Alison McAlpine

Last updated
Alison McAlpine
Alisonmcalpine2018.jpg
McAlpine at SANFIC 2018
Occupationsfilm director, screenwriter
Years active2000s-present
Notable work Cielo (film)

Alison McAlpine is a Canadian filmmaker and writer living in Montreal, Quebec, best known for her films CIELO [1] and perfectly a strangeness . [2]

Contents

Career

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, she began her career as a poet, playwright and theatre director.

She moved into filmmaking with her first film Second Sight , a cinematic non-fiction ghost story. Second Sight was presented at more than 35 international film festivals, winning the Special Jury Mention at Slamdance 2009. [3] The BBC also commissioned her to make two versions of Second Sight: An Da Shealladh for BBC Alba (2005) [4] and Ghostman of Skye (2009) for the series Wonderland on BBC2. [5]

CIELO , McAlpine’s first feature documentary, premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2017. [6] The film is about the myths, stories, existential queries and beauty of the night sky as experienced in the Atacama Desert and was released in its final version in 2018. The film has been presented in over 400 international film festivals and cinemas, as well as winning several awards. [7] , [8] Named as “One of the 10 best documentaries of 2018” by Esquire and “The best films of 2018…that you didn’t see” by The Guardian, Cielo has also been critically acclaimed by Variety , The Village Voice , The Globe and Mail , and Le Devoir . [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13]

perfectly a strangeness , McAlpine’s first short film, had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Official Competition 2024, [14] , [15] its North American Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival [16] , [17] and has since travelled to over 70 international film festivals, playing in 27 countries and winning 19 awards. Notably, it was named to TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2024 and received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Short Documentary at the 13th Canadian Screen Awards in 2025. [18] , [19] “One of the most cinematic documentaries of the year”, according to Deadline Hollywood writer Matthew Carey, [20] perfectly a strangeness has been shortlisted by the 2026 Academy Awards for Best Short Documentary Film [21] , and nominated by the 2026 Cinema Eye Honors for Best Nonfiction Short Film of 2026.

A 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, McAlpine has taught filmmaking at several universities. She was the Mordecai Richler Writer/Filmmaker in Residence at McGill University [22] and has offered masterclasses at the Scottish Documentary Institute in Edinburgh, [23] among other institutions. She is currently working on several new films and writings. [24]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

YearOrganizationCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2018 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Documentary Cielo Nominated [25]
Byron Bay International Film Festival Best CinematographyWon
Best DocumentaryNominated
Best FilmNominated
Salem Film Fest Award for CinematographyWon
Banff Mountain Film CompetitionAward for Creative ExcellenceWon
Santiago International Film Festival Kinêma AwardWon
2019Trento Film FestivalAudience AwardWon
Bilbao Mendi Film FestivalBest CinematographyWon
Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma Most Successful Film Outside Quebec Nominated
Best Cinematography in a DocumentaryNominated
Best DocumentaryNominated
Best Sound in a DocumentaryNominated
Ulju Mountain Film FestivalGrand PrizeNominated
2024 Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo Documentary Short Film 2024 perfectly a strangeness Won [26]
Festival du nouveau cinéma National Competition Grand PrizeWon [27]
Science New Wave FestivalTheme-Sensitive AwardWon [26]
Thess International Short Film FestivalCinematic Achievement AwardWon
FIEVBest Quebec Short Film-Jury PrizeWon
2025 Academy Awards Best Documentary Short FilmPending [28]
Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short Oscar QualifyingWon [29]
Cinema Eye Honors Nonfiction Short FilmNominated [26]
IDA Documentary Awards Best Short Documentary Special MentionWon
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival The John Franklin Humanities Institute AwardWon
Toronto International Film Festival Canada's Top Ten Won [30]
Trento Film FestivalSilver Gentian, Best Artistic Technical ContributionWon [26]
i-Fest International Film FestivalBest Direction ShortWon
Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma Best Short FilmWon
Nevada City Film FestivalBest CinematographyWon
Tramway Film FestivalBest Film, Cine Sinn FineWon
Athens International Film + Video FestivalFrom the Booth AwardWon
Festival Internacional de Cine de Medio Ambiente de CanariasBest Short Documentary FilmWon
Planet in Focus Best Canadian Short AwardWon
Miami Short Film Festival Best Experimental FilmWon
2026 Canadian Screen Awards Best Short Documentary Film Nominated [31]

References

  1. ↑ Kate Erbland, "‘Cielo’ Trailer: Awe-Inspiring NYFF Documentary Premiere Reaches for the Heavens — Watch". IndieWire , September 21, 2017.
  2. ↑ Rachel Ho, "Alison McAlpine Finds the Humanity in Donkeys and Telescopes". Point of View , September 5, 2024.
  3. ↑ Jones, Michael (2009-01-24). "Slamdance winners announced". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  4. ↑ "An Dà Shealladh". BBC Alba. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  5. ↑ Sharp, Rob (2009-11-09). "The Weekend's Television: Wonderland, Sat, BBC2
    Garrow's Law: Tales from The Old Bailey, Sun, BBC1"    . The Independent. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  6. ↑ Erbland, Kate (2017-09-21). "'Cielo' Trailer: Awe-Inspiring NYFF Documentary Premiere Reaches for the Heavens — Watch". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  7. ↑ "Astronomy Doc Wins AC Magazine Award at Salem Film Fest 2018". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  8. ↑ "Documental "Cielo" gana premio Kinema 2018". www.cultura.gob.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  9. ↑ Schager, Nick (2018-12-19). "The Best Documentaries of 2018". Esquire. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  10. ↑ "The best films of 2018 … that you didn't see". the Guardian. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  11. ↑ Schager, Nick (2018-08-09). "Film Review: 'Cielo'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  12. ↑ Hoffman, Jordan (2018-08-15). "The Eye-Popping "Cielo" Invites You to a Party in the Sky". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  13. ↑ Lavoie, André (2018-08-10). ""Cielo": le murmure des étoiles". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  14. ↑ Howell, Peter (2024-05-16). "Cronenberg's latest and a buzzy new film about a young Trump: Canadians are in the conversation at the Cannes Film Festival". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  15. ↑ "Little earthquakes abound in the Cannes Short Film Competition". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  16. ↑ Prince, C. J. (2024-09-02). "11 Must-See Short Films at TIFF 2024" . Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  17. ↑ Pond, Steve (2024-08-09). "TIFF 2024 to Spotlight TV Shows From Alfonso Cuarón, Thomas Vinterberg and Janicza Bravo". TheWrap. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  18. ↑ Diaz, Carlos (2025-01-08). "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten: Celebrating the Best in Cinema for 2024". That Shelf. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  19. ↑ Mullen, Pat (2025-03-26). "The Tragically Hip, Okurimono Lead Canadian Screen Award Documentary Nominees". POV Magazine. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  20. ↑ Carey, Matthew (2025-12-11). "Oscar-Contending Short 'Perfectly A Strangeness' Takes Audience To Desert Terrain Of Donkeys And Cosmic Observatories". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  21. ↑ "98TH OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN 12 AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED". Oscars.com. 2025-12-16. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  22. ↑ "Past Writers-in-Residence". McGill.com. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  23. ↑ "Documentary Masterclass – Alison McAlpine". McGill.com. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  24. ↑ "Alison McAlpine". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  25. ↑ "Cielo (2017) - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "Awards". perfectlyastrangeness.com. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  27. ↑ "Le FNC dévoile son palmarès". CTVM, October 21, 2024.
  28. ↑ "The 98th Academy Awards | 2026". Oscars. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  29. ↑ "Le FNC dévoile son palmarès". CTVM, October 21, 2024.
  30. ↑ Carlos Diaz, "Canada’s Top Ten: TIFF Celebrates the Best in Cinema for 2024". That Shelf, January 8, 2025.
  31. ↑ Pat Mullen, "The Tragically Hip, Okurimono Lead Canadian Screen Award Documentary Nominees". Point of View , March 26, 2025.
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