Kalina Bertin

Kalina Bertin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, most noted for her 2017 film Manic.[1]

A 2013 graduate of the film studies program at the Université du Québec à Montréal, she made Manic about her siblings' struggles with bipolar disorder.[2] She ultimately uncovered the story of her biological father, a Montserratian cult leader who also suffered from bipolar disorder, and who had, unbeknownst to Bertin until making the film, also fathered at least 12 other children with four other women.[2]

Manic premiered at the 2017 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival,[3] where Bertin was selected by Daniel Cross of EyeSteelFilm as the recipient of a $5,000 grant for emerging women documentary filmmakers.[4]

Manic received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards,[5] and a Prix Iris nomination for Best Documentary Film at the 20th Quebec Cinema Awards.[6] The film was also shortlisted for the Prix collégial du cinéma québécois in 2019.[7]

Bertin has also been a cinematographer and camera operator on other documentary films, including Byblos, Prisons Without Bars (Prisons sans barreaux) and 7 Beats per Minute.

References

  1. ^ "Entertainment: Canadian filmmaker Kalina Bertin talks about her intimate doc 'Manic'". The Suburban, April 27, 2017.
  2. ^ a b T'Cha Dunlevy, "'So exposed': Filmmaker's debut, Manic, mines her family's mental health history". Montreal Gazette, February 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Laura Anne Harris, "HotDocs Interview: Director Kalina Bertin explores her family’s bipolar disorder in Manic". Seventh Row, May 2, 2017.
  4. ^ "Daniel Cross wins Don Haig Award". Realscreen, May 1, 2017.
  5. ^ Pat Mullen, "Canadian Screen Awards Preview: Picks and Foolish Predictions". Cinemablographer, March 11, 2018.
  6. ^ André Duchesne, "Iris: Le problème d'infiltration et Hochelaga en tête des nominations". La Presse, April 10, 2018.
  7. ^ ""Happy Face" remporte le Prix collégial du cinéma québécois". Le Journal de Montréal (in French). March 30, 2019.