Biography of Ève Lamont
Ève Lamont breaks taboos, using her camera to open audience’s eyes to her message. She takes the controversy her films inevitably generate in stride. Not satisfied with contributing to public debate, she creates forums for discussion, especially on social issues affecting women such as poverty, exclusion, and sexual exploitation.
Ève started making films 30 years ago, carving a path for herself as a technician and becoming the first TV camerawoman in Québec. Parallel to this, she was busy making and self-financing short- and medium-length documentaries and presenting them in various educational and community settings. Her first short, Des Squatteureuses, took the audience prize at the Festival de films de femmes de Montréal in 1988.
Numerous projects followed, including, in 2001, her first feature documentary, Méchante Job, which examined different forms of discrimination against the poor, worker exploitation, and alternative work solutions.
Ève Lamont has always been keenly interested in alternative culture and projects that generate hope. In 2010, she decided to give a voice to women attempting to escape prostitution with her documentary L’imposture [The Fallacy]. She followed up on this in 2016, with The Sex Trade, revealing the hidden network behind the prostitution system, in which Aboriginal women are over-represented. Her documentaries are used as tools to stimulate public debate and have been broadcast on several television networks including CBC, Radio Canada, and TV5 Monde.
Although many filmmakers turn to stars and celebrities to attract interest, Ève seeks to give a voice to those whose voices are not heard in the conventional media, and whose history is unknown. Each participant in her documentary has decision-making power over the content. Each person who agrees to share a part of their life, often the most difficult to disclose, is treated with immense respect. Ève frequently writes, narrates, and films her interviews by herself. Determined to establish equitable relationships with each protagonist, Ève combines creation, information, and support in her approach with the marginalized individuals with whom she has chosen to work.
