Michèle Hozer (Canada)

Michèle Hozer has been working in the Canadian film industry since 1987. Fluently bilingual, Michèle grew up in Montreal and studied Communications at Concordia University. She started her career at The National Film Board of Canada, working first in production then as an editor. In the spring of 1996, Michèle moved to Toronto, working as a freelance editor for well-known production companies and major broadcasters. She received her first Gemini in 2000 for The Nature of Things on their millennium special Race for the Future.
In August 2001, Michèle established The Cutting Factory, ensuring the best possible editing environment within the audio post facility of Kitchen Sync. She has cut over 50 documentaries, including award-winning series, such as The Baby Human, The Undefended Border, and China Rises. With a constant focus on story-telling, Michèle applies her unique editing style to a variety of genres, whether arts documentaries, like Can’t Stop Now with Karen Kain and Jiri Kilean, or social issue films such as Last Call at The Gladstone, or historical subject matter such as the feature length Arctic Dreamer: The Lonely Quest of Viljhalmur Stefansson.
In 2005, Michèle won her second Gemini for her work on Peter Raymont’s critically acclaimed feature length documentary Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire. The film received a 2007 EMMY for Best Documentary and the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2006 Michèle worked again with Raymont editing his feature length documentary A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman. The film had its world premiere at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, was short-listed for an Oscar, received two Gemini awards, including Best Social Political Documentary, as well as a number of other international awards. Triage: The Dilemma of Dr. James Orbinski sees Michèle working again with a frequent collaborator, director Patrick Reed. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and has been screened internationally.
After 8 years of strong collaboration Michèle Hozer and Peter Raymont join forces as co-directors on the feature length documentary GENIUS WITHIN: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould. With its reliance on archival footage, photographs, audio recordings and interviews, this film Glenn Gould seemed like the ideal opportunity for Michèle to launch her directorial debut. The film had its world premiere at 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, and has screened in numerous festivals around the world. The film has had a theatrical run in Canada and will be released in US theaters in the fall of 2010.
Michèle and Peter are now co-directing a film on Canadian painter Tom Thomson expected to be release in fall 2011.