Stephen Dunn (born January 18, 1989) is a Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer.[1] He made his feature film directorial debut in 2015 with Closet Monster, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.[2]
Stephen Dunn | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 18, 1989 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Notable work | |
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Early life
editDunn was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[3] He later studied at the Canadian Film Centre and at Ryerson University.[4][5]
Career
editDunn attended film school at Ryerson University in Toronto[6] and produced several short films as a student, many of which screened at festivals. One of his early short films, titled Life Doesn't Frighten Me, starred Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent and won various awards, including the CBC Short Film Face-Off, with a cash prize of $30,000.[7] The film also won awards at the Toronto Student Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013.[8]
His other short films have included Lionel Lonely Heart, Words! Words! Words! and Swallowed.
Closet Monster
editDunn's feature film directorial debut, Closet Monster, won the award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[2] He was also named the inaugural winner of the Len Blum Residency, a Toronto International Film Festival program for emerging directors.[9]
Other work
editDunn directed and produced the web series Pop-Up Porno, which streams on YouTube and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[10][11] He also directed "The Son", a 2020 episode of the Apple TV+ series Little America focusing on a gay immigrant from Syria,[12] and has been writing a planned reboot of Queer as Folk.[13]
Personal life
editIn 2022, Dunn told the public that the new location for Queer as Folk (2022 TV series) is set in New Orleans because he wanted to give a contribute to his close drag queen superstar friend Chi Chi DeVayne, who is deceased.[14] Dunn is also an openly gay man.[15]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Title | Year | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Producer | Writer | |||
| Lionel Lonely Heart | 2008 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film Credited as Stephen Patrick Dunn |
| The Hall | 2009 | Yes | Co-producer | Yes | Short film Credited as Stephen Patrick Dunn |
| Words! Words! Words! | 2009 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film Cinematographer Editor Credited as Stephen Patrick Dunn |
| Swallowed | 2010 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film Lyrics by |
| Life Doesn't Frighten Me | 2012 | Yes | Co-producer | Yes | Short film Credited as Stephen Patrick Dunn |
| Night Light | 2012 | Yes | No | Story | Short film |
| We Wanted More | 2013 | Yes | No | Yes | Short film Credited as Stephen Patrick Dunn |
| Good Morning | 2014 | Co-director | No | No | Short film |
| The Imagined | 2014 | No | No | Yes | Short film Original author |
| Pop-Up Porno | 2015 | Yes | Co-producer | Yes | Documentary short film |
| Closet Monster | 2015 | Yes | No | Yes | |
Television
editThe numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.
| † | Denotes television series that have not yet aired. |
| Title | Year | Credited as | Network | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Director | Writer | Executive producer | ||||
| Reel East Coast | 2015 | No | Yes (1) | Yes (1) | No | CBC Television | Segment "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" |
| Heritage Minutes | 2018 | No | Yes (2) | Yes (2) | No | Historica Canada | Web series |
| Little America | 2020 | No | Yes (1) | Yes (1) | No | Apple TV+ | |
| Queer as Folk | 2022 | Developer | Yes (3) | Yes (3) | Yes | Peacock | |
References
edit- ^ "Watch TIFF Breakout Stephen Dunn's 'Pop Up Porno' Film Series (NSFW)". IndieWire. 2015-09-21. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
- ^ a b "Stephen Dunn's 'Closet Monster' Wins Toronto's Best Canadian Feature Award" Archived 2015-09-22 at the Wayback Machine. IndieWire, September 20, 2015.
- ^ "TIFF spotlight: Stephen Dunn spotlights urban Newfoundland in 'Closet Monster'". CTV News, September 13, 2015.
- ^ "Fourth Year Film student wins 'Best Live Action Film' at TIFF Student Film Showcase". www.ryerson.ca. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
- ^ "Stephen Dunn". cfccreates.com. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
- ^ "Rye grad overcomes fear to produce film". 23 March 2016.
- ^ "St. John's director wins Short Film Face Off". CBC News. September 7, 2013.
- ^ "Stephen Dunn: Life Doesn't Frighten Me". Ion Magazine. July 17, 2013. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
- ^ "Stephen Dunn named inaugural Len Blum participant". Playback. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
- ^ /bent (2015-03-03). "First Look: Stephen Dunn's Sundance Series 'Pop-Up Porno'". Retrieved 2016-07-25.
- ^ "Sundance: ‘Pop-Up Porno’ Pokes Fun at Online Hook-Ups". Variety, January 22, 2015.
- ^ Daniel Reynolds, "Apple's Little America Spotlights Gay Muslims & Found Family's Power". The Advocate, January 17, 2020.
- ^ Lesley Goldberg, "'Queer as Folk' Reboot, 'One of Us Is Lying' Move to NBCUniversal's Streaming Service". The Hollywood Reporter, August 15, 2019.
- ^ Sayej, Nadja (2022-06-08). "'Queer as Folk' Cast, Showrunner Dish on the New Peacock Series: 'Queer Stories Are More Vital Than Ever'". Shondaland. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
- ^ "Exclusive: Closet Monster Movie Poster". Out, September 8, 2015.
External links
edit- Stephen Dunn at IMDb