Justine Harbonnier was born in France and grew up in Nantes. After completing a master’s in comparative literature at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), she began making short independent films that screened at a number of international festivals.
Her first self-produced film, Il y a un ciel magnifique et tu filmes Angèle Bertrand, distributed by SPIRA, had its world premiere at New York’s MoMA. She followed that up by working with other production studios on writing and research projects, and by directing the video poem Terrain vague, an award-winner at the Festival de la poésie de Montréal.
Her most recent short, Andrew Keegan démenage, won the GREC/France TV “Une Minute” award. Distributed by the MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises, the film has shown at such venues as FIDMarseille, the RIDM, DOXA, Festival Interférences, the Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival, and the Pančevo Film Festival.
Harbonnier’s first feature-length film, Caiti Blues, co-produced by Sister Productions (France) and Cinquième Maison (Québec), was selected for Visions du Réel, Hot Docs and ACID Cannes. A documentary feature, La Simulation, is currently in development with French co-producers Les 48e Rugissants and Special Touch Studios. Both projects have received substantial support, including a 2019 SCAM – Brouillon d’un rêve grant and the City of Nantes’ Fonds d’accompagnement aux projets émergents. Harbonnier has also attended various artists’ residencies (Films en Bretagne, La Plateforme, Moulin d’Andé, IDFAcademy) and festival marketplaces (Docs-in-Progress Cannes, FIFIB).
Filmography
CAITI BLUES, 84 min, Documentary, 2023
ANDREW KEEGAN DÉMÉNAGE, 12 min, Documentary, 2016
TERRAIN VAGUE, 3 min, Documentary, 2016
IL Y A UN CIEL MAGNIFIQUE ET TU FILMES ANGÈLE BERTRAND, 14 min, Documentary, 2014