Michelle Latimer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michelle Latimer
Latimer at the Genie Awards in 2012
Born	Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actress, director, filmmaker
Years active	2001–present

Michelle Latimer is a Canadian actress, director, and filmmaker. She first became well-known for her role as Trish Simkin in the TV series Paradise Falls.

Since the early 2010s, she has directed many documentaries. Her work includes the film Alias and the TV series Rise. Rise is about the 2016 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline and won a Canadian Screen Award in 2018.

Latimer's 2020 film Inconvenient Indian was a big success. It won two major awards at the Toronto International Film Festival. She also co-created, wrote, and directed the popular CBC Television series Trickster.

Early Life and Education

Michelle Latimer was born and grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She later went to Montreal, Quebec, to study theatre at Concordia University.

Career Journey

Acting Beginnings

Latimer first got noticed for playing Trish Simpkin, a teen who was part of the goth scene, in the TV show Paradise Falls. This show was broadcast across Canada from 2001 to 2004.

Besides Paradise Falls, she had a few other acting roles. In 2004, she appeared in two episodes of the Canadian series Train 48. She also had a small part in the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

Directing and Filmmaking

After acting, Latimer began to focus on directing. She directed an animated short film called Choke. The film was shown at the famous Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for a Genie Award in 2011.

Documentaries

In the 2010s, Latimer dedicated her time to making documentaries. Her first feature-length documentary was Alias in 2013. The film follows young rappers who are trying to build a better life. It was well-received and nominated for a Canadian Screen Award.

Her documentary series Rise for the TV channel Viceland focused on the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests. It premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and won a Canadian Screen Award in 2018. When she accepted the award, she gave a powerful speech supporting the Indigenous protestors at Standing Rock.

Trickster TV Series

In 2020, Latimer was the creator, writer, and director of the TV series Trickster. The show is based on the novel Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson.

The story is about Jared, an Indigenous Haisla teenager in Kitimat, British Columbia. He starts to notice strange, magical things happening around him. The show was a hit and was even picked up by The CW network in the United States. In 2020, Playback magazine named Trickster the "Scripted Series of the Year."

Inconvenient Indian Film

Latimer's 2020 documentary film, Inconvenient Indian, also received great praise. It is based on the book The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King. The film explores the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The film creatively mixes different scenes. It shows King telling parts of his book while riding in a taxi. It also includes clips of modern Indigenous artists, musicians, and filmmakers who are changing how their stories are told.

Inconvenient Indian won the People's Choice Award for Documentaries and the Best Canadian Film award at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. It was also named one of Canada's Top Ten feature films of the year.

Other Work

Latimer also works as a film curator. This means she helps choose which films are shown at film festivals. She has worked with the ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the Hot Docs Film Festival, and others.

Awards and Recognition

See also

• List of female film and television directors