Tess Girard
Tess Girard is an internationally recognized filmmaker and cinematographer whose visually evocative work explores subject matter from a poetic, philosophical perspective. Immersive in quality, she has directed and lensed projects that have premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, Hot Docs, and the Buenos Aires Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI). Her cinematic eye has been included in Canada’s Top Ten, Nominated for Canadian Screen Awards, and broadcasted on CBC and Documentary Channel.
As filmmaker, Girard’s work lies somewhere between experimental and documentary, challenging audiences to engage on a highly personal level. Her first short film, Benediction (2005) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, won the Norman McLaren Prize for Best Short Film at the Montreal World Film Festival, and played at festivals around the world. Her second short film, Old Growth (2012) premiered at TIFF and was included in Canada’s Top Ten. Girard’s other films include A Simple Rhythm (2009, Hot Docs, VIFF, BAFICI, Plus Camerimage), As The Crow Flies (2017, Documentary Channel, National Film Board of Canada), Canada The Good? (2017, CBC, Hot Docs), The Road to Webequie (2016, Toronto International Film Festival, Canadian Screen Award Nomination) and Shelter (2022, Hot Docs). She has also directed a number of Canada’s Heritage Minutes, created radio documentaries, and performed live videos for concerts with The Art of Time Ensemble, The Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Do Make Say Think, and The Weather Station.
As a cinematographer she has lensed not only her own work, but also the feature film Drifting Snow (2021, directed by Ryan J Noth) which was nominated for a CSC Award for Achievement in Cinematography, the feature documentary Mbira Talks (2023, directed by Adrienne Amato), and the CBC limited television series Swan Song following the National Ballet of Canada (dir Chelsea McMullen, Sean O’Neill). Her film Shelter was nominated for the 2023 Robert Brooks Award for Best Documentary Cinematography with the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and Benediction won Best Cinematography at the Worldwide Short Film Festival. Girard is an associate member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers.
Girard has collaborated with artists across several disciplines, including filmmakers Peter Mettler, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas De Pencier, musicians Charles Spearin (of Broken Social Scene), Jeremy Dutcher, Evening Hymns, and actors Rachel Bonnetta, Evalyn Parry, Sonja Smits, and Colin Mochrie.