SIMPLY JOHANNE
75 min, Documentary, CanadaDirected byNadine Valcin
Produced byAnia Jamila, Josiane Blanc
LanguageFrench
A contemporary tribute to trailblazer Johanne Harrelle: artist, actress and one of North America’s first Black models.
Watch the film
Cinéma Beaubien — Montréal
Theatrical release
October 25 Screening with filmmaker Nadine Valcin.
Film details
Synopsis
Abandoned on the doorstep of a Montreal orphanage, Johanne Harrelle eventually rose to prominence as a gifted artist, actress, and one of North America’s first Black models. Simply Johanne deftly explores her complex and audacious life through archival footage, interviews with loved ones and performances of her writings by three contemporary actresses. The film chronicles the journey of a magnetic and passionate woman who defied the expectations of her time.
Crew
Writing : Nadine Valcin
Cinematography : Philippe Lavalette
Sound Recording : Olivier Léger
Production Design : Alex Guèvremont
Editing : Katharine Asals
Sound Design : Luc Raymond
Sound Mix : Chris Leon
Color Grading : Tony Manolikakis
Music : Jacques Kuba Séguin
Protagonists : Abla Osman, Isoloy Katshingu, Danielle Ouimet
Executive Production : Yves Bisaillon, Nadine Valcin
Direction
Nadine Valcin
Nadine Valcin is an award-winning bilingual filmmaker and media artist whose practice spans documentary, experimental and narrative film as well as installation and virtual reality. Her work explores questions of memory, identity and language. She has directed four documentary projects for the National Film Board of Canada, including the critically-acclaimed Black, Bold and Beautiful and Une école sans frontières (A School without Borders).
Nadine has been awarded numerous grants and prizes including two prestigious Chalmers Arts Fellowships and a Drama Prize from the National Screen Institute for the short film In Between. She holds a professional degree in architecture from McGill University and recently completed an MFA in Digital Futures at OCAD University and an artist’s residency at Library and Archives Canada through Archive/CounterArchive. She is a professor in the Bachelor of Film and Television program at Sheridan College.
Filmographie
OUR HOME AND HAUNTED LAND, Virtual reality, 2021 ORIGINES, 4 min, Video installation, 2021 EMERGENCE, 6 min, Video installation, 2017 HEARTBREAK, 1 min, Experimental, 2016 WHITEWASH, 6 min, Experimental, 2016 RIPPLES, 8 min, Fiction, 2016 IN BETWEEN, 8 min, Fiction, 2009 FIRE AND FURY, 14 min, Fiction, 2007 DERRIÈRE L’IMAGE, 8 min, Documentary, 2007 STILL WAITING FOR JUSTICE, 17 min, Documentary, 2006 A SCHOOL WITHOUT BORDERS, 50 min, Documentary, 2005 SORTIE DE SECOURS, 5 min, Short film series, 2002 BLACK, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL. 43 min, Documentary, 1999