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Andrew Cividino

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Andrew Cividino
Born
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2007–present
Known forSleeping Giant, Schitt's Creek

Andrew Cividino (born 1983) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.[1] He is best known for his feature film directorial debut Sleeping Giant, which premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival,[1] and for his frequent work as a director on the Emmy winning comedy Schitt's Creek, for which he won a Primetime Emmy at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.[2]

He is a partner with Karen Harnisch in the production company Film Forge.[3]

Early life

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Originally from Dundas, Ontario,[4] Cividino frequently spent childhood summers in the Sibley Peninsula region near Thunder Bay.[5]

Career

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After studying film at Ryerson University, Cividino made several short films, including Norbert (2007), We Ate the Children Last (2011) and Yellow Fish (2012).[1][6] In 2006, he won the Ontario Film Review Board's student film competition.[7]

In 2011, Telefilm included him on its annual Talent to Watch panel, and his short We Ate the Children Last made TIFF's Top 10 Shorts list.[7]

Sleeping Giant

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Main article: Sleeping Giant (film)

When all of the funding fell through for his feature film directorial debut, Sleeping Giant, Cividino proceeded with a pared down short film version, which was released in 2014.[1] The short went on to win an award at the Locarno International Film Festival,[1] and received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards, in turn enabling Cividino to secure new funding.[8]

The feature version of Sleeping Giant premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015.[1] It later screened at the Munich Film Festival, where it won the CineVision Award for Best Film By An Emerging Director, and at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival,[9] where it won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film.[10] At the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival, Sleeping Giant won the juried Best Canadian Film Award.[11]

At the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016, Cividino was a nominee for Best Director for Sleeping Giant, which also garnered three other nominations including Best Picture, though it did not win; Cividino lost the Best Director award to Lenny Abrahamson for Room.[12]

Schitt's Creek

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In 2017 Cividino directed an episode of Schitt's Creek titled "Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose", alongside co-director Dan Levy. The following year he co-directed the season finale "Life is a Cabaret" with Levy. In the show's final season, Cividino directed seven episodes of the show,[13] including the series finale "Happy Ending", which he co-directed with Levy, and for which they won a Primetime Emmy. The show received a total of 15 Emmy nominations in its final season, including for Outstanding Comedy Series.[14]

Awards and recognition

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In 2016, the Toronto International Film Festival announced they had selected Cividino as their annual Len Blum resident, where he will develop his short film We Ate the Children Last into a feature film.[15]

Cividino has since participated in Berlinale Talents and was selected as one of eleven filmmakers to participate in the prestigious Sundance Institute's FilmTwo Program.[16] He is a recurring director on Schitt's Creek, and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction in a Comedy Series for the Christmas special "Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose" alongside co-director Dan Levy.[17]

In July 2020, Cividino and co-director Dan Levy were nominated for achievement in direction at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, and won at the ceremony that took place on September 20, 2020.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Big buzz at Cannes for Canadian auteur's coming-of-age yarn". Montreal Gazette, May 22, 2015.
  2. ^ "Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series Nominees / Winners 2020". Television Academy. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  3. ^ Barry Hertz, "The 22 most influential people in Canadian film". The Globe and Mail, April 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "First-time teen actors bring naturalness to Ontario-set Sleeping Giant". The Globe and Mail, May 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Sleeping Giant film from Thunder Bay, Ont. director debuts at Cannes Critic's Week". CBC News, May 15, 2015.
  6. ^ "Bold Canadian shorts pack big punch". Toronto Star September 9, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Schneller, Johanna (7 April 2016). "Director Andrew Cividino navigates Canadian system to find success". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  8. ^ "'Sleeping Giant' review: Stunning debut a towering achievement". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  9. ^ "Altered worlds on TIFF's Canuck slate". Toronto Star, August 6, 2015.
  10. ^ "Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  11. ^ "VIFF Announces BC Spotlight and Canadian Images Awards" (Press release). Vancouver International Film Festival. 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  12. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards - Academy". www.academy.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  13. ^ "Andrew Cividino". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  14. ^ a b "Schitt's Creek". Television Academy. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  15. ^ Erbland, Kate (August 3, 2016). "TIFF Adds New Round of Titles, Including 'It's Only the End of the World,' 'Mean Dreams' and More". IndieWire.
  16. ^ Dominic Patten (March 1, 2017). "'Straight Outta Compton' Scribe & 'Dope' Director Among Advisors To Sundance's 2017 FilmTwo Recipients". Deadline Hollywood.
  17. ^ Kelly Townsend, "CSAs ’19: Anne, Schitt’s Creek, Cardinal lead TV nominations". Playback, February 7, 2019.
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