Ingrid Veninger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ingrid Veninger
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Veninger in 2013
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| Born | August 21, 1968 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Actress, director, writer, producer |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
Ingrid Veninger (born August 21, 1968) is a talented Canadian artist. She is an actress, writer, director, and producer. She also teaches film at York University.
Ingrid started her career as a child actor. She appeared in commercials and on TV shows. As a teenager, she was in the CBC series Airwaves (1986–1987). She also appeared in the CBS series Friday the 13th: The Series (1987–1990). In the 1990s, she began producing films. In 2003, she started her own company, pUNK Films. Through this company, she began writing and directing her own movies.
Ingrid Veninger directed her first movie, Only, in 2008. This film was made with a small budget of only $20,000. She has written and directed six feature films. These include Only (2008), Modra (2010), i am a good person/i am a bad person (2011), The Animal Project (2013), He Hated Pigeons (2015), and Porcupine Lake (2017). All her films have been shown at film festivals around the world.
In 2011, she won the Jay Scott Prize for new artists. This award came from the Toronto Film Critics Association. In 2013, she won an EDA Award at the Whistler Film Festival. This award was from the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. The Globe and Mail newspaper has called Veninger "The DIY Queen of Canadian Filmmaking." This means she is great at making films independently.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Ingrid Veninger was born in Bratislava. She moved to Canada with her parents in the 1970s. She started in show business at age 11. Her first role was in an advertisement for Bell Canada with actress Megan Follows.
Ingrid's Film Career
Early Acting Roles (1980s–1990s)
As a young actress, Ingrid Veninger appeared in several films and TV shows. She was in the CBC comedy-drama series Airwaves (1986–1987). She also appeared in the popular horror series Friday the 13th: The Series (1987–1990).
In 1989, at age 21, Ingrid started producing films. She got the rights to Margaret Atwood's novel Cat’s Eye. She also worked as an assistant director on Atom Egoyan's The Adjuster (1991). She produced a music documentary called Standards (1992). She also produced Peter Mettler's documentary about the northern lights, Picture of Light (1994). As an actress, she has worked with famous stars like Meryl Streep and Holly Hunter.
Starting Her Own Company (2000s)
After acting for most of the 1990s, Ingrid attended the Canadian Film Centre in 2000. There, she produced a short film called Three Sisters on Moon Lake (2001). This film won awards and was shown at the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
In 2002, Ingrid worked on the film ... Gods and .... This film won a Genie Award. In 2003, Ingrid Veninger started her own film company, pUNK Films. This allowed her to create her own projects as a writer and director.
She often works with Canadian filmmaker and actor Charles Officer. They worked together on the short film Urda/Bone (2003). They also collaborated on Nurse.Fighter.Boy (2008). This film premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.
Ingrid Veninger's first film as a director was Only in 2008. This independent film was made for only $20,000. It was shown at many local film festivals. Her young son, Jacob, played the main character in the movie. Ingrid also had a supporting role as his mother.
Directing More Films (2010s–Present)
Her second film, Modra, was made in 2010. It is about returning to the Bratislava region and her hometown of Modra. Her daughter, Hallie Switzer, starred in the film. TIFF named Modra one of the ten best Canadian films of 2010. The Globe and Mail called Veninger "The DIY Queen of Canadian filmmaking."
Her third film, i am a good person/i am a bad person (2011), was shown at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. This film led to her winning the Jay Scott Prize for new artists.
Her fourth film, The Animal Project (2013), was shown at many festivals. It was part of the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Critics praised the film. Norm Wilner of NOW Magazine said she "upped her game." The Torontoist called Veninger the "godmother of Toronto’s D.I.Y. filmmaking scene."
In 2013, Ingrid Veninger received an EDA Award for The Animal Project. She used this moment to ask for help funding the Femmes Lab. This was a workshop she planned to help six female directors make feature films for $6,000 each. Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo volunteered to provide the money. The TIFF Bell Lightbox offered space for the workshop.
For her fifth film, He Hated Pigeons, Ingrid raised over $36,000 online. After making the film, she traveled with it to many festivals worldwide.
In 2017, Ingrid Veninger's sixth film, Porcupine Lake, was shown at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. This film was based on a script she wrote through the Femmes Lab. It also received funding from Telefilm.
Ingrid began making her seventh feature film on May 22, 2018. The film is called Before We Think. It was filmed in several cities, including Barcelona, Whitehorse, Toronto, and Wilmington.
Personal Life
Ingrid Veninger has been married to film composer John Switzer since 1990. They have two children, Hallie and Jacob, who are both artists.
Besides making films, Ingrid also works as a part-time teacher at York University.
Awards and Recognition
- Genie Award for Best Documentary (... Gods and ...) (2003)
- Audience Award, International (Modra), International Film Festival Bratislava (2010)
- Jay Scott Prize (i am a good person/i am a bad person), Toronto Film Critics Association Awards (2012)
- EDA Award, Narrative Feature Prize (The Animal Project), Alliance of Women Film Journalists (2013)
