Canadian Directors
A list of every living Canadian director I know of.
List activity
26 views
• 7 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
199 people
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
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
- Editor
- Writer
Jennifer Abbott is known for The Magnitude of All Things (2020), The Corporation (2003) and The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (2020).- Producer
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
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
- Director
- 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
- Director
- Writer
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
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
- Writer
- Cinematographer
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
- Producer
- 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
- Director
- Producer
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.- Actor
- Director
- Stunts
An accomplished theatre actor, Mr. Bennett appeared on the British stage for fifteen years before moving to Canada in 1986. During this time, he starred in "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole" at the Wyndhams Theatre in London's West End. He also performed in "Ghosts", "Private Lives" and "Rookery Nook" at such theaters as the Haymarket Theatre in Leicester, the Crucible Theatre, the Bristol Old Vic and the King's Head Theatre Club, as well as many seasons on the stages of Canterbury, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield in England. From 1992-1996, he starred as the powerful and seductive "Lucien LaCroix" in the Gemini-nominated television series, Forever Knight (1992). In 1995, he received the prestigious Gemini Award for his role in the series, and it was on this show where he made his directorial debut.
His feature film work includes co-starring with Gene Hackman in Narrow Margin (1990), The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988), a poignant drama that was voted Best New Film at both the Toronto Festival of Festivals and the Vancouver International Film Festival in 1988, Legends of the Fall (1994) starring Brad Pitt, Murder at 1600 (1997) starring Wesley Snipes, Top of the Food Chain (1999), a science fiction feature that premiered at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and The Skulls (2000) starring Craig T. Nelson.- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
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
- Director
- Additional Crew
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
- Producer
- Director
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
- Director
- Actor
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
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
- Writer
- Producer
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
- Producer
- Director
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
- Producer
- Writer
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
- Director
- Writer
Jeff Chan is known for Code 8 (2016).- Director
- Producer
- Actor
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
- Producer
- Actress
Deborah Chow is known for The High Cost of Living (2010), Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and The Mandalorian (2019).- Visual Effects
- Director
- Producer
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
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).