Ashley McKenzie (director) facts for kids

Ashley McKenzie (born in 1984) is a talented Canadian director, writer, and editor for films. She is famous for her first full-length movie, Werewolf (2016). This film won many awards, including a big prize of $100,000 from the Toronto Film Critics Association for being the best Canadian film of that year.

Early Life

Ashley McKenzie grew up in New Waterford, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island.

Film Career

Ashley McKenzie started her career making short films in 2010. Short films are like mini-movies that are much shorter than regular movies.

Her first short film was called Rhonda's Party (2010). It won a competition called Short Film Face-Off from CBC in 2011. It was also chosen as one of the top ten Canadian films of the year by the Toronto International Film Festival.

Her second short film, When You Sleep (2012), won an award for Best Atlantic Emerging Director. This was at the 2012 Atlantic Film Festival. It was even shown at the famous Cannes Film Festival in France.

She made two more short films: Stray (2013) and 4 Quarters (2015). 4 Quarters won the Best Atlantic Short award at the 2015 Atlantic Film Festival.

For her amazing work on short films, McKenzie won the National Screen Institute's Shaw Media Fearless Female Director Award three times. She received this award in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Werewolf Film

Ashley McKenzie's first full-length movie, Werewolf, was shown for the first time at the Toronto International Film Festival. This film won several awards.

At the 2016 Atlantic Film Festival, Werewolf won awards for Best Director (for McKenzie), Best Actress, and Best Actor. McKenzie was also nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Editing for her work on the film.

In 2016, McKenzie won the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize for her directing of Werewolf. The next year, after the movie was shown in cinemas, Werewolf won the $100,000 Toronto Film Critics Association prize for being the best Canadian film of the year.

Recent Work

Ashley McKenzie's second full-length movie is called Queens of the Qing Dynasty. It was shown for the first time at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival.

Artistry

Film critics have praised Ashley McKenzie's directing style. Joe Leydon from Variety magazine said her directing has a "borderline Bressonian austerity," which means it's very precise and simple.

Richard Brody from The New Yorker magazine wrote about Werewolf. He said that McKenzie combines a very careful, documentary-like way of watching things with a creative imagination. This makes her characters' struggles feel very important and grand.

Accolades

Images for kids

• Ashley McKenzie.jpg

  McKenzie in 2012