ABOUT
The primary purpose of our company is to produce audacious projects, in both form and perspective, to further broaden the scope of Québec cinema. We are proud to grow with and accompany our filmmakers and creators as they bring their visions to life. From Berlin to Sundance, via Locarno and TIFF, our shorts and features have made their mark in the most prestigious film festivals and have enjoyed success in theatres and online.
Led by an all-female and non-binary producing team, Art et essai has been further diversifying since 2019, developing documentaries and series as well as virtual reality projects. We strive to expand the limits of the collective imagination through stories that are authentic, ambitious, and extraordinary.
Our team members are also active behind the scenes in the province’s arts sector, serving on the Conseil national du cinéma et de la production télévisuelle (CNCT), the Board of Directors of L’institut national de l’image et du son (L’inis) and L’Union des producteurs et productrices de cinéma du Québec (UPPCQ), in addition to spearheading initiatives like writing workshops for young creators.
Jeanne-Marie Poulain
Jeanne-Marie settled into a career in cinema after a brief detour in medicine. Upon graduating from L’inis as a film producer, they joined Art et essai in 2014, producing films that have toured the globe, making waves at prestigious festivals including Berlin, Sundance, Locarno, and TIFF. In 2017, they were nominated Best Emerging Producer at the CMPA Indiescreen Awards. They attended the Producer’s Workshop at Cannes, the FCTNM Entrepreneurship Program in 2019, then Berlinale Talents in 2020. They attended Rotterdam Lab and EAVE in 2021 while also receiving the 2024 Prix de la Relève AQPM.
Twelve shorts and three features later, Jeanne-Marie has taken the reins of the company, and since 2019, has lead the development and diversification of its slate to include series, documentary, and VR projects. They enjoy collaborating with emerging creators with whom they can learn and grow.
Jeanne-Marie cares deeply about Quebec’s cultural ecosystem and is actively involved in many film organizations. They are a member of the Board of Directors of the Union des Producteurs et Productrices du Cinéma Québécois (UPPCQ) and of their alma mater L’inis. In July 2020, they were named a member of the Quebec Council for Film and Television Production (CNCT), an advisory committee put in place by Sodec.
anaëlle béglet
Anaëlle began her career as an assistant to producer Jonathan Finkelstein at Apartment 11 Productions before joining the art house team as a producer. Her areas of expertise include fiction series, documentary series, and feature films. She has also produced several award-winning short films at festivals. Currently, she is developing impact series, feature films, and animated films that celebrate diversity and inclusion.
Recently, Anaëlle served as a content producer for the acclaimed series "Pa t’mentir" by Trio Orange, which received a Gémeaux Award and a Numix Award, as well as the documentary series "T’es belle pour une noire" produced by KOtv.
IRÈNE BESSONE
Irène holds a Bachelor's degree in Production Strategies from UQAM and joined the art house team as a coordinator in 2020. As naturally as it was swiftly, her desire to become more closely involved in production and with creators became apparent, leading her to become a producer within the company. By 2021, she had already produced the short films La Guêpe by Marc Beaupré, Petites Morts by Terence Chotard, and Landfill by Jess Lee. That same year, she also took on the role of associate producer for the feature film Humanist Vampire Seeks Suicidal Consent by Ariane Louis-Seize.
In September 2023, Irène secured funding from Telefilm - Talents en vue for her debut feature film, El Padrote by Andrés Estrada, with filming scheduled in Venezuela for 2025. Among her upcoming projects, we'll find the short film Rouge Serpent by Mirkö Lafrenière set for release in 2024. Additionally, she is set to produce the short films Guerrero l’hiver by Rémi Dufresne and Nellie Carrier, and Rudeness by Jean-Martin Gagnon and Guillaume Harvey, both projects supported by Sodec's emerging program.
Alongside her role as a producer, Irène is deeply involved in various stages of art house projects and contributes to the company's growth. She actively develops a diverse array of projects, encompassing both short and feature films, fiction, and documentaries, aspiring to bring forth bold narratives with sensitive themes to the screen.
LAURENCE WELLS
Laurence Wells is a young producer for whom creativity and organization go hand in hand. Originally from Saguenay, she completed a Bachelor's degree in Film Production at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema (Concordia University). Since the beginning of her career, she has worked as a producer, first assistant director, and in several other roles on projects of all kinds and genres.
From theater to dance to animation and writing, Laurence has always been fascinated by the world of arts. Her dynamism and versatility, coupled with great curiosity, make her a true enthusiast! She joins the Art et Essai team as a immersive projects manager and junior producer, bringing two series projects in development (Sweet teeth and Don’t skip a generation) as well as a documentary short film (The sleeping castle). She is currently developing two new short film projects, Between dog and wolf (fiction, Éloïse Carpintero) and Monument beurre (ciné-dance, Sophie Valcourt), in addition to focusing on all the immersive works of the company.
SOPHIE MICHON
After completing a Bachelor's degree in Animation and Cultural Studies at UQAM, Sophie began her professional career in documentary distribution, working for 5 years at Productions du Rapide-Blanc. Various twists of fate led her towards numbers, and then through a detour in the music industry.
A jack-of-all-trades and particularly interested in documentary filmmaking, she is now a production accountant for several companies (including ours) and is concurrently developing feature-length and short documentary films at Art et Essai.
RECURRING COLLABORATORS
JULIEN TREMBLAY
Julien Tremblay is a Montreal-based post-production supervisor with 15 years of experience in post-production. In 2023, he founded the company Post Odyssée, a small team consisting of Julien Tremblay, Rachel Tremblay Saint-Yves, and Geneviève Gendreau. Versatile, this team enjoys working on a variety of projects, including short films, feature films, TV series, or documentaries, serving both Quebec productions and international co-productions. They have notably worked on "Humanist Vampire Seeks Suicidal Consent" by Arianne Louis-Seize, "Richelieu" by Pier-Philippe Chevigny, "Mégantic" by Philippe Falardeau, and more recently, "Deux femmes en or" by Chloé Robichaud and "Yunan" by Ameer Fakher Eldin.