Monique Fortier was one of the few women to make her way in the male world of the NFB in the 1950s. But make her way she did. Beginning as a secretary, she graduated to editing and in 1963 she became the first francophone woman to direct her own film, À l'heure de la décolonisation. Her NFB colleague Anne Claire Poirier would make her first film the same year. Fortier subsequently returned to editing, quietly labouring at the Steenbeck, shaping films that helped define Direct Cinema. Forming ties with noted directors--Perrault, Godbout, Gosselin, Arcand, Rached and many more--she made a vital contribution to their work. Fortier and Poirier both retired in 1997, ending their respective careers with a final collaboration: Tu as crié LET ME GO, directed by Poirier... and edited by Fortier.