Patricia Rozema's Mansfield park

TAKE ONE, Dec-Feb, 1999 by Barbara Goslawski

Cinema may not have been Rozema's first career of choice, but it has certainly proven quite the showcase for her talents. The way she tells it, a career in filmmaking was practically a foregone conclusion. "I sometimes look back and I think `My God, it's almost as if I knew I was going to become a filmmaker, so I organized this whole array of experiences that would help me.'"

One of a trio of children born to Dutch immigrants who eventually settled in Sarnia, Ont., Rozema was raised a strict Calvinist who, before the age of 16, had seen only one movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Her parents, successful real--estate entrepreneurs, instilled a work ethic and business sense that proved invaluable to her eventual career of choice. "I grew up [learning] how to convince other people that your enterprise is valid and making sure you don't go in the hole doing it; how to save some money and how to plan ahead, basic contracts and even negotiations," she explains.

Acting in plays from the first grade until she finished her B.A., Rozema was busy with a variety of activities in both high school and university. At Lambton Christian High School, Rozema discovered public speaking, and was elected president of her class, an experience that certainly came with an important lesson, and one that reeks of irony. "I remember saying," she recalls, "`never, ever, will I go into politics, ever.' It just drove me mad to be in a situation where I was expected to want to please everyone. I couldn't do it." Instead, she continued on in a different kind of political arena, the arts. Writing stories in her spare time since she was about eight years old, she coupled this with directing theatre at Calvin College, a small liberal arts university in Grand Rapids, Mich. There, Rozema won awards for her writing and directing in theatre, acted in productions and edited the campus newspaper. On top of that, her approach to her studies, English and Philosophy, proved remarkably astute: "I always tried to arrange my courses so that I would be studying the same period [in] both ... so I could be saying `okay, these are the ideas of the 18th century and this is how they worked themselves out in fiction.'" It was also while studying at this Christian college that she discovered her sexuality, one that increasingly involved an attraction to women, and one that inevitably caused a loss of religious faith.

After graduating in 1981, Rozema switched gears and pursued a career in journalism. She had decided to be a novelist but knew that she needed a day job to pay the rent. This new endeavour took her to Chicago (WMAQ-TV) and New York (WNBC-TV) before she finally came back to Canada to work first at Global and then as an associate producer on CBC's The Journal. Here, Rozema learned about constructing stories in a moving-image medium, through writing and editing, and eventually she decided to take a five-week course in 16mm film production.

Before long, she was writing and producing her first film, Passion: A Letter in 16mm (1985), which went on to win the second prize at the Chicago International Film Festival. Coproduced with Alexandra Raffe, shot by Peter Mettler and starring Linda Griffiths, this short is, in retrospect, a veritable who's who of Canadian filmmaking. Essentially a cinematic love letter, Passion introduced audiences to a device that would be a signature of Rozema's style: that of the protagonist breaking the flow of the narrative to address the audience directly. It's usually in these moments that the thoughts, dreams and aspirations of the character are revealed, creating a sense that, structurally speaking, anything can happen.

Rozema will be forever remembered as the novice filmmaker who, at the age of 29 took the world by storm with her first feature, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987), winning the Prix de la Jeunesse at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. The film charmed critics and audiences alike with its playful style and endearing protagonist. Polly, played to perfection by Sheila McCarthy, is an awkward and surprisingly inept office temp who, despite herself, lands a job working for a successful gallery owner, Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon). She comes to idolize this woman both personally and professionally, and tries desperately to gain her acceptance on both of these levels. Polly's only refuge comes from her photography and her vivid fantasy life. These elements, together with her videotaped confession interweave within the basic story line, shaping the film and expanding its form beyond simple storytelling. Instead, Mermaids' form gently actualizes Polly's growing self-awareness to produce a statement that celebrates personal validation over the more tempting public accolades. The stuff that legends are made of, this low-budget film (made for $350,000) has made millions. Besides collecting two Genie Awards for acting (Best Actress, McCarthy, and Best Supporting Actress, Baillargeon), it garnered critical praise internationally and continues to appear on Top Ten lists of the Best Canadian Films of all time.