Patricia Rozema

Patricia Rozema (ROSE-ah-ma) achieved prominence with her first feature film, "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing" (1987). Born to Dutch immigrants in a small town in Ontario, Canada, she was raised as a strict Calvinist and did not see her first film until she was a teenager. After graduating from Calvin College in Michigan, Rozema returned to Canada to work on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's nightly news program "The Journal." She first worked in films as an assistant to producer-director Don Owen on his feature "Unfinished Business" in 1983. After taking a five-week night course in film production, Rozema directed two shorts, "Urban Menace" (1984) and the award-winning "Passion: A Letter in 16mm" (1985). She gained further experience working as 3rd assistant director on David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of "The Fly."