Laureate 2021

Work presented in Montreal in 2020-2021: Habiter le mouvement – Un récit en dix chapitres, Festival International du Film sur l’Art de Montréal

The independent filmmaker Béatriz Mediaville was revealed by her movie Habiter le mouvement – Un récit en dix chapitres, presented at the Festival International du Film de l’Art de Montréal. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Film Studies and lives and works in Rouyn-Noranda, where she also teaches at the Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. At a time when dance is becoming increasingly visible on the screens, Mediaville’s artistic sensitivity stands out for her humanity and her innovative vision. Through her extensive background, she collaborates with both intergenerational groups of individuals and non-dancers. The notion of togetherness is at the heart of her performances. The relevance of her work lies in its poetic quality, which emphasizes the importance of the body in motion in our social lives.

Biography

Multidisciplinary artist Béatriz Mediavilla was born in 1972 in Rouyn-Noranda, where she still lives and works today. There, she had her first encounter with dance at the age of 9. This discipline has since remained at the heart of her approach. With a Master’s degree in Film Studies, she teaches film at the Abitibi-Témiscamingue College. She was discovered through her first full-length documentary, Danse avec elles, which was shown in various film festivals, in Montréal, Quebec City, Toronto and Vancouver, even as far as Havana and New York City. Her two other short dance films, 3 Movements Of Outtake and Still Feel You With Me, have also been very successful around the globe. With her most recent feature film According To Movement – A Story In Ten Chapters, Mediavilla offers a new approach to the documentary and dance conventions. The film won several awards, such as: Best Canadian Work Award at the Festival International des Films sur l’Art de Montréal, Best Dance Documentary at the Fine Arts Film Festival in Venice Beach (USA) and First Place Documentary Feature at the Utah Dance Film Festival (USA). In addition to her film practice, she also writes short fiction and directs multidisciplinary collective projects.