About Grounded
After losing both of her legs as a child, Marie-Hélène, a respected figure on the Canadian contemporary art scene, finds an outlet in both painting and dance for her creativity and her resilient spirit. The arrival of her daughters sparks a new sense of freedom, pushing her to let go of self-censorship and to fully embrace the person she is today.
CREDITS
Director: Annie Leclair, @anileclair
Producer: Annie Leclair, @anileclair
Cinematographer / Director of Photography: Katerine Giguère, @katerine.film.image
Writer: Annie Leclair, @anileclair
Other Key Roles: Featuring Marie-Hélène Bellavance
About the Filmmaker
Award-winning French Canadian filmmaker and editor, Annie Leclair has enjoyed remarkable international success with her directorial debut film, Grounded (Enracinée, 2020), which won awards at the Diversity in Cannes during the 74th Cannes Film Festival, at the 39th Festival international du Film sur l’Art de Montréal and at the Social Impact Media Awards in Los Angeles.
A self-taught documentary film editor for TV and Cinema for the last 18 years, Annie is a storyteller known for her sensitive approach and musicality. Annie is the recipient of the 2021 Still I Rise Films Fellowship. With its support and mentorship, Annie completed her second documentary film, Les eaux calmes, currently screening at film festivals in Europe and North America.
More from the filmmaker:
“Women living with a disability is a reality that I have been privileged to observe for many years. I met Marie-Hélène in 2017, through Corpuscule danse, the first professional integrated dance company in Quebec (Canada). Grounded illuminates Marie-Hélène Bellavance, a prolific artist and unique dancer, who has used her disability as a very special tool to reinvent herself as a committed creator, a woman and a mother. Through Marie-Hélène artistic practice and her relationship with her older daughter, not only do we experience the potential of resilience, but we meet a strong contemporary female role model.” — Annie Leclair, Director and Producer
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