“A Day in the Life” with: Vancouver Director Joanne Robertson

Joanne Robertson is a director, researcher and creative producer. She began her work with Rezolution Pictures over 25 years ago, collaborating on such documentary projects as Cree Spoken Here, Dab Iyiyuu and One More River. Since then she has honed her research, directing and story-producing skills on diverse doc projects including the NFB’s Making Movie History, Ports d’attache, Chacun son île and as story producer on APTN’s Lands Enchanted and the award-winning documentary Red Fever. Joanne was co-producer on Kara Blake’s installation Lasciare Suonare at Montreal’s Place des Arts and Todd Stewart’s award-winning short animation The Wind and the Trees. She recently co-directed So Surreal: Behind the Masks about the profound influence of Indigenous masks on the Surrealists which had its West Coast premiere at VIFF.

Joanne Robertson
Being welcomed by my Dad at VYR is always the best!
Joanne Robertson
One of my favourite things to do in Vancouver is walk in the woods with my kids, Ella and Adam.
The polar bear swim has been a tradition in my west coast family since forever. Here my kids carry on the tradition!
Movie night in the alley with our neighbours in Montreal.
Filming an episode of The Island Diaries off the coast of Newfoundland with host and amazing collaborator Sophie Fouron.
In Navajo Nation shooting the feature documentary Red Fever.
Joanne Robertson
In Paris filming with Yup’ik storyteller, artist and dancer Chuna McIntyre for So Surreal Behind the Masks with my co-director Neil Diamond.
Joanne Robertson
The west coast premiere of the film So Surreal: Behind the Masks at VIFF 2024 with my co-director Neil Diamond and editor Rebecca Lessard along with members of ‘Namgis First Nation and others who were present for the screening.

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Which neighbourhood are you in?

I’m living in Montreal these days but I grew up on the North Shore. Whenever I come back, I stay near Ambleside and sometimes in False Creek. Walking along the seawall from Ambleside to Dundrave and back has always been one of my favourite things to do, especially in the summer when there are families out having picnics on the beach, people swimming or young people trying their hand at sailing. Sometimes you’ll catch people playing music or even make-shift choirs singing. When I’m not staying near Ambleside, I’m at a friend’s in False Creek which is a totally different vibe. I’ve loved getting to know this neighbourhood over the past few years. It’s changed so much! For context, my first memories of this area were my outings at Expo 86! I love how easy it is to get around without a car from here which is unusual for Vancouver in my experience. From the seawall to the water taxis and bike shares to the Skytrain…

What do you do?

I’m a researcher, story producer and director in documentary film and television.

What are you currently working on?

I recently co-directed So Surreal: Behind the Masks, a feature documentary about the profound influence of Indigenous masks on the Surrealists. The film had its West Coast premiere earlier this week at VIFF!

Where can we find your work?

You can find information about So Surreal on Rezolution Pictures’ Instagram and you can keep an eye out for it on CBC doc channel and CBC Gem. If you’re interested in NFB history, you might be interested in these shorts that I did about the early days of the NFB. You can also check out some of my work on Knowledge Network: Waterfront Cities of the World and Island Diaries. I also recently researched and story-produced Red Fever which you can see on TVO’s YouTube channel.

 

About Emilea Semancik 209 Articles
Emilea Semancik was born in North Vancouver. Emilea has always always wanted to work as a freelance writer and currently writes for the Vancouver Guardian. Taking influence from journalism culture surrounding the great and late Anthony Bourdain, she is a recipe author working towards publishing her own series of books. You can find her food blog on Instagram: