BAU, Jane Orion
June 21, 2023

March 8, 2002 – June 21, 2023

Jane was born six weeks early – on International Women’s Day 2002.

She spoke early at nine months old and by age four was an avid reader and prolific artist. Playmobil and the Planet Earth series defined her early years. Not one to pay attention to the crowd, she preferred marvelling the clover field rather than to see it as a competitive soccer pitch.

Jane was down for all kinds of family activities with Sandy, Fred and Sabine – cooking, forest walks with Rontu, outdoor adventures, road-trips, and international travel. No matter what she was doing, Jane caught interesting details that escaped the rest of us, as evident in her photography. She found joy…lots of joy in gathering and collecting – berries, rocks, moss, clams, mushrooms, and vintage wear.

An accomplished student and self-taught musician, Jane’s passion for visuals and words led her to discover filmmaking. She wrote, directed, and scored her first film The Sunday Cycle at the age of 17. It earned recognition at acclaimed festivals, including the All American High School Film Festival, the Whistler Film Festival, and the Vancouver Short Film Festival.

Jane was in her fourth year in Film Production at Concordia University in Montreal. She was to enter the electro-acoustics minor program in Fall 2023, to explore her love of sound design. Jane directed several short films including From Earth to Heaven, an experimental documentary featuring her grandfather Paul, with whom she shared a passion for photography. This summer, she was art directing two films and collaborating on a multi-media installation of her film The Pulse, based on Montreal’s metro.

Proud to be financially independent, Jane worked summer jobs to supplement grants. She shared a beautiful apartment in Montreal’s Plateau neighbourhood with Claire and Zoe – two roommates and dear friends from high school. She spent her free time playing music, going out with friends, and cooking. She had just returned from a trip to France in June and was looking forward to her first summer in Montreal.

An original thinker and perceptive observer, Jane could express her vision in a way that only an artist can. To quote her friend Gab, “instead of mourning the loss of the art she had yet to create, we need to see that Jane was, in fact, the art”.

She will be remembered as a loving daughter to Fred and Sandy, sister to Sabine, niece to Judy, Ann, Louise, Gigi and Heidi, granddaughter to Paul and Jane, Gail and Mike, and caring friend to the many she touched in her brief time with us. May she inspire us to see the beauty in everyday places and to find generosity in our hearts for others as well as ourselves.