Alberta-born Anne Wheeler earned degrees in mathematics and music, while performing in theatre whenever possible. Her first films were documentaries, but by the 1980s, she was making Canadian features such as Bye Bye Blues, The Diviners, Better than Chocolate, and Loyalties, winning numerous national and international awards. A master storyteller, she has garnered seven honorary doctorates, an Order of Canada, and a Lifetime Achievement Award (being the first woman to do so) from the Directors Guild of Canada. She lives in White Rock, BC, and continues to write, direct, and mentor younger filmmakers.
Praise for Taken By the Muse: On the Path to Becoming a
Filmmaker:
"What Taken by the Muse ultimately demonstrates is that life is not
a straight line with a clear trajectory. Rather, the moments of
growth and joy occur when you veer off a given path and create
something worthwhile out of the diversion."
~ Madeleine Wall, Quill & Quire
"Anne Wheeler is a fabulous filmmaker; her films are probing,
truthful, fearless and an adventure to watch. Her storytelling in
Taken by the Muse is equally captivating. It's been a while since I
read an autobiographical work that moved me as this one has. It
captures an important era in the lives of women determined to
create themselves, with much experimentation and no apologies. It
demonstrates, to our delight, how Anne Wheeler became the respected
and beloved artist that she is."
~Alice Walker, award-winning author of The Color Purple
"This book will be of special interest to filmmakers and artists,
but it will appeal to every woman whose ambition and passion are
laced with the paralysis of self-doubt. Taken by the Muse is a
brave, honest and fun exposure of one woman's hang-ups and triumphs
as she ventured into what was then a new territory for women."
~ Bonnie Sherr Klein, Herizons
"Wheeler has a natural raconteur's flair for spinning a compelling
tale, an understanding of where the dramatic beats fall in order to
keep an audience hanging on every word."
~ Dorothy Woodend, The Tyee
"Taken by the Muse is quick-paced and far-flung, but you are in the
hands of a master storyteller who will somehow manage to keep your
glass filled and table upright all the way to the end."
~ Megan Clark, Alberta Views
"Taken by the Muse contains one after another of exciting and
meaningful vignettes - enough to last a lifetime and yet the book
covers only one decade in Wheeler's life. We can look forward to
much more from Anne Wheeler."
~ Lynne Bowen, The Ormsby Review
"Anne Wheeler pulls the reader on an extraordinary ride through the
author's personal history and the beginnings of filmmaking in 1970s
Alberta. Wheeler's experiences as a daughter, a female in a
male-dominated profession, a traveller, a storyteller, a performer
and listener, behind and in front of the camera, are riveting. Her
breadth and depth as a woman with stories to tell, a filmmaker with
a purpose and a contributor to culture in Edmonton and beyond are
apparent in this open-hearted memoir."
~ Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize Jury
"Dual-wielding confidence and curiosity, her writing deftly shifts
between journeys of self-discovery and worldly exploration. Varied,
exciting, and circuitous as her path may have been, she manages
always to redirect attention to the big picture, looking past the
spectacle to strike at the heart of things."
~ Pete Tolton, Billings Gazette
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