Canadian Directors
A list of every living Canadian director I know of.
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- Director
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Denis Villeneuve is a French Canadian film director and writer. He was born in 1967, in Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada. He started his career as a filmmaker at the National Film Board of Canada. He is best known for his feature films Arrival (2016), Sicario (2015), Prisoners (2013), Enemy (2013), and Incendies (2010). He is married to Tanya Lapointe.- Director
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Jennifer Abbott is known for The Magnitude of All Things (2020), The Corporation (2003) and The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (2020).- Producer
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James Allodi was born on 26 February 1967 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and actor, known for Call Me Fitz (2010), The Uncles (2000) and The Best Laid Plans (2014).- Writer
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- Actor
One of Québec's most politically aware filmmakers, Denys Arcand studied history at Université de Montréal, where he co-directed Seul ou avec d'autres (1962) with Denis Héroux and co-written with Stéphane Venne. He joined the National Film Board (NFB) in 1963, where his feature-length documentary on the textile industry, On est au coton (1970), was so controversial it was suppressed for 6 years. He made another fine documentary, Québec: Duplessis et après... (1972), before leaving the NFB for the private sector. La maudite galette (1972), Réjeanne Padovani (1973) and Gina (1975) were distinctive views of Québec society, original and provocative. All 3 used the gangster film as a source while distorting many of its conventions. He then moved to TV, scripting the Duplessis (1978) series for Radio-Canada and directing 3 episodes of Empire, Inc. (1983). He returned to the NFB to make a documentary on the 1980 referendum, Le confort et l'indifférence (1982), which revealed growing cynicism about the political process. It won the Québec Critics Prize.
He returned to commercial filmmaking after a hiatus of 10 years with The Crime of Ovide Plouffe (1984), before achieving major success with the scathing comedy about sexual mores, The Decline of the American Empire (1986) (The Decline of the American Empire), a film that won numerous prizes, including the prestigious Critic's Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The New York Film Critics voted it Best Foreign Film in 1986 and it won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the 1987 Genies. It was also nominated as Best Foreign Film by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Jesus of Montreal (1989) confirmed Arcand's international reputation, winning the Jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It won 10 Genies, including Best Picture and Director, and was nominated in the Best Foreign Film category by the Academy. Arcand then moved into English-language production in an attempt to break into a larger international market. Love and Human Remains (1993), his first feature in English, was followed by Stardom (2000), a film that looked at the world of fashion. Neither achieved the subtlety and texture of his earlier work.
The overwhelming success of The Barbarian Invasions (2003), which marked both a return to the French language and to the characters who had peopled The Decline of the American Empire (1986), showed that Arcand had lost none of his powers of observation. The film won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival (best screenplay, and best actor for Marie-Josée Croze), Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival and the prestigious Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In 2005 Arcand was named Companion of the Order of Canada, which recognizes individuals for exceptional achievements of national or international significance.- Actor
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Daniel Edward Aykroyd was born on July 1, 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to Lorraine Hélène (Gougeon), a secretary from a French-Canadian family, and Samuel Cuthbert Peter Hugh Aykroyd, a civil engineer who advised prime minister Pierre Trudeau. Aykroyd attended Carleton University in 1969, where he majored in Criminology and Sociology, but he dropped out before completing his degree. He worked as a comedian in various Canadian nightclubs and managed an after-hours speakeasy, Club 505, in Toronto for several years. He worked with Second City Stage Troupe in Toronto and started his acting career at Carleton University with Sock'n'Buskin, the campus theater/drama club. Married to Donna Dixon since 1983, they have three daughters. His parents are named Peter and Lorraine and his brother Peter Aykroyd is a psychic researcher. Dan received an honorary Doctorate from Carleton University in 1994 and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1998.- Director
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Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette is a Montreal cinematographer, director, and author. She is known for Le ring (2007),Les Petits Géants (2008), Inch'allah (2012), Sept heures trois fois par année (2012), Prends-moi (2014), Le Plancher des vaches -Choisir la terre (2014), Ma fille n'est pas à vendre (2016) La déesse des mouches à feu (2020) and Chien blanc (2021).- Actor
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- Director
Jay Baruchel was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the son of Robyne (Ropell), a freelance writer, and Serge Victor Baruchel, an antiques dealer. He has a younger sister who also acts. He started acting in 1995 when he made his first of three appearances on the hit show Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990). He was also in more localized shows such as My Hometown (1996) and Popular Mechanics for Kids (1997).
Baruchel had spent some downtime and finally got a chance to be in a classic film called Almost Famous (2000) in 2000. He played "Vic", a devout fan of Led Zeppelin. Judd Apatow soon had a show in the works and Baruchel played "Steven Karp" on Undeclared (2001). He also had the chance to star alongside actors such as Ian Somerhalder and James Van Der Beek as "Harry" in The Rules of Attraction (2002). Things began to slow down a bit after a couple more failed shows. He came back as the courageous "Danger Barch" in Million Dollar Baby (2004). He has also appeared in many independent films, such as Fetching Cody (2005), Just Buried (2007) and Real Time (2008).
He was also in many successful American comedy films. He was the lead in She's Out of My League (2010) and played one of Seth Rogen's best friends (which he really is) in the movie Knocked Up (2007). He also made his mark in family-friendly films such as How to Train Your Dragon (2010), playing the unlikely "Viking Hiccup" and also played the title role in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) alongside his newly-found kindred spirit, actor Nicolas Cage.
Baruchel lived his dream as he worked on the hockey comedy Goon (2011), and is working on many other films that are what he considers to be passion projects.- Writer
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Filmmaker Keith Behrman's award-winning first feature Flower & Garnet premiered to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was invited to screen internationally at the Berlin Film Festival, Karlovy Vary, and the Boston International Film Festival where Flower & Garnet received the Grand Jury Narrative Prize. Keith was awarded Canada's prestigious Claude Jutra Award for Best First Feature at the Canadian Screen Awards where the film was also nominated for Best Actor. Flower & Garnet went on to receive three Vancouver Film Critic's Association Awards for Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Actor. He began his career as a filmmaker with the short films Thomas and White Cloud, Blue Mountain which both premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to screen at festivals around the world and on the CBC. His acclaimed third short film, Ernest, premiered at TIFF where it won Honorable Mention for the John Spotten Award for Best Short Film.
Keith has written and directed for television and was a director on the event documentary series The National Parks Project alongside fellow directors Louise Archambault, Catherine Martin, Zacharius Kunuk and Peter Lynch. The documentary went on to screen at Hot Docs, SXSW and the Berlinale.
Keith Behrman is an alumnus of the Director's Residency program of the Canadian Film Centre and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Simon Fraser University.- Producer
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Linwood was the second youngest of four sons. He grew up with a strict mother, Eileen, and was enrolled in a gifted program at school. Linwood's first behind-the-scenes work was as writer and producer on the NBC series Silver Spoons (1982) (1985-86) and Night Court (1984) (1986-88). After developing an adaptation of the popular British sci-fi comedy "Red Dwarf" for American television that disappointingly didn't get past the pilot stage, Boomer moved on to the relatively short-lived sitcoms Flying Blind (1992) (Fox, 1992-93) and The Boys Are Back (1994) (CBS, 1994-95), writing episodes for both and serving as executive consultant of the former and co-executive producer of the latter. In 1996, he was one of the executive producers of the hit NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) and the failed ABC entry Townies (1996). While he also served in the same capacity for the edgy but controversial animated series God, the Devil and Bob (2000) (NBC, 2000), he found immediate success with the envelope-pushing Fox family comedy Malcolm in the Middle (2000) (2000- ). A mid-season replacement, "Malcolm" quickly won an audience with its boldly realistic yet off-kilter comedy focused on a struggling middle-class family of six: high-strung disciplinarian mother Lois (Jane Kaczmarek); dim but well-meaning father Hal (Bryan Cranston); smart aleck eldest son Francis (Christopher Masterson) consigned to military school; bullying second-eldest son Reese (Justin Berfield), reluctant boy genius Malcolm (Frankie Muniz); and just plain weird youngest child Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan. The series steered clear of the traditional sitcom trappings as it was shot in a single-camera style, with no laugh track and with frequent fourth wall-breaking commentary by the title hero. Malcolm in the Middle (2000) set itself apart from its competitors with a fresh and consistently funny perspective and the remarkable performances by the entire cast. Perhaps this was in part because the show was loosely autobiographical for Boomer. Linwood continues to work behind the scenes on several TV show projects. He resides in Los Angeles.- Actor
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Cory Bowles was born on 27 August 1973 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is an actor and director, known for Trailer Park Boys (2001), Black Cop (2017) and Black Cop (2016).- Writer
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Adam Brooks was born on 3 September 1956 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a writer and producer, known for Definitely, Maybe (2008), Whatever Works (2009) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004).- Writer
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Anne-Marie Cadieux was born on 23 September 1963 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is an actress and director, known for The Confessional (1995), Le coeur au poing (1998) and Nô (1998).- Director
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Cody Calahan was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He is a writer, director and producer best known for Vicious Fun (2020), The Oak Room (2020), Let Her Out (2016), and the Antisocial film series.
Calahan is the co-owner of the award-winning Canadian production house Black Fawn Films. He resides in Toronto, Ontario with his family.- Writer
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James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his screenwriting ambition. He landed his first professional film job as art director, miniature-set builder, and process-projection supervisor on Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and had his first experience as a director with a two week stint on Piranha II: The Spawning (1982) before being fired.
He then wrote and directed The Terminator (1984), a futuristic action-thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton. It was a low budget independent film, but Cameron's superb, dynamic direction made it a surprise mainstream success and it is now regarded as one of the most iconic pictures of the 1980s. After this came a string of successful, bigger budget science-fiction action films such as Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). In 1990, Cameron formed his own production company, Lightstorm Entertainment. In 1997, he wrote and directed Titanic (1997), a romance epic about two young lovers from different social classes who meet on board the famous ship. The movie went on to break all box office records and earned eleven Academy Awards. It became the highest grossing movie of all time until 12 years later, Avatar (2009), which invented and pioneered 3D film technology, and it went on to beat "Titanic", and became the first film to cost two billion dollars until 2019 when Marvel took the record.
James Cameron is now one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. He was formerly married to producer Gale Anne Hurd, who produced several of his films. In 2000, he married actress Suzy Amis, who appeared in Titanic, and they have three children.- Director
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Erik Canuel was born in 1961 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006), Barrymore (2011) and Lac Mystère (2013).- Producer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Jon Cassar was born on 27 April 1958 in Malta. He is a producer and director, known for 24 (2001), Forsaken (2015) and When the Bough Breaks (2016).- Producer
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Jeff Chan is known for Code 8 (2016).- Director
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Jeremiah S. Chechik was born in 1955 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for Benny & Joon (1993), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) and Gossip Girl (2007).- Director
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- Actress
Deborah Chow is known for The High Cost of Living (2010), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and The Mandalorian (2019).- Visual Effects
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Andrew Cividino was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for Infinity Pool (2023), Schitt's Creek (2015) and Sleeping Giant (2015).- Director
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- Director
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Scooter Corkle (he/him) is a Canadian director, screenwriter and producer known for the grounded suspense feature Hollow In The Land (Vertical Entertainment), and the hallucinatory cosmic horror film The Friendship Game (RLJE). Scooter was also named one of 25 Screenwriters to watch by the Austin Film Festival and Movie Maker Magazine.- Writer
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Brandon Cronenberg was born on 10 January 1980 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and writer, known for Possessor (2020), Infinity Pool (2023) and Antiviral (2012).- Camera and Electrical Department
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Caitlin Cronenberg was born on 27 October 1984 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is a director and producer, known for Humane (2024). She has been married to Geoff Grove since 28 September 2013. They have one child.- Actor
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David Cronenberg, also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1943. His father, Milton Cronenberg, was a journalist and editor, and his mother, Esther (Sumberg), was a piano player. After showing an inclination for literature at an early age (he wrote and published eerie short stories, thus following his father's path) and for music (playing classical guitar until he was 12), Cronenberg graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Literature after switching from the science department. He reached the cult status of horror-meister with the gore-filled, modern-vampire variations of Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977), following an experimental apprenticeship in independent film-making and in Canadian television programs.
Cronenberg gained popularity with the head-exploding, telepathy-based Scanners (1981) after the release of the much underrated, controversial, and autobiographical The Brood (1979). Cronenberg become a sort of a mass media guru with Videodrome (1983), a shocking investigation of the hazards of reality-morphing television and a prophetic critique of contemporary aesthetics. The issues of tech-induced mutation of the human body and topics of the prominent dichotomy between body and mind were back again in The Dead Zone (1983) and The Fly (1986), both bright examples of a personal film-making identity, even if both films are based on mass-entertainment materials: the first being a rendition of a Stephen King best-seller, the latter a remake of a famous American horror movie.
With Dead Ringers (1988) and Naked Lunch (1991), the Canadian director, no more a mere genre movie-maker but a fully realized auteur, got the acclaim of international critics. Such profound statements on modern humanity and ever-changing society are prominent in the provocative Crash (1996) and in the virtual reality essay of eXistenZ (1999), both of which well fared at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals. In the last two film projects Spider (2002) and A History of Violence (2005), Cronenberg avoids expressing his teratologic and oneiric expressionism in favor of a more psychological exploration of human contradictions and idiosyncrasies.- Director
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Holly Dale is one of Canada's premiere directors recognized globally for her outstanding, award-winning television and cinema work crafted over the past twenty-five years. Ms Dale has directed movies, entire mini series, pilots and episodic. She has worked in all genres.
Recently, Ms Dale was taped to be the Producer Director for showrunner Nick Santora's upcoming Netflix/Skydance series FUBAR starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro and Fortune Feimster. The series will start streaming on Netflix in the Summer of 2023.
Previously Ms Dale was the Producer Director on the Warner Bros/Berlanti Productions series Batwoman for three seasons where she directed 13 episodes.
Ms Dale was also Producer Director of the international sensation Transplant. She block shot the pilot and first 3 episodes of Transplant, creating its stunning visual template. Transplant focuses on a Syrian trauma surgeon who himself is the transplant. The series holds the distinction of becoming the #1 drama series of the year in both its Canadian run and US network run on NBC.
Among many prestigious awards Ms Dale has earned is the Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture and Best Director for the groundbreaking hard edged serial killer miniseries Durham County. She was also honoured with a Canadian Screen Award for Best Director for Mary Kills People, a limited series delving into the murky waters of euthanasia which she directed/co-executive produced the entire first season of six hours. Variety selected Mary Kills People as one of their top ten series of the year.
The Directors Guild of Canada has recognized Ms Dale as their Best Director of Drama series on four [4] separate occasions for her work on the acclaimed one hour shows Flashpoint, Durham County, Mary Kills People and most recently for Transplant.
Highlights of the many extraordinary series Holly has guest directed include Dexter, The Americans, Chris Carter's X-Files, Joan Allen's The Family, Dick Wolf's Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Law & Order:SVU, Halle Berry's Extant, Bradley Cooper's Limitless, Marvel's Agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D, Steven Spielberg's Falling Skies as well as 12 individual hours of the Jerry Bruckheimer anthological series Cold Case, to name just a few.- Director
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Lowell Dean was born on 17 January 1979. He is a director and producer, known for Wolfcop (2014), Die Alone and Dark Match.- Director
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A dual citizen of Canada and the USA, David DeCoteau has worked professionally in the movie business since he was 18 years old. He got his start through a generous offer from movie legend Roger Corman, who hired him in 1980 as a production assistant at New World Pictures. In 1986, DeCoteau directed and produced his first feature film for another generous film legend, Charles Band. DeCoteau has gone on to produce and direct more than 170 motion pictures over the past forty years. His passion lies in the creation of popular genre programming made for world consumption. DeCoteau's experience in creating content in countries all over the world makes him a proven choice for exceptionally challenging movie projects. He resides in British Columbia, Canada and Hollywood, California.- Writer
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- Animation Department
Dean DeBlois is a Canadian writer, director, and producer known best for having co-written and co-directed Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2002) and Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon (2010), both Oscar nominated. While working as an assistant animator and layout artist for Hinton Animation Studios in Ottawa, Ontario, DeBlois simultaneously attended Sheridan College's three year Classical Animation program. Upon graduation in 1990, DeBlois was immediately hired by Don Bluth Studios in Dublin, Ireland. There, he cut his teeth as a layout artist, character designer, and storyboard assistant to Don Bluth on such films as Thumbelina (1994) and A Troll in Central Park (1994)." In 1994, DeBlois left Ireland to work for Walt Disney Feature Animation as a storyboard artist, where he soon replaced his frequent collaborator, Chris Sanders, as Head of Story on Mulan (1998)." Shortly thereafter, they re-re-teamed to create the lush and whimsical Lilo & Stitch (2002), heralded by critics as Disney's last great hand-drawn film. Following its release in 2002, DeBlois sold several original live action feature projects to write, direct, and produce, including "The Banshee and Finn Magee," "The Lighthouse," and "Sightings," set-up at Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, and Universal Studios respectively. At present, all three remain in development. 2007 unveiled DeBlois' first foray into documentary filmmaking, with the acclaimed feature length music film, Sigur Rós: Heima (2007), chronicling the homecoming concert odyssey of Iceland's famed post-rock phenomenon, Sigur Rós. In October of 2008, DeBlois returned to feature animation to co-write and co-direct Dreamworks then-troubled How to Train Your Dragon (2010), once again re-teaming with Chris Sanders. The two re-envisioned the story from scratch, leading the production to its March 26, 2010 release, at break-neck speed. The resulting film earned Dreamworks Animation its highest critical acclaim to date and became the studio's top grossing film outside of the "Shrek" franchise. During this same time, DeBlois also directed another feature-length music film for Sigur Rós front-man Jónsi, entitled Go Quiet (2010), as well as a feature length concert film entitled "Jónsi: Live at The Wiltern." At present, DeBlois is writing, directing, and executive producing the highly anticipated sequel to How to Train Your Dragon (2010), "which he describes as "the epic second act of a much larger story".- Director
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One of the leading figures of new Canadian cinema, Sophie Deraspe fell in love with cinema through her Visual Arts and Literature studies. As both a filmmaker and cinematographer, she worked primarily within the realms of documentary before making her first feature, Rechercher Victor Pellerin/Missing Victor Pellerin (2006). Her second feature, Les signes vitaux/Vital Signs (2009), was in IFFR's Tiger Competition and she won the FIPRESCI award at Torino Film Festival for Les loups (2015). The documentary Le profil Amina/A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile (2015) was nominated in the World Cinema Documentary at Sundance and won the Special Jury Prize at Hot Docs. Antigone (2019) was chosen as Best Canadian Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival and Best Motion Picture at the Canadian Screen Awards. It also represented Canada at the Oscars 2020 in the race for best International Feature Films Nominated in 15 categories, her first TV series Bête Noire (2021) won four Gémeaux Awards, including Best TV Drama Series and Best Director (Drama series). The US, Australia, France and Norway bought the broadcasting rights and more countries will be added soon.- Director
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Alain Desrochers studied at St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu College in the early 1980s and then at Concordia University earning himself a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the end of the decade. He began his filmmaking career with more than one-hundred music videos and television commercials, with numerous awards to honor them. After branching into fiction with several short films, Desrochers directed episodes of Tony and Ridley Scott's popular television horror anthology series, "The Hunger" before directing his first feature-length film, "La Bouteille" in 2000, which earned him a nomination for a Genie for Best Direction. Having helmed "Music Hall I" and "Music Hall II" and the first season of the hit comedy "Les Bougon: C'est Aussi ça la Vie," Desrochers emerged on the English-language market with the cult sci-fi series "Charlie Jade."
Desrochers directed the action-thriller "Nitro," starring Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge and Lucie Laurier, which opened in theaters to tremendous critical and box office success. He then went on to direct "Musée Éden" a big-budget miniseries, which earned him a Rockie Award in Banff, an Artistic & Technical Contribution Award in La Rochelle and a nomination for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series at the Gémeaux Awards 2010. He soon followed with "Cabotins," a feature comedy starring Rémy Girard and Yves Jacques and then directed "Gerry," a biopic about Offenbach's lead singer, Gerry Boulet. Desrochers then shot a new series for France 2, "Les Limiers" and the series "La Marraine" for Série +.- Director
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Director X (formerly known as Little X) was born on October 31st,1975 in Toronto, Canada, and is of Trinidadian and Swiss descent. About his nationality, he got discriminiated as being a 'black' person. Moving to New York City he became the protégé of pioneering hip hop director Hype Williams, X has been noted for directing high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular artists, including Drake, Jay Z, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Usher, John Mayer, Korn, Iggy Azalea and many more. His work has been nominated and awarded by the MTV Music Video Awards and Much Music Video Awards. X has directed commercials for Mercedes-Benz, Mc Donald's, Ikea, Directv, Nintendo, Bacardi, Guiness and Yeo Valley. As a film director, X made his directorial debut in 2014 with an edgy drama titled "Undone." His kindness made peace. His actions and attitude changed the world for shalom.- Actor
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Xavier Dolan was born on 20 March 1989 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for I Killed My Mother (2009), Tom at the Farm (2013) and Heartbeats (2010).- Director
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Michael Dowse was born on 19 April 1973 in London, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and writer, known for It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004), What If (2013) and Stuber (2019).- Writer
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Stephen Dunn was born on 18 January 1989 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He is a writer and director, known for Closet Monster (2015), Swallowed (2010) and Life Doesn't Frighten Me (2012).- Producer
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Sean Durkin was born on 9 December 1981 in Canada. He is a producer and director, known for Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), The Nest (2020) and The Iron Claw (2023).- Director
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Born in Egypt to Armenian parents, he was raised in Western Canada. Both his parents were painters, and he planned to be a playwright, but after making a short film, he became hooked on telling stories visually. Returned to ethnic "homeland" when he filmed Calendar (1993) in Armenia. Won attention at the Sundance Film Festival for earlier work, then broke through critically and commercially with Exotica (1994). Afterwards, The Sweet Hereafter (1997) led him to receive two Academy Award nominations, and then Chloe (2009) became his biggest moneymaker ever (after the film's DVD/Blu-ray release).- Writer
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Canadian filmmaker Jason Eisener directed, co-wrote and edited the sci-fi horror adventure "Kids vs. Aliens," his second feature film, inspired by his own childhood and shot on location near his hometown of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He made his directorial debut with the 2011 Canuxploitation vigilante epic "Hobo with a Shotgun," starring Rutger Hauer. The cult hit was adapted from his fake trailer of the same name, which won South by Southwest and Robert Rodriguez's international "Grindhouse" trailer contest in 2007.
Eisener is the co-creator, executive producer and director of the groundbreaking hit Vice TV documentary franchise "Dark Side of the Ring," now in its third season. Launched in 2019, the critically-acclaimed flagship series explores untold and controversial stories of professional wrestling and quickly became the #1 rated program in the network's history, spawning spinoff series "Dark Side of the '90s," "Dark Side of Football," and "Dark Side of Comedy."
He also co-created and serves as director and executive producer on the forthcoming Vice TV docuseries "Tales from the Territories," executive produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dany Garcia, premiering in Fall 2022.
Genre-obsessed since birth, Eisener's films include the segment "Y is For Youngbuck" for the horror anthology "The ABCs of Death," "Slumber Party Alien Abduction" for "V/H/S/2," the viral underwater horror short "One Last Dive," which was dubbed "The Scariest 1 Minute Movie Ever" and optioned by 20th Century Fox, and the Sundance award-winning Christmas horror short "Treevenge."- Director
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After studying Canadian politics and international relations, Philippe Falardeau was chosen in 1993 as a contestant for the popular TV series La course destination monde (1988) (a contest were the participants tour the world making short films). There, he shot 20 films and ended up winning the race as well as the IDRC Award.
In 1995, he collaborated with director Jacques Godbout to co-write Le sort de l'Amérique (1997) a National Film Board of Canada documentary.
Two years later, he returned to the NBF to direct a medium length documentary on Chinese immigration in Canada, called Pâté chinois (1997). The film was presented at the Montreal World Film Festival and won Best Screenplay Award at the Yorkton Film Festival.
In 2000, he directed his first theatrical feature film, La moitié gauche du frigo (2000) (The Left-Hand Side of the Fridge). The film was a big success in Canada, and screened in numerous festivals around the world including Rotterdam, London, Paris, Seattle, Vancouver and Montreal. At the Toronto Film Festival, La Moitie gauche du frigo won the City TV Award for Best Canadian First Feature and at the Canadian Genie, the Claude Jutra Award. In France, the film was distributed theatrically by Pierre Grise Distribution.
With Congorama (2006), released in 2006, Falardeau made his second feature length film, a Canada/Belgium/France coproduction. Distributed theatrically in Quebec as in Europe, the film rapidly won audience's and critique's hearts, and remarkably distinguished itself at the numerous festivals at which it was presented. After being premiered at the Director's Fortnight in Cannes, as the closing night film, "Congorama" made its way to San Francisco, Toronto, Pusan, Goteborg and to New Directors / New Films at New York Moma. In addition to earning 5 Jutra's Awards, including Best Film, Best Direction and Best Screenplay, it also won the Best Screenplay Award at the Genies in 2007.
In September 2008, his third feature It's Not Me, I Swear! (2008) (English title: It's Not Me, I Swear!) premiered at the TIFF. It won the Best Film Award and the International Jury Award in the Generation section at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival.- Director
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Thom Fitzgerald: Since his 1997 feature debut, Thom has won over two dozen international awards including the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award (Genie), The FIPRESCI European International Critics' Prize, The Emerging Master Award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and the Reader Jury of the "Siegessäule" Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. He won both the Best Canadian Film Award and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Thom is a three time premiere guest of The Sundance Film Festival, and has been lauded abroad with the City of Grandola Prize at the Troia Film Festival in Portugal, and the Best Screenplay Prize at the Mar del Plat Film Festival in Argentina. He was awarded both the Best Screenplay Award and the Most Popular Film Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Thom was cited as "One of the top 100 filmmakers in the world" by Screen International and "One of the Top Ten of the Next Generation" by the Hollywood Reporter. Thom was nominated for The Directors Guild of Canada Award and won the Best Director Award at the Atlantic Film Festival for "3 Needles". In 2012 Thom was awarded the prestigious Portia White Prize which is the highest honor awarded to an artist by the government of Nova Scotia recognizing artistic excellence. For his theatre work he won the Merritt Award for Best New Play (CLOUDBURST) and was nominated for Outstanding Set Design. CLOUDBURST was also nominated as Outstanding Production of 2010.- Director
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André Forcier was born on 19 July 1947. He is a director and writer, known for A Wind from Wyoming (1994), Une histoire inventée (1990) and Coteau rouge (2011).- Director
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William Fruet was born on 1 January 1933 in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. He is a director and writer, known for The House by the Lake (1976), The Egg Factory (2008) and Spasms (1983).- Director
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Toronto-born Sidney J. Furie has enjoyed an incredibly distinguished career that has spanned more than five decades. Having dabbled in every genre, Furie has directed films starring Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Robert Redford, Diana Ross, Michael Caine, Peter O'Toole, Rodney Dangerfield, Barbara Hershey, Gene Hackman, Donald Sutherland, 'Laurence Olivier' (qav) and countless others.
He directed the first two feature-length fiction films ever made in English Canada, A Dangerous Age (1957) and A Cool Sound from Hell (1959), both independently financed, before emigrating to London in 1960. In 1961 he directed five feature films in a single year, before finally scoring his first box-office success with Wonderful to Be Young! (1961), starring the "British Elvis Presley", Cliff Richard. The critical and commercial success of Furie's 1963 British New Wave film The Leather Boys (1964), a kitchen-sink drama starring Rita Tushingham and Dudley Sutton, delivered him to the attention of high-powered producer Harry Saltzman, who hired him to direct the groundbreaking film The Ipcress File (1965), which won the BAFTA award for Best Picture. Michael Caine became an overnight star because of the film's success. The film also screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Furie then emigrated to Hollywood to direct Marlon Brando in The Appaloosa (1966) and Frank Sinatra in The Naked Runner (1967) for Universal and Warner Brothers, respectively. Paramount Pictures, then under the aegis of the new Gulf+Western management regime, hired Furie in 1967. He would work as a Paramount filmmaker for the next eight years. Beginning in 1968, he directed five films for the studio. His box-office hit Lady Sings the Blues (1972) was nominated for five Academy Awards and was Paramount's second biggest money-maker that year, behind only The Godfather (1972).
In 1981 he directed The Entity (1982), a cult classic that was named by Martin Scorsese as the fourth best horror film ever made, ranking ahead of both The Shining (1980) and Psycho (1960). Furie was assigned to direct Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), but was challenged by substantial last-minute budget cuts and a script he could not change (engineered personally by Christopher Reeve).
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s he returned to his native Canada to helm a series of films, often direct-to-video pictures, ranging from the war drama Going Back (2001) to the Canadian-British co-production Rock My World (2002), a comedy starring Peter O'Toole and Joan Plowright. Other career highlights include The Boys in Company C (1978) (one of the first Vietnam War pictures about combat soldiers, later to provide the basis for Full Metal Jacket (1987)), the underrated action epic Hit! (1973), and the "Iron Eagle" series. He has also maintained dual citizenship between the U.S. and Canada. In 2010, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Directors Guild of Canada.- Director
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Philippe Gagnon is a Montreal based director working in both French and English. He has directed twenty four television features in english, including the multi-nominated and award winning The Good Sister, Amber Alert (Canadian Screen Award Nomination for Best Direction ) and First Response (Canadian Screen Award Nomination for Best TV Movie). In French, he has directed three theatrical features ; Premier Juillet (Moving) , Dans une Galaxie Près de chez vous 2 and Le Poil de la bête. He also directed the french tv show Campus (Crave and Vrak) and tv episodes for Jérémie V, Chambre 13, Yamaska and Nos Étés. As an editor, Philippe has cut feature films; Robert Lepage's Far Side of the Moon, Yan England's 1:54 and his own Premier Juillet (Moving). He has also cut several short films including the Academy Award Nominated Short Henry. His latest directorial credits are Swept up by Christmas for Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel and the horror movies Terror Train 1 & 2 for Tubi and Crave.- Director
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Nisha Ganatra is a Golden Globe winner and an Emmy nominee for her work as the Director/Producer of "Transparent." Recently she directed THE HIGH NOTE for Working Title and Focus Features, starring Tracee Ellis Ross, Ice Cube, June Diane Raphael, Dakota Johnson, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Ganatra's previous film LATE NIGHT, starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, premiered at Sundance. It sold to Amazon in a record-breaking deal and garnered the highest streaming numbers of the year.
Her acclaimed debut feature CHUTNEY POPCORN, with Jill Hennessy and Sakina Jaffrey, won audience awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Newport Film Festival, Outfest Los Angeles, and many more. Her sophomore feature COSMOPOLITAN, starring Carol Kane and Roshan Seth, premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival.
In television, Ganatra directed Liz Sarnoff's pilot, "Highland," and sold a drama project to ABC and a comedy pilot to NBC, with Amy Poehler producing. She was the Co-Executive Producer/Director for "Better Things" with Pamela Adlon and the Co-Executive Producer/Director on "You Me Her." She also created CODE ACADEMY for the ITVS/PBS series "FutureStates." Ganatra has directed episodes of "Girls," "Dear White People," "Future Man," "Mr. Robot," "Shameless," "Married," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Last Man on Earth," "Love," and "Black Monday."- Director
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Martin Gero was born on 6 July 1977 in Geneva, Switzerland. He is a producer and writer, known for Blindspot (2015), The L.A. Complex (2012) and Stargate: Atlantis (2004). He has been married to Melissa Stetten since 1 December 2018. They have one child.- Producer
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A multi-award-winning director, writer, producer and actor, Stuart Gillard is a three time nominee for the prestigious DGA (Directors Guild of America) Award, winning for Going to the Mat (2004), a movie he directed for the Walt Disney Company. Mr. Gillard is a man of many talents whose career spans three decades. After graduating from the University of Alberta, Gillard was one of twelve candidates selected to study acting at the National Theatre School in Montreal, Canada. He then was invited to Seattle, Washington where he was a founding member of the University of Washington Professional Acting Troupe. He returned to Canada where he won the country's top acting awards.
This led to many job offers in Los Angeles where, in addition to acting, he began his directing and writing career. Mr. Gillard has written and directed several feature films including If You Could See What I Hear (1982), Shades of Love: Indigo Autumn (1988), Paradise (1982), A Man Called Sarge (1990), and Kart Racer (2003). He also wrote and directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) for New Line Cinema , one of the top-selling movies of all time. In addition, Mr. Gillard has directed twelve movies for the Walt Disney Company, including RocketMan (1997) and Twitches (2005), the latter being the Number One Cable Movie of the Year.
Gillard has directed for all the major television networks including multiple episodes of the popular series, Beauty and the Beast (2012), 90210 (2008), Ringer (2011), Emily Owens M.D. (2012), Charmed (1998), Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994), One Tree Hill (2003), and All Souls (2001), a series he also co-created and co-wrote for Paramount and Spelling Television. He has directed many successful Television Dramatic Pilots, including Poltergeist: The Legacy (1996), Bordertown (1989), Legacy (1998), and the two-hour movie, Sandkings (Sandkings (1995)), the pilot of Outer Limits, which earned him an ACE award for Best Director and which ran for 150 episodes.
In 2016, Mr. Gillard is the Executive Producer/Director for CBS Studios Beauty and the Beast (2012). He resides in Montecito, California with his wife, producer/columnist Marilyn Majerczyk and their children.- Director
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François Girard was born in Quebec in 1963. Best known for his movie writing and directing (Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould, The red Violin, Silk...), Girard also directed a number of plays and operas including PARSIFAL at the Metropolitan Opera. He also wrote and directed two Cirque du Soleil shows; Zed and Zarkana.
In 1993, his feature film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould would go on to garner international success including four top Genie Awards. Five years later he directed The Red Violin which received an Academy Award for best original score and enshrined Girard as an important player on the international movie scene. The film also won eight Genie Awards and nine Jutra Awards. SILK, which he directed, was adapted from Alessandro Baricco's best-selling book, and was released worldwide in 2007 and received four Jutra Awards.
Girard's 1994 concert film Peter Gabriel's Secret World became a best selling film and earned him a Grammy Award. A few years later he directed one of the six episodes of the internationally acclaimed series Yo-yo Ma Inspired by Bach.
In 1997, François Girard made his opera directorial debut with Oedipus rex / Symphony of Psalms by Stravinsky and Cocteau which received numerous awards and was named by The Guardian "the best theatrical show of the year. Other opera works include Lost Objects for the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Wagner's Siegfried; the Flight of Lindbergh / Seven deadly Sins from Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht; as well as Kaija Saariaho's Émilie. His most recent opera work is Parsifal which earned him and the Metropolitan Opera Company a remarkable critical success.
For the stage, Girard also directed Alessandro Barrico's Novecento; Kafka's Trial and Yasushi Inoue's Hunting Gun. He is currently working on a new production of Waiting for Godot.
Girard is a three-time winner of the much-coveted Herald Angel Award for Best Production at the Edinburgh Festival.
In recent years, Cirque du Soleil's commissioned Girard to write and direct ZED, their first permanent show in Tokyo; and Zarkana which opened at Radio City Music Hall, played at the Kremlin Theatre and has become a resident show in Las Vegas.- Producer
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Evan Goldberg is a Canadian director, screenwriter and producer. Goldberg is known for his work on Superbad, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Funny People, The Green Hornet, 50/50, Goon, The Watch, This is the End, Neighbors, The Interview and The Night Before. Goldberg works alongside longtime partner, Seth Rogen. The duo directed This is the End and The Interview as well as the upcoming AMC series, Preacher, and Hulu show, Future Man. Goldberg and Rogen also produced the soon-to-be released, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and Sausage Party.- Cinematographer
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Paul Gross is the elder of two brothers. He was an Army brat; his father, Bob Gross, was a Tank Commander in the Canadian Army. As a consequence Paul and his family moved around a lot: he has lived in Canada, the U.S, England and Germany. Paul was introduced to acting in his early teens, while the Gross family was in Washington. He performed in stage plays such as Canterbury Tales and Faustus. From the age of 14, he appeared in television commercials, which enabled him to pay for his degree in Drama at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
In 2011, Paul Gross appeared at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto playing Elyot opposite Kim Cattrall's Amanda in the celebrated comedy by Noel Coward, Private Lives.- Writer
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Paul Haggis established himself over twenty years with an extensive career in television, before his big break into features arrived when he became the first screenwriter to garner two Best Film Academy Awards back-to-back for his scripts: "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and "Crash" (2005) which Paul directed himself.
In 2006, among others, Haggis penned two Clint Eastwood productions, "Flags of our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," for which he earned his third Best Screenplay Oscar nomination. He also co-wrote "Casino Royale," which garnered considerable acclaim for reinvigorating the James Bond spy franchise.
In 2007, Haggis wrote, directed, and produced "In the Valley of Elah." The film starred Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon, and earned Jones a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.
In 2010, his film "The Next Three Days" was released, starring Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson, and Elizabeth Banks.
And in 2013 he wrote and directed the romantic, personal drama "Third Person," which starred Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, James Franco, and Kim Basinger.
Most recently, Haggis directed and executive produced all six episodes of the HBO mini-series "Show Me A Hero," starring Oscar Isaac, Catherine Keener, Winona Ryder, James Belushi, and Alfred Molina.
Currently, Haggis is co-directing a feature length documentary on the AIDS crisis in San Francisco, called "5B."
Equally committed to his private and social concerns, Haggis is the founder of Artists for Peace and Justice. Under this umbrella, many of his friends in the film business have come forward to major build schools and clinics serving the children of the slums of Haiti (www.APJNow.org).- Producer
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Kurtis David Harder is a prolific young filmmaker from Canada, having produced over 10 features.
Starting out as a music video and commercial director in Vancouver and Toronto, he directed dozens of commercials and videos including over a dozen commercial series for various humanitarian organizations such as Compassion International and ChildCare International, in over 10 countries such as Uganda, Colombia, Haiti, and Dominican Republic.
He directed his feature film debut at the age of 18 Cody Fitz, which went on to play across the world at various film festivals picking up several awards. His second feature film Incontrol debuted internationally at FrightFest UK, to rave reviews and was released internationally. His two most recent directorial films Spiral and Summerland, were both released to critical acclaim.
As a producer he produced Still/Born which was awarded "The Scariest Film" at The Overlook Film Festival and is being released by Vertical Entertainment and AMC's Shudder as well as What Keeps You Alive, which debuted at SXSW and was named one of the top 10 horror films of 2018 by Rolling Stone Magazine.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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Allan Harmon is known for R.L. Stine's the Haunting Hour (2010), If I Had Wings (2013) and Wolf Canyon (2009).- Actress
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Jessica Harmon was born on 27 December 1985 in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress and director, known for The 100 (2014), iZombie (2015) and Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy (2008).- Director
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Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), American Psycho (2000), and The Notorious Bettie Page (2005). She co-wrote American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page with Guinevere Turner. Although Harron has denied this title, she has been thought to be feminist filmmaker due to her film on lesbian feminist Valerie Solanas, in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), and a queer story-line within her teenage Gothic horror, The Moth Diaries (2011).- Kathleen Hepburn is known for The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019), Never Steady, Never Still (2017) and Never Steady, Never Still (2015).
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Mars Horodyski is an in-demand Emmy-nominated director known for her comedic sensibility and powerful visual storytelling approach. She creates memorable cinematic moments that build an emotional connection with the audience.
Before pursuing her passion for filmmaking Mars developed her skills as a painter and musician. Her background as an artist has informed her bold visual style and understanding of framing and composition. Her experience being the front woman of a band infuses her scenes with a distinct energy and rhythm.
Most recently Mars directed the daring new Netflix YA series Fakes and Amazon's upcoming family ensemble Beyond Black Beauty. Fakes has been nominated for Best Comedy Series in the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards.
Her recent comedy credits include ten episodes of the hit Netflix series Workin' Moms. Procedural/detective series include Pretty Hard Cases, Murdoch Mysteries, Carter and Hudson&Rex.
Mars has over 40 television directing credits including work for Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV+.- Actor
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Vancouver native, Avan Jogia landed his first acting role as Danny Araujo on the award-winning TV movie drama A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (2006), directed by Oscar nominee Agnieszka Holland. Jogia followed up with a recurring role on the SyFy Channel hit series Caprica (2009) as well as becoming series regular role the CW's Aliens in America (2007). Recently receiving notice amongst a wide audience with his lead role as Beck on Nickelodeon's Emmy nominated series Victorious (2010), Avan can now be seen as Danny Desai on ABC Family's Twisted (2013).
Having a special interest in youth human rights and equality, Avan lends his support to many charitable organizations: as a Peace First Ambassador for Peacefirst.org, host of the PBS series "Reel Works," and founder of the national charitable organization Straight But Not Narrow.- Actor
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Clark Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor and director, known for S.W.A.T. (2003), The Sentinel (2006) and Homicide: Life on the Street (1993). He was previously married to Heather Salmon.- Actor
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Matt Johnson was born on 5 October 1985 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and director, known for Operation Avalanche (2016), The Dirties (2013) and BlackBerry (2023).- Make-Up Department
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William Theodore Kotcheff was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Bulgarian parents from Plovdiv. He graduated with a degree in English Literature from the University of Toronto. He began his professional career directing TV drama at age 24 at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, at the time becoming the youngest director in the CBC. After two years there he went to live and work in England, directing in television and the theatre.
He twice won the British Emmy for Best Director, the second time for an extraordinary docudrama about a female derelict entitled, "Edna, the Inebriate Woman" episode of Play for Today (1970). The film also won the Best Actress and Best Script Award. Kotcheff's television work in Great Britain was part of the new wave of working-class actors and drama that changed British theatre and television in the late 1950s. His stage successes include the long-running Lionel Bart musical, "Maggie May." His film career started in England: Tiara Tahiti (1962), a social comedy starring James Mason and John Mills; Life at the Top (1965), starring Laurence Harvey and Jean Simmons; Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969), starring Robin Phillips, a film set in the West Indian community of London and dealing with relationships between blacks and whites which was the official British entry at the Venice Film Festival. His next film, Wake in Fright (1971), was made in Australia. It was the Australian entry in the Cannes Film Festival and many Australians still think it is the finest Australian film ever made and the beginning of the renaissance of the Australian cinema. Kotcheff returned to Canada in 1972 to make a film of a novel written by his best friend, Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). This film, thought to be one of the best Canadian films ever made, won the Golden Bear First Prize at the Berlin Film Festival and numerous other awards including an Academy Award nomination for best script. Kotcheff also directed Fun with Dick and Jane (1977), starring Jane Fonda and George Segal; Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), starring Jacqueline Bisset and George Segal; North Dallas Forty (1979)--which he also wrote--starring 'Nick Nolte' (a film considered by many in the sport to be one of the best ever made about professional football); First Blood (1982), starring Sylvester Stallone--one of the biggest box-office winners of all time--Uncommon Valor (1983), starring Gene Hackman; and Weekend at Bernie's (1989). In the mid-'80s Kotcheff made a film of another Mordecai Richler novel, Joshua Then and Now (1985). This film, starring James Woods and Alan Arkin, was the official Canadian entry in the Cannes Film Festival, and together with "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz", is one of the most widely known and acclaimed Canadian films in the United States. Kotcheff is married to Laifun Chung and has two children, Thomas age 7 and Alexandra age 9. Laifun Chung is President of their film company, Panoptica Productions, Inc. He has homes in Toronto and Los Angeles.- Director
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Documentary cameraman/editor for Office National du Film (aka NFB Canada), under Michael Scott, Wolf Koenig, John Spotton and Roman Kroiter. Contributing cameraman on Paul Cowan's "Going The Distance" (Oscar Nomination 1980: Best Documentary Feature), also cameraman/editor on Halya Kuchmij's "Strongest Man In The World" (Genie Award 1981: Best Theatrical Short). Indebted to Robert Altman for citing short film "God Is Not a Fish Inspector" in an interview (Edmonton Journal).
Also writer/director adapting short works of fiction to film, by authors Leo Tolstoy, Heinrich Böll, Governor General's Award Winners Rudy Wiebe, Gabrielle Roy and Guy Vanderhaeghe, Also W.D. Valgardson, and most significantly Alistair MacLeod. Most adaptations were for producer Stan Thomas (CanWest CKND), winning over 50 awards (as CKND Drama Project): New York, San Francisco, Houston, Columbus, Gabriel Awards, etc.
Director of episodic television and some MOW's since 1987.
Shooting non-fiction recently for charitable organizations: addictions/recovery and disaster relief (re-construction after Hurricanes Katrina & Sandy, Detroit Flood 2014).
Member: Directors Guild of America (DGA) Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) Writers Guild of Canada (WGC)- Additional Crew
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Bruce La Bruce was born on 3 January 1964 in Southampton, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and writer, known for Gerontophilia (2013).- Director
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Differently of his contemporary quebecois' directors, Lefebvre didn't make his class in the documentary. After his Literary studies and seven years of critics, he immediatly began directing fiction movies; a short in 1964 _L'Homoman_ preceeding an ininterrompt serie of movies of which he produce at least the first five. In fact, he has found his own production company Cinak Ltee and his own distributing company Disci Inc. His style is based on low cost movies, on natural location and using few characters. He approach the cinema in the same 'maniere' then Luc Besson; a non-narrative non-psychological cinema, mostly without action where the characters present themselves by the way they live.- Actor
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Robert Lepage is one of the foremost stage directors today and a leading figure in the Canadian avant garde, attracting particular attention for his multimedia-rich theatrical presentations as well as his innovative work with Shakespearian drama and opera.- Producer
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Daniel Levy is a multi-hyphenate Emmy® award winning showrunner, writer, actor, director, and producer who has built his career telling vibrant and comedic stories, establishing himself as a Hollywood mainstay.
Levy recently launched his new film and television production company, Not a Real Production Company. Not A Real Production Company debuted its first series, The Big Brunch, on HBO Max in November 2022. Levy not only created the series but also hosts and serves as a judge alongside Chef Sohla El-Waylly and restaurateur Will Guidara. Additionally, the company has several projects in various stages of development including an adult animated comedy Standing By for Hulu, which he co-created with Ally Pankiw. Levy is currently in post-production on his directorial debut Good Grief, an original film at Netflix, which he wrote, produced and stars in. The company recently began its new overall television deal with Netflix, where it also has a first-look feature film deal.
Up next, Levy will be joining the season 4 cast of Netflix's acclaimed dramedy Sex Education playing the character Thomas Molloy, a famous author, and Maeve's (Emma Mackey) US course tutor at her Ivy League college. Levy has also joined the ensemble cast of HBO Max's upcoming series The Idol, created by Sam Levinson and The Weeknd, as well as Disney's upcoming Haunted Mansion remake. Recently, Levy appeared in Hulu's holiday rom-com Happiest Season, and starred alongside Bette Midler, Sarah Paulson, Issa Rae, and Kailtyn Dever in HBO's Coastal Elite. Levy made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live in February 2021.
Levy is best known for his work on one of the most beloved shows on television, Schitt's Creek, which he co-created with his father Eugene Levy. The series received nine Emmy® wins for its sixth and final season, breaking major records becoming the most awarded comedy series in a single year, the first comedy or drama series to sweep all four acting categories and receiving the most wins for a comedy series in its final season. Levy and his father also became the first father-son pair to win Emmys in the same year, and Levy impressively tied the record for most wins by an individual in a single season with four total wins. Additionally, in its final season, Schitt's Creek garnered dozens of awards and more than 100 nominations including: five Critics Choice Award nominations, securing two wins for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress in a Comedy Series; five SAG Award nominations, collecting two wins for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble and Actress in a Comedy Series; GLAAD Media Award win for Best Comedy Series; won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy; two TCA Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy; and a Costume Design Guild Award for Excellence in Contemporary Television. Levy was also recognized as one of the Grand Marshals for NYC Pride 2020. In 2019, the show received four Emmy® nominations including Best Comedy Series, a 2019 TCA Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, Levy won Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, and was honored by GLAAD with the Davidson/Valentini Award.
Levy began his television career co-hosting MTV Canada's flagship show MTV Live and later co-wrote, co-hosted, and co-produced the critically-acclaimed ratings hit The After Show and its various incarnations, including The Hills: The After Show and The City: Live After Show. Levy also wrote, produced, and starred in his own Christmas special for MTV, Daniel Levy's Holi-Do's & Don'ts, co-hosted the MTV Movie Awards Red Carpet, the X-Factor pre-show, national coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Games for CTV, co-hosted The Great Canadian Baking Show, and has also made a guest appearance on Modern Family. Levy made his film debut opposite Tina Fey in "Admission".
Levy and Not A Real Production Company are repped by WME, MGMT Entertainment, 42West and Morris Yorn.- Actor
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Eugene Levy is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer. He has appeared in more than 60 motion pictures to date, eight of which having topped the $100M mark. The box office success of films such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005) , and Father of the Bride Part II (1995) have established him as one of Hollywood's most popular comedic actors. But it was the role of Noah Levenstein in the American Pie franchise that cemented his reputation as America's favorite Dad. Levy's most recent big-screen role was that of Dory's Dad in the Disney/Pixar smash Finding Dory, in which he stars alongside Ellen DeGeneres and Diane Keaton. The film has surpassed the $1B mark worldwide, and is on track to become one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.
Partnering with Christopher Guest, Levy earned critical acclaim for co-writing and co-starring in Best In Show, Waiting For Guffman, For Your Consideration, and A Mighty Wind. Levy has been nominated for and won countless awards for his films including a New York Film Critics Circle Award and a Grammy Award® for A Mighty Wind and a Golden Globe® nomination for Best In Show. Other films include Splash, Armed and Dangerous, Multiplicity, Club Paradise, and Serendipity.
In 2013, Levy formed Not A Real Company Productions (with his son Daniel Levy and principals Andrew Barnsley and Fred Levy) to produce Schitt's Creek, a television series for CBC/ITV he co-created, co-executive produces, and co-stars in with Daniel Levy. The single-cam, character-driven comedy also stars Catherine O'Hara, Annie Murphy, and Chris Elliott.
In 2016, Levy won Lead Actor in a Comedy at the Canadian Screen Awards and, as Executive Producer, the CSA for Best Comedy, an award he shared with Daniel Levy, among others. Schitt's Creek swept the Canadian Screen Awards, winning nine of a possible 10 categories. Levy also received the prestigious Legacy Award (along with co-star and long-time collaborator, Catherine O'Hara) from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Levy won two Emmys® for his writing on SCTV in addition to many other awards and nominations for his television work.
Levy is a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of The Governor General's Performing Arts Award - the foremost honor presented for excellence in the performing arts.- Producer
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Shawn Levy was born on July 23, 1968 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a producer and director, known for Stranger Things (2016), Real Steel (2011), and the Night at the Museum franchise. He is the founder and principal of 21 Laps Entertainment. He is married to Serena Levy and they have four daughters.- Producer
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Richard J. Lewis was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is known for Barney's Version (2010), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) and Westworld (2016).- Writer
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Adam MacDonald is a writer/director, born in Montreal, now residing in Toronto. His directorial works include three short films: Sombre Zombie (2005) and In the Dominican (2010) His feature length debut, Backcountry (2015). -- had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was represented by Cinetic Media and bought by IFC. At TIFF TheGlobe and Mail named Adam one of the "Top Ten Canadians to Watch." His second feature Pyewacket (2017) also had its world premier at the Toronto international film festival, where it was represented by Seville international and bought by IFC. NOW magazine proclaimed Adam one of the 10 Canadians to watch at TIFF 2017.
His first television credit was successfully helming the entire third season (8 EPS) of Aaron Martin's SLASHER ( SOLSTICE) for NETFLIX. Adam wrote both his feature films. He recently completed the commissioned writing assignment of the epic thriller the BLACK DONNELYS ( a Canadian/Irish co- production). He's also attached to direct. He's been hired to rewrite HOLLYWOOD horror scripts such as the THE FORGOTTEN as well as the upcoming UK/INDIA horror SAMSARA
His first short, Sombre Zombie was produced with a grant from the Bravo! Network . Canada's renowned filmmaker Bruce McDonald, (Hard Core Logo) mentored Adam during his creative process. Upon completion the film aired on Bravo! and also screened in several festivals, including the very popular Fantasia and Nashville Film Festivals.
Building upon his shorts, Adam wrote and directed Backcountry. Upon its TIFF World Premiere, the film received rave reviews. Backcountry has been "Certified Fresh" by Rotten Tomatoes, with an 88% Fresh Rating. . Among the outlets praising it were The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, RogerEbert.com, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Vulture, and Salon. Fangoria proclaimed it "The best Canadian horror film in ages" . Backcountry reached #1 on iTunes Horror in the United States, Canada , Australia, Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Saudi Arabia and #3 in the UK. The film held most of these positions for weeks. As of now it is one of IFC's top grossing films of 2015.
BACKCOUNTRY has been featured in over 25 BEST OF HORROR lists including AIN'T IT COOL NEWS, THE DALLAS OBSERVER, DREAD CENTRAL, BLOODY DISGUSTING AND FANGORIA.
Besides his filmmaking Adam is also an accomplished actor, with over 40 credits to him name. This experience has become a vital tool in his directing efforts. Currently, Adam's favourite film is Hong-jin Na's The Chaser. He continues to love boxing as well as pop culture and music from the eighties.- Actor
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Daniel MacIvor was born in Sydney, Cape Breton in 1962. His post-secondary education was at Dalhousie University in Halifax and at George Brown College in Toronto. He has written, directed, and acted in many plays. Although it's his work in theatre that he is primarily recognized for, he has also starred in a few movies. He is one of Canada's best known playwights, and is also well known and well-received internationally.- Producer
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Michelle MacLaren was born in Canada. Michelle is a producer and director, known for Breaking Bad (2008), Game of Thrones (2011) and Shining Girls (2022).- Director
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Guy Maddin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Herdis Maddin (a hair-dresser) and Charles "Chas" Maddin (grain clerk and general manager of the Maroons, a Winnipeg hockey team). Maddin studied economics at the University of Winnipeg, working as a bank manager, house painter, and photographic archivist before becoming a film-maker. Maddin produced his first film in 1985, and since then his distinctive style of recreating and renovating silent film conventions and international critical acclaim have made him one of Canada's most celebrated directors. In 2003, Maddin also expanded his career to become an author and an installation artist.- Actor
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Canadian filmmaker Blake Mawson, a 2017 CFC Director fellow, captivates audiences with engaging storytelling, unconventional characters, and his striking visual style. His debut short, PYOTR495 (2016), addressed anti-LGBTQ+ hate and violence in Russia, winning global acclaim. Presented at 100+ festivals, it earned CSA's lead actor award for Alex Ozerov, a Best Direction nomination for Mawson, and the NFB's A&E Filmmaker Award. The film was also nominated for awards such as the Iris Prize and Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival's Brigadoon 'Paul Naschy Short Film Award'. Mawson's directorial range shines in music videos for queer country icon Orville Peck (Vogue premiere) and Juno-winning rockers Crown Lands (RollingStone premiere). In 2022, he was asked to conceive a custom horror teaser for Mike Flanagan's series, The Midnight Club. In 2023, he directed all six episodes of CBCGem's LGBTQ+dark comedy, I Hate People, People Hate Me, which premiered at Tribeca 2023. Mawson is developing his debut feature, a supernatural thriller titled, Perennials, with Wildhood producer Gharrett Paon, while continuing to expand upon his distinct creative footprint globally.- Actor
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Bruce McCulloch was born on 12 May 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is an actor and writer, known for The Kids in the Hall (1988), Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996) and Dog Park (1998). He has been married to Tracy Ryan since 2003. They have two children.- Director
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Bruce McDonald was born on 28 May 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for Pontypool (2008), Dance Me Outside (1994) and Highway 61 (1991).- Director
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Michael McGowan was born on 14 April 1966 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a director and producer, known for Still Mine (2012), Saint Ralph (2004) and Score: A Hockey Musical (2010).- Director
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As a writer and director, Max's projects have been financed or distributed by; Netflix, Bron Studios, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Media Development Corp, Hallmark, Lifetime, Tubi, CBC TV, UPtv, Canada Council for the Arts, the Harold Greenberg Fund and multiple international distributors.
Foreverland, his most personal movie, was produced by Bron Studios and Screen Siren Media and was distributed theatrically by Eone. It screened around the world helping to raise over $250k for Cystic Fibrosis, which Max also suffers from. It stars Max Thieriot, Laurence Leboeuf and Oscar nominees Juliette Lewis and Demian Bichir along with Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Frewer and Thomas Dekker.
Max has since directed multiple thrillers, RomComs and Christmas movies for various networks, where his projects continue to garner top ratings, including Midnight at the Magnolia (CSA nominee for best TV movie) starring Natalie Hall and Evan Williams for Netflix, where it spent weeks as a TOP 10 most watched movie worldwide.
Max is actively developing, Wounded, a wilderness survival thriller which was invited to the International Film Finance Forum at TIFF and the IFP No Borders Market in New York, with development funding from the OMDC and Telefilm Canada.- Actor
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Don McKellar was born on 17 August 1963 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor and director, known for Last Night (1998), Blindness (2008) and The Red Violin (1998). He was previously married to Tracy Wright.- Director
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Deepa Mehta is a transnational artist and a screenwriter, director, and producer whose work has been called "courageous", "provocative" and "breathtaking". Her visually lush and emotionally resonating films have played at every major international film festival; receiving numerous awards and accolades, and have been distributed around the world. Deepa was born in India and received a degree in philosophy from the University of New Delhi before immigrating to Canada. She began her career making documentaries in India.
In 1991, Deepa's first feature film Sam & Me, which stars Om Puri, won a Special Jury Mention in the Camera D'Or section at the Cannes Film Festival. Between 1992-1994 she directed two episodes of The Young Indiana Jones, produced by George Lucas for ABC. In 1993, Deepa directed her second feature film Camilla, a Canada-UK co-pro starring Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, Elias Koteas, Maury Chaykin, Graham Greene, and Hume Cronyn. Fire, which Deepa wrote and directed, is the first film in her Elemental Trilogy (Fire, Earth, Water). Fire opened Perspective Canada at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was runner-up for the People's Choice Most Popular Film Award. It played at the New York Film Festival and won many awards worldwide, including the Audience Award for Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver International Festival, the Special Jury Prize at the Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival and Silver Hugo Awards for Best Direction and Best Actress in Chicago.
Earth, based on Bapsi Sidhwa's acclaimed novel about Partition, Cracking India, is the second film in the Elemental Trilogy. It premiered as a Special Presentation at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, and won the Prix Premiere du Public at the Festival du Film Asiatique de Deauville and the Critics' Award at the Verona Schermi d'Amore International Film Festival. Bollywood/Hollywood was a change of pace. Written and directed by Deepa, it is a lighthearted, affectionate comedy about two mismatched lovers. It opened Perspective Canada at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and was a tremendous crossover box office success. It remains one of the top 10 grossing English language Canadian movies. In 2003 Deepa co-wrote and directed the Canada-UK co-pro The Republic of Love, based on a Carol Shields novel.
After a disrupted and hazardous production history Deepa's final film in the Elemental Trilogy Water opened the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, and was the first Canadian film acquired by US distributor Fox Searchlight. Water is a powerful, hauntingly tragic story, set in Benares (Varanasi) about a child widow who at the age of eight is forced to enter a house of widows where she has to live for the rest of her life. The movie was to have been shot in India in 2000, but Hindu fundamentalists fomented riots, burnt sets, and issued death threats against the director and actors, forcing production to shut down and the filmmakers to leave the country. Water was successfully remounted in Sri Lanka and completed shooting in June 2004, and features many of India's most renowned actors.
Water was an enormous success. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, and has screened at festivals around the world, winning many awards, and remains an audience favourite. The Vancouver Film Critics Circle named Deepa Mehta the Best Canadian Director of 2006. This fall (2015) is the 10th anniversary of Water's launch.
In 2006 Deepa made a documentary about domestic violence in Toronto's immigrant families called Let's Talk About It, which continues to be used in community outreach programs. She then thematically segued into the feature film Heaven On Earth, which explores arranged marriages and isolation. Starring Preity Zinta, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008. It was awarded a Silver Hugo for Best Actress at the Chicago International Film Festival, and received the Best Screenplay Award at the Dubai International Film Festival. It also won the Youth Jury Award at the Schermi d'Amore Film Festival in Verona and the Audience Award at the River to River Florence Indian Film Festival.
In 2012, Deepa completed her epic cinematic adaptation of Salman Rushdie's famous novel about the history of India in the 20th century, Midnight's Children. A novel that won three Booker prizes. The movie, with 127 speaking parts, and covering five distinct time periods from 1917-1977, was a vast, ambitious undertaking and has screened all over the world, including the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival. Midnight's Children was chosen as the Best Feature Film of 2013 at the Directors Guild of Canada's Awards.
Deepa's work as an artist, as a progressive voice about social issues, and her generous mentorship have often been recognized. She has received numerous honorary degrees and many awards and honours, among them: The Life of Distinction Award from the Canadian Centre of Diversity, The Excellence in the Arts Award from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Woman of Distinction, President's Award from the YMCA. She is a recipient of the Governor General's Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Film. Most recently, in 2013, Deepa was appointed as an officer to the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour, for her work as a "groundbreaking screenwriter, director, and producer." She is also a recipient of the province of Ontario's highest honour, the Order of Ontario.- Producer
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Gia Milani was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. She is known for All the Wrong Reasons (2013), Il Sole (2018) and Queen of the Andes (2020).- Director
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Pat Mills's first feature film, the dark comedy Guidance, which he wrote, directed and starred in, had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Picked up by Strand Releasing in the USA and Search Engine Films in Canada, Guidance was hailed as a "Grade A" comedy by the Los Angeles Times and was a New York Times Critics' Pick. His performance as "David" was nominated for an Actra Award for Outstanding Male Performance.
An alumnus of NSI, CFC as well as TIFF's Talent lab and TIFF Studio, Pat was named winner of TIFF's Pitch This for his second feature Don't Talk to Irene. The screenplay won Best Comedy Screenplay at the Austin Screenplay Competition. Released in 2018 starring newcomer Michelle McLeod, Bruce Gray, Scott Thompson and Geena Davis. Don't Talk to Irene had its world premiere at TIFF 2017 and went on to win the Comedy Vanguard Feature Award and Audience Award at the 2017 Austin Film Festival, Audience Choice at the 2018 Kingston Canadian Film Festival, the Galet d'or (Grand Prize) at Festival du film Canadien en Dieppe, as well as two Canadian Comedy Awards: Best Writing in a Feature and Best Feature.
Pat was listed as one of MovieMaker Magazine's 25 Screenwriters to Watch and was University of Toronto's Universal Studios Screenwriter-in-Residence in 2018-19.
He is represented by Great North Artists Management in Canada and Verve Talent and Literary Agency in the USA.- Actor
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Rick began his career as a radio DJ while he was still at high school which led to him writing, producing and being on air in his own show. He joined the Canadian TV series, SCTV (1976), winning an Emmy for writing and portraying the character, Bob McKenzie, which became the basis for the film, Strange Brew (1983), which he co-wrote, co-directed and made his film acting debut. The character he played in Ghostbusters (1984) was based on a similar character he played on SCTV (1976).- Director
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Unconventional filmmaker who moved from independent cinema into the Hollywood mainstream. Moyle became a sought-after writer-director after the surprising success of Pump Up the Volume (1990), a sleeper hit about teen angst starring Christian Slater. His previous directorial outing occurred a full decade earlier: the critically lambasted Times Square (1980), a flop which concerned the surprisingly tame adventures of two runaway teenage girls in the Big Apple. This film--Moyle's first studio directing assignment--was such an unpleasant experience for the neophyte filmmaker that he succumbed to a stress-related disorder that caused all his hair to fall out.
Moyle began his career as an actor and screenwriter working in close collaboration with Frank Vitale, a Canada-based independent filmmaker. Their film Montreal Main (1974) was a loosely structured quasi-documentary about gay life in Montreal. Moyle made his directorial debut with The Rubber Gun (1977), an exploration of the city's drug culture. In addition to acting in his own films, Moyle appeared in David Cronenberg's Rabid (1977) and had a major supporting role in Richard Benner's cult favorite, Outrageous! (1977). After the failure of TIMES SQUARE he left the industry for a ten-year period during which he wrote a novel and several screenplays, before PUMP UP THE VOLUME restored his commercial credibility.- Director
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April Mullen's latest directorial offer is Hello Stranger which is in post production. Wander (2021) premiered at the Deauville Film Festival in France and was released by Saban, Universal and Paramount. Mullen also directed Below Her Mouth (2016), a relentless love story shot entirely by an all female crew which had its World Premier at TIFF 2016. Selected directorial TV credits include Blood & Treasure (2019), Tiny Pretty Things (2020), Lethal Weapon (2016), The Rookie (2018) and Wynonna Earp (2016). By: Verve -- Art Department
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Vincenzo Natali was born on 6 January 1969 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Cube (1997), In the Tall Grass (2019) and Cypher (2002).