Chandler Levack | |
|---|---|
| Born | Chandler Levack |
| Education |
|
| Occupation(s) | Writer, director, filmmaker |
| Years active | 2010s–present |
| Notable work | I Like Movies |
Chandler Levack is a Canadian writer, director, and filmmaker.[1]
Levack is best known for her work as an entertainment writer, and for herfeature film directorial debut,I Like Movies, which premiered in the Discovery program at the2022 Toronto International Film Festival to universal critical acclaim.[2][3][4]
Levack was born inToronto and raised inBrantford,Ontario.[5] In 2004, Levack returned to live in Toronto'sParkdale neighbourhood.[5]
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Levack dropped out of her cinema studies courses at theUniversity of Toronto to pursue a career as a writer.[6] Since then, she has worked an arts and entertainment writer for publications includingEye Weekly,Toronto Life,SPIN,The Globe and Mail, and theToronto Star.
Levack is a two-timeJuno Award nominee forVideo of the Year, receiving nominations alongsideJeremy Schaulin-Rioux at theJuno Awards of 2015 for directingPUP's "Guilt Trip" music video,[7] and at theJuno Awards of 2016 for directing PUP's "Dark Days" music video.[8]
She was aPrism Prize nominee for both "Guilt Trip"[9] and "Dark Days",[10] and has also directed music videos forDZ Deathrays andJeremy Dutcher.
Her debut as a narrative filmmaker, the short filmWe Forgot to Break Up, premiered at the2017 Toronto International Film Festival,[11] and won the award forBest Canadian Short Film at the 2017Whistler Film Festival.[12]
Levak later studied screenwriting at theCanadian Film Centre.[13]
I Like Movies, Levack'sdebut feature film, premiered in the Discovery program at the2022 Toronto International Film Festival,[2] and received widespread acclaim.[3] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the filmholds an approval rating of 100% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10.[3] The film was named to TIFF's annual year-endCanada's Top Ten list for 2022.[14]
Levack won the$10,000RBC Emerging Artist Award at the 2022Calgary International Film Festival for the film.[15]
In 2023, Barry Hertz ofThe Globe and Mail named the film as one of the 23 best Canadian comedy films ever made.[4]
In November 2023, she was announced as the director ofMy Dead Mom, a short-form comedy series in production forCrave.[16]
Matthew Miller's production company Zapruder Films (which he co-founded withMatt Johnson), launched a contest to back a first-time female screenwriter with$12,000 in funding, story editor guidance, and script optioning; Levack and her feature filmAnglophone were announced as the winners from 137 entries.[17] In 2024, it was announced that Levack's second feature,Mile End Kicks (retitled fromAnglophone), would starBarbie Ferreira,Devon Bostick, Stanley Simons, andJuliette Gariepy.[18] The film's screenplay is "based on her own experiences as a young female music critic."[19]
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Calgary International Film Festival | $10,000RBC Emerging Artist Award | I Like Movies | Won | [20] |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2022 | Best Canadian Film | Won | [21] | ||
| Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film | Won | [21] |
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