SIMPLY JOHANNE

Abandoned on the doorstep of a Montreal orphanage, Johanne Harrelle eventually rose to prominence as a gifted artist, actress, and one of North America’s first Black models. Simply Johanne deftly explores her complex and audacious life through archival footage, interviews with loved ones and performances of her writings by three contemporary actresses. The film chronicles the journey of a charismatic and passionate woman who defied the expectations of her time. 
(Les Films du 3 Mars) 

• Through benevolent testimonies, archival images, and reconstructions that are pared-down and essentially symbolic, Nadine Valcin manages to capture the soul and complexity of a multifaceted woman—embracing both light and shadow without ever demonizing her or placing her on a pedestal. Instead, she highlights the uniqueness and mysterious side of an artist whose existence, both public and private, was marked by boundless tenacity, determination, and courage.
  (Le Devoir – Translation by Chat GPT) 

• For her first feature film, Haitian-born Canadian Nadine Valcin set out in search of a forgotten cultural figure, whose unusual journey is known only through scattered fragments and incomplete memories. Relying on restrained re-enactments, carefully chosen archives, and the enlightening and moving testimonies of those close to her, the director paints the portrait of an elusive woman—by turns an unfit mother, a welcoming socialite, and an avant-garde artist. Three Afro-descendant actresses bridge the past and the present by evoking her singularity and resilience, at a time when it was difficult for a Black woman to break through. To achieve this, Johanne Harrelle had built a protective shell to conceal unhealed wounds. This documentary, with the feel of an investigative report, uncovers some of them while leaving an aura of mystery around this independent woman, as unsettling as she was inspiring.
  (Mediafilm – Translation by Chat GPT) 

• Valcin stitches together a rich tapestry of Johanne’s life, with a mix of archival footage from fashion campaigns, stylized re-enactments, narrations from her autobiography, and interview clips. The documentary also features footage from films in which Johanne appeared, most significantly the 1963 film À tout prendre directed by Claude Jutra, her former lover. An auto-fictional retelling of their relationship, the film—apparently the first in North America to show a Black woman in bed with a white man—made waves.
  (Reelworld) 

• Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec (FCVQ) – 2024 
• Reelworld Film Festival– 2024 
• Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma – 2024 

• Long listed for the 2024 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award  
• Reelworld Film Festival: Outstanding Feature Film