Director, scriptwriter and producer Diane Poitras was born in Montreal in 1951. She holds a communications degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Poitras is among the first group of feminist directors to have laid the groundwork for future women directors to enter the profession. A member of several production co-operatives such as Vidéographe, GIV, Coop Vidéo and V/Tape in Toronto, she helped found the group Production de l'Impatiente. From 1980 onwards, she directed videos and short fiction, documentary and experimental films which explore themes of female sexuality, work, community life and aging, including Pense à ton désir (1984) and Comptines (1986), which won awards outside of Quebec. In the 1990s, she focused her attention on art documentaries (L'alchimiste et l'enlumineur, 1997), a film on dance (La voisine, 1996), and a feature-length fiction work (Un léger vertige, 1990). In 1997, she joined the NFB as a producer with the documentary studio Acadie.