Lynne Fernie is a Canadian filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist. She spent fourteen years as the Canadian Spectrum programmer for the Hot Docs Festival from 2002-2016, a period of tremendous growth. “Her passion is as deep as her knowledge, and her championing of Canadian documentaries and the people who make them has never wavered.” She was the co-director with Aerlyn Weissman of the award-winning 1992 documentary film '. They also co-directed Fiction and Other Truths: a film about Jane Rule, an award-winning biography about the author and Order of Canada recipient, Jane Rule. Her short films School's Out! and Apples and Oranges. focus on issues of bullying and homophobia in schools. Fernie was a member of numerous arts and LGBT organizations in Toronto. She was a co-founding collective member of the feminist periodical Fireweed and worked as editor and editor-in-chief of the artist-run centre magazine Parallélogrammefor a number of years. She was engaged with LGBTQ+ culture with the Lesbian Organization of Toronto and the Inside Out Film and Video Festival. She was a frequent songwriting lyric writer and collaborator with the pop band Parachute Club, including lyrics for the band's most famous single, "Rise Up" which was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in November 2019. She also wrote lyrics to Neon Blue, the title track for Aaron Davis'first album, and collaborated with Lorraine Segato and Richard Underhill on "Bringing All the Voices Together", a theme song for Jack Layton's campaign in the 2003 New Democratic Party leadership election. She taught production at the film studies department at York University for eight years, and is a programmer for the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. A portrait of Fernie, by the artist Rafy, is held by the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives' National Portrait Collection, in honour of her role as a significant builder of LGBT culture and history in Canada. She is interviewed in Matthew Hays' Lambda Literary Award-winning 2007 book '. Lynne Fernie is an OCAD honours graduate in addition to being an award-winning documentary filmmaker. She has exhibited visual art and been the recipient of arts and film grants from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council, and has been a jury member of Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council. Her visual art is currently available through Oeno Gallery.
Credits
Soundtrack 2011 Take This Waltz 2009 Rise Up: Canadian Pop Music in the 1980s 2002 Little Sister's vs. Big Brother 2001 QSW: The Rebel Zone / Director 1995 Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule 1992 Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives Writer 1992 Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives Self 2015 Katie Chats Herself 2015 HotDocs Press Conference Chats 2015... Herself 2006 Fascination 2002 SexTV Herself 2002 Portland: Strip City U.S.A./Strange Sisters: The Golden Age of Lesbian Pulp... Herself
Awards
Genie Awards
Winner for Best Short Documentary in 1996 for Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule. Shared with Aerlyn Weissman
Winner for Best Feature Length Documentary in 1993 for Forbidden Love: The unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives. Shared with Aerlyn Weissman
L.A Outfest
1996 Winner of the Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Short Film for Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule. Shared with Aerlyn Weissman.
