Alexander Carson (filmmaker)

Alexander (Sandy) Carson is a Canadian filmmaker.

Alexander Carson
Alexander Carson at the San Francisco International Film Festival
Born (1982-07-16) 16 July 1982
Ottawa, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Alma materConcordia University
Occupation(s)Film director, actor, screenwriter, film editor, film producer
Years active2005–present
Websitewww.northcountrycinema.com

Early life and education

Carson was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. He graduated from the Dramatic Arts program at Canterbury High School (Ottawa) before attending Concordia University's Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal, Quebec. Carson returned to Concordia for a master's degree in Film Studies in 2009. He received the Lotte Eisner Award upon graduation in 2011.[1]

Career

Directing and producing

Alexander Carson is a founding member of the North Country Cinema media arts collective, along with filmmakers Kyle Thomas and Nicholas Martin, colleagues whom he met at film school in Montreal.[2] As a writer/director, Carson has presented work at many major international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival.[3]

Carson's films explore intimate, personal narratives and experimental approaches to visual storytelling. In 2012, he won the Award for Achievement In Direction from the Air Canada enRoute Film Festival for his film We Refuse To Be Cold.[4]

In 2014, Carson received the Golden Gate Award for New Visions at the San Francisco International Film Festival for his film Numbers & Friends.[5]

Later that year, Carson completed work on North Country Cinema's first feature film The Valley Below as a producer. Written and directed by longtime colleague and collaborator Kyle Thomas, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to garner two Canadian Screen Award nominations in 2015.[6]

Carson's first feature-length film as a writer/director, O, Brazen Age, premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2015.[7] The film was subsequently selected for numerous other festivals in North America and Europe, including the Reykjavik International Film Festival.[8]

Carson returned to VIFF in 2016 to premiere a short film entitled The New Canada. This film would be recognized with a Gold Bison Award at the Buffalo International Film Festival later that year.[9] The New Canada was acquired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2017.[10]

Acting

Carson often performs in his own films, and frequently cites his appreciation for the work of amateur actors or "non-actors" in cinema.[11] Carson performed the role of Mr. Oddi in Sheila Heti's play All Our Happy Days Are Stupid directed by Jordan Tannahill. The show was first presented at Videofag in 2013, before a larger remount at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto and at The Kitchen in New York City in 2015.[12] Carson was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 2014 as part of the show's ensemble cast.

Filmography (as writer/director)
  • 2023: Alberta Number One
  • 2016: The New Canada
  • 2015: O, Brazen Age
  • 2013: Numbers & Friends
  • 2012: Braids
  • 2011: "We Refuse To Be Cold"
  • 2009: Last Communication With Laura
  • 2008: Lucy James part 1
  • 2005: Built Like Light

References
  1. Dunk, Renée (10 May 2011). "Film Students Strut Their Stuff". Concordia University. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  2. North Country Cinema (15 June 2013). "North Country Cinema // ABOUT". North Country Cinema. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  3. TIFF Festival 2013 (7 August 2013). "Numbers & Friends". TIFF. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  4. Air Canada En Route Film Festival 2012 (20 July 2012). "en route // We Refuse To Be Cold". Air Canada. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  5. Kilday, Greg (8 May 2014). "San Francisco International Film Festival Awards Prizes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  6. "Canadian Screen Awards Unveil Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter, 13 January 2015.
  7. Vancouver International Film Festival program (3 September 2015). "O, Brazen Age". Vancouver International Film Festival. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  8. North Country Cinema (5 November 2016). "North Country Cinema // Film Screenings". North Country Cinema. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  9. BIFF (12 October 2016). "Buffalo International Film Festival - BIFF 2016". Buffalo International Film Festival. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  10. CBC (10 September 2017). "The New Canada CBC Reflections". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  11. Wisniewski, Marcin (7 May 2013). "Keeping His Promise: A Conversation with Alexander Carson". Hermie Island. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  12. J. Kelly Nestruck (12 February 2015). "All Our Happy Days Are Stupid: Remount of Sheila Heti play has more polish, less personality". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
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