Press release

Montreal, Wednesday, April 23 — Atopia and Amazone Film are proud to announce that My Father’s Studio [L’Atelier de mon père] first feature by director Jennifer Alleyn will be released in French at Cinema Parallèle (Ex-Centris) and in English at Cinema du Parc as of May 9th. Launched at FIFA, the film received a standing ovation and won the Award For Best Canadian Work.

In november 2001, Québec painter Edmund Alleyn agreed to be filmed in his studio by his daughter, filmmaker Jennifer Alleyn. There something unexpected happened. An authentic encounter, with no beating around the bush, no masks. From a few existential questions — about life, painting, death — thruth emerged. The artist then died of cancer in December 2004 before Jennifer could film him again. After Inheriting his studio, Jennifer found herself drawn to this intimate space, still imbued with the artist’s imagination. Her film is an attempt to prolong the dialogue, to find the missing fragments and try to understand her secretive father. Edmund Alleyn was an intense and complex man of integrity who left his mark on Canadian Contemporary art. For Alleyn, “art was an incurable sickness”.

Born in Québec City, Edmund Alleyn was an innovator whose stylistically diverse paintings, drawings and multimedia installations are critically regarded as superb example of their genres. Alleyn’s later works, invoked an elegiac, cinematic quality. For more on Alleyn’s current exhibitions: www.edmundalleyn.com

BFA in Film Production, Concordia University, Jennifer Alleyn travelled the globe, video camera in hand, for the Radio-Canada TV series La Course Destination monde in 1992. On her return, she worked as a journalist for the Montreal daily Le Devoir (Mireille Lanctôt Award) and for Le Point (Radio-Canada TV). She went back to fiction and co-directed Cosmos, (Art and Experimental Cinema Award, Cannes Film Festival). She has since directed several critically acclaimed films such as The Rossys and La Vie imaginée de Jacques Monory. Her film Svanok won Best Short Fiction Award at the 2006 Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois. My Father’s Studio [L’Atelier de mon père] is her first feature.

Produced by Jeannine Gagné and distributed by Atopia. Director Jennifer Alleyn will be present for Q&A’s May 9, 13 et 16 (evening screening) at cinema Parallèle and at New Cinema Du Parc May 10th at 5pm.

For further information, please visit the film’s website.

News posted Thursday, May 1, 2008.