Marie-Hélène Cousineau

Born in Montreal, Marie-Hélène Cousineau is a filmmaker and producer known for her thoughtful, feminist and intercultural work in both fiction and documentary. She has a Master's degree in Communication and Production from the University of Iowa and a Master's degree in Art History from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She has also taught at the college and university level, notably in the Department of Communication at Concordia University. In 1990, Marie-Hélène Cousineau moved to Igloolik, Nunavut, where she played an essential role in the development of video and film by women in this Arctic region. In 1991, she founded the Tarriaksuk Video Centre with Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn, and established Arnait Video Productions with Madeline Ivalu and Susan Avingaq. Films from this organization have been seen around the world for 25 years. In 2008, she co-directed Before Tomorrow with Madeline Ivalu and then Uvanga (2013), which has been screened in numerous festivals around the world. In 2014, her film Sol, co-directed with Susan Avingaq, won the Grand Prize for Best Canadian Feature Film at the RIDM. In 2019, she produced and directed Restless River, her 5th feature film, based on a novel by iconic Canadian writer Gabrielle Roy.