Kay Armatage

Kay Armatage
Born1943 (age 82–83)
Saskatchewan, Canada
EducationQueen's University at Kingston (B.A.)
University of Toronto (M.A., Ph.D.)
Known forFilmmaking, writing

Kay Armatage (born 1943) is a Canadian filmmaker, former programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto's Cinema Studies Institute and Women & Gender Studies Institute.

Born in Saskatchewan, she received a B.A. in English literature from Queen's University at Kingston in Ontario. Armatage now lives in Toronto.

During her time as an international programmer at TIFF, Armatage worked to introduce audiences to female filmmakers and risk-taking films. In her filmmaking work, Armatage makes feminist pieces that are realist and experimental in form, usually documentaries. Armatage makes observational films that speak to women's issues and challenge conventional filmmaking.

Career

Kay Armatage was an international programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival from 1982 to 2004, participating in a total of 23 editions of the festival. She has been praised for defending Catherine Breillat’s Fat Girl (2001) against censorship when the board wanted to cut scenes from the film for the festival. Armatage has often argued for gender equality in the filmmaking world. Armatage was on the board of directors of Women in View, an advocacy group for gender and diversity in Canadian media.

Kay Armatage is also a professor emeritus at the Cinema Studies Institute and the Women & Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. She has written scholarly work including pieces such as The Girl From God’s Country: Nell Shipman and Silent Cinema, and co-edited Gendering the Nation: Canadian Women’s Cinema.

Filmmaking

As a filmmaker, Armatage is known for her documentaries that approach women’s issues, according to critic Cameron Bailey's writing on Armatage's film Artist on Fire (1987). Armatage's films have broached subjects such as abortion in Speakbody (1979) ad objectification and economy in Striptease (1980), and challenge documentary conventions. Her films also attempt to uphold the principles of feminist filmmaking through "flexibility of roles, collaboration and equality of participation," according to Armatage's own writing.

Kay Armatage's first film was a short,Jill Johnston: October 1975 (1977), which she directed alongside Lydia Wazana. The film is a documentary which follows American author Jill Johnston during one week of interviews in Toronto. The film's first showing was at the University of Toronto's Innis College. Following the end of the film screening, Johnston stood onstage to announce that there was a conflict of interest between herself and the filmmakers. She disagreed with how the film portrayed her and believed that the image it created would harm her aspirations as a serious writer. As a result, Johnston refused to sign a release for its distribution outside of Canada.

Armatage first two short films, Jill Johnston: October 1975 (1977) and Gertrude and Alice in Passing (1978), are recognized as some of the first Canadian independent films to point to the political relevance of lesbian history and culture. Striptease (1980) has been commended for its validation of sex workers by respecting their subject-generated performances.

Armatage's films have been shown in art galleries and film festivals such as the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Chicago, Toronto, and Edinburgh film festivals. Her film Artist on Fire (1987) received a special citation for excellence in documentary filmmaking from the jury for the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film at the 1987 Toronto International Film Festival.

Filmography

Year Title Contribution Notes
1977 Jill Johnston: October 1975 Director, producer Short; co-director with Lydia Wazana
1980 Striptease Director Short
1980 Speak Body Director Short
1983 Storytelling Director
1987 Artist on Fire Director Documentary
2015 He Hated Pigeons Associate producer

References

  1. 1 2 "Kay Armatage". Media Queer. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Adams, James (September 16, 2004). "Armatage pushed from TIFF". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  3. 1 2 Bains, Pahull (2019-04-17). "What Is the Female Gaze, and Can It Reshape Pop Culture?". FASHION Magazine. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  4. 1 2 "Kay Armatage". University of Toronto. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  5. ↑ "Kay Armatage". WESTERN FRONT. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  6. 1 2 McCormack, Thelma (2005). "The Girl From God's Country: Nell Shipman and the Silent Film. Kay Armatage". Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice. 30 (1): 151. ISSN 1715-0698.
  7. 1 2 3 Rentilly, J. (2016-08-10). "The Film Festival Court of Controversy: How Festivals Moderate Discussions Before Films Reach Theaters". MovieMaker Magazine. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  8. ↑ Fanian, Sahar (2014-11-11). "Building Toronto's Feminist Film Scene: A Collaborative Effort". Local Film Cultures: Toronto. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  9. ↑ Ricci, Talia (September 12, 2019). "'There's a long way to go': Women filmmakers weigh in on equality at TIFF". CBC Toronto.
  10. ↑ Reardon, Kiva (December 17, 2017). "Unfinished Business". Point of View Magazine. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  11. ↑ "Kay Armatage". Women Make Movies. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  12. ↑ "About". Women in View. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  13. 1 2 3 Bailey, Cameron (July–August 1987). "Film Reviews - Artist on Fire". Cinema Canada (143). ISSN 1918-879X.
  14. ↑ Lerner, Loren R. (1997). Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature. University of Toronto Press. p. 866. ISBN 9780802029881.
  15. 1 2 Gilday, Katherine (September 1977). "Reviews of Short Films". Cinema Canada (40). ISSN 1918-879X.
  16. ↑ Dick, Jane (November–December 1978). "Powerhouse Presents". Cinema Canada (51). ISSN 1918-879X.
  17. ↑ Waugh, Thomas (2011). "'Acting to Play Oneself': Notes on Performance in Documentary". The right to play oneself: looking back on documentary film. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-8166-4586-2.
  18. ↑ "CFMDC Presents: Geographies of Self and City". Art Gallery of Ontario. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  19. ↑ "The Films of Kay Armatage". BAMPFA. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  20. ↑ Scott, Jay (September 21, 1987). "No attendance figures released; Critics laud Zoo as best film". The Globe and Mail.
  21. ↑ "Kay Armatage | Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre". www.cfmdc.org. Archived from the original on 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  22. ↑ "Jill Johnston October 1975". Canadian Women Film Directors Database. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  23. ↑ "Kay Armatage". Canadian Women Film Directors Database. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  24. ↑ "Speakbody". Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. Retrieved 2026-10-20.
  25. ↑ "Storytelling". Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. Retrieved 2026-10-20.