MONTREAL – Monique Simard has been appointed as director general of the National Film Board’s French Program, effective August 18.
“Monique Simard is a major figure in documentary film in Quebec,” said Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chair Tom Perlmutter. “Her arrival at the NFB is very positive, at a time when we’re consolidating our creative leadership with the launch of the new strategic plan and the recent appointment of Cindy Witten as head of the English Program.”
Since 1998, Simard has been director general and producer at Quebec documentary production house Productions Virage. She has produced over 30 documentaries by leading filmmakers, including Jean-Claude Labrecque’s À hauteur d’homme (Best Documentary, Jutra 2004), and The Refugees of the Blue Planet/Les réfugiés de la planète bleue by Hélène Choquette and Jean-Philippe Duval, a co-production with the NFB.
In 2007, she partnered with interactive production firm Turbulent to create the Internet site for Radio-Canada’s TV program Le Fric Show.
She is also a documentary instructor at the Institut national de l’image et du son (INIS) and is a board member of several organizations, including the Association des producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ), and Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal
“The NFB is currently at a turning point and I find this evolution very stimulating. I strongly believe in the social power of documentary, the extraordinary possibilities of animation and the creativity that new digital technologies generate,” said Simard in a statement released by the NFB. “As a public producer, the NFB can take risks and remain a unique place uniting engagement, creation and innovation.”
