Michaela Kurimsky

Last updated

Michaela Kurimsky
Michaela Kurimsky (face) at The 2018 CFC Annual BBQ Fundraiser (29661973467) (cropped).jpg
Kurimsky in 2018
Born (1992-08-03) August 3, 1992 (age 30)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupations
  • Actress
  • filmmaker
Years active2014–present

Michaela Kurimsky (born August 3, 1992) is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for starring in Jasmin Mozaffari's debut feature film, Firecrackers , which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. For her work on the film, Kurimsky received critical acclaim and won the award for Best Actress at the Stockholm International Film Festival.

Contents

Early life

Kurimsky was born and raised in Canada and studied acting, writing, and film before deciding to pursue a career as an actress. She graduated from Ryerson University with a BFA in film studies. [1]

Career

In 2014, Kurimsky wrote and directed a short film called Alouette. [2] After that, she worked various jobs both in front of and behind the camera. She worked primarily as a production designer. [3]

In 2018, Kurimsky made her feature film acting debut opposite Karena Evans in Jasmin Mozaffari's debut feature film, Firecrackers , which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. [4] That year, Kurimsky was also named one of the festival's annual "Rising Stars". [1] The film and Kurimsky's performance were critically acclaimed. The Los Angeles Times called her performance "astounding", [5] while NOW Magazine dubbed her "magnetic." [3]

For her work in Firecrackers, Kurimsky received several accolades. She won Best Actress at the Stockholm International Film Festival, "for a "dangerous, sensitive, explosive, strong, intelligent, unpredictable, creative and complex" performance." [6] She was also nominated for the Best Actress in a Canadian Film award by the Vancouver Film Critics Circle. [7]

She subsequently starred as Mona Blackmore in A Fire in the Cold Season , a drama directed by Justin Oakey. The film screened at the Atlantic Film Festival and the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival.

Kurimsky starred opposite Deragh Campbell in Hannah Cheeseman's short film, Succor, which was an official selection for the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. [8]

Filmography

As an actress

Short films

  • Set No Path (2013)
  • Sequela (2015)
  • Blind Arcade (2017)
  • Succor (2020)
  • Menace (2022)

Feature films

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto International Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Toronto, Canada

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, located in Downtown Toronto. TIFF's mission is "to transform the way people see the world through film".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Polley</span> Canadian actress, film director and screenwriter

Sarah Ellen Polley is a Canadian filmmaker, political activist and retired actress. She first garnered attention as a child actress for her role as Ramona Quimby in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. This subsequently led to her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996). She has starred in many feature films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Guinevere (1999), Go (1999), The Weight of Water (2000), No Such Thing (2001), My Life Without Me (2003), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Splice (2009), and Mr. Nobody (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Boland</span> Canadian actress

Katie Boland is a Canadian actress, writer, director, and producer. She began her career as a child actress in film and television and has since branched out into adult roles, in addition to writing, directing, and producing her own projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Hampshire</span> Canadian actress

Emily Hampshire is a Canadian actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl, Vivienne in the 2006 film Snow Cake, Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series 12 Monkeys (2015–2018), and Stevie Budd in the CBC comedy series Schitt's Creek (2015–2020), as well as the voice role of Misery in the YTV animated series Ruby Gloom (2006–2008). Hampshire has held leading roles in the series Chapelwaite (2021–present) and The Rig (2023–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alicia Vikander</span> Swedish actress

Alicia Amanda Vikander is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloe Rose</span> Canadian actress (b. 1994)

Chloe Rose is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence when she portrayed Katie Matlin in the long-running teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, from 2011 to 2013. Following her time on Degrassi, Rose starred in the web series Teenagers (2014–2017), earning several award nominations for her performance as the lead protagonist, Bree. Rose has also starred in feature films such as Anita Doron's The Lesser Blessed (2012), Bruce McDonald's Hellions (2015), and Adam MacDonald's Pyewacket (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Cheesman</span> Canadian actress, writer, director, producer

Hannah Cheesman is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. As a performer, Cheesman is known for portraying Lieutenant Commander Airiam in the second season of the CBS television series Star Trek: Discovery. As a filmmaker, Cheesman has written and directed the short film Succor, starring Deragh Campbell and Michaela Kurimsky, which premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. She won several accolades for her performance and work writing and producing the web series Whatever, Linda in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouna Traoré</span> Canadian actor, filmmaker (active 2009-)

Mouna Traoré is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for her performances in a variety of television series, such as Global TV's Rookie Blue (2012), CBC's Murdoch Mysteries (2015–2018), and Netflix's The Umbrella Academy (2020). Her film work includes the 2017 films The Drop In, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Brown Girl Begins, directed by Sharon Lewis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Sarah Stone</span> Canadian actress (born 1997)

Julia Sarah Stone is a Canadian actress. She began studying theater at the age of six, and appeared in a number of school plays over the following years. After booking a small part in an independent short film in 2009, she won her breakthrough role in the 2011 feature The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom, for which she received a Young Artist Award. Afterward, Stone was subsequently cast in the pilot episode of the CW series Emily Owens, M.D.; the third season of AMC's The Killing; and a number of Canadian-produced independent films.

Karena Evans is a Canadian director and actress. She garnered recognition for directing the music videos for Drake's 2018 Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles, "God's Plan", "Nice for What", and "In My Feelings". Evans won the 2018 Much Music Video Award for Best Director and became the first woman to receive the Prism Prize's Lipsett Award for music video direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Toronto International Film Festival</span> 2018 film festival

The 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 6 to 16, 2018. In June 2018, the TIFF organizers announced a program to ensure that at least 20 percent of all film critics and journalists given press accreditation to the festival were members of underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color. The People's Choice Award was won by Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly.

<i>Firecrackers</i> (film) 2018 Canadian film

Firecrackers is a 2018 Canadian drama film written and directed by Jasmin Mozaffari. An expansion of Mozaffari's 2013 short film of the same name, the film stars Michaela Kurimsky and Karena Evans as two teenage girls trying to escape their small town.

The nominations for the 19th Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2018, were announced on December 12, 2018. The Favourite led with six nominations.

Jasmin Mozaffari is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Director at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019 for her debut feature film Firecrackers.

<i>Antigone</i> (2019 film) 2019 film

Antigone is a 2019 Canadian drama film directed by Sophie Deraspe. An adaptation of the ancient Greek play Antigone by Sophocles, the film transposes the story to a modern-day refugee family in Montreal. The cast includes Nahéma Ricci as Antigone, with Rawad El-Zein, Hakim Brahimi, Rachida Oussaada, and Nour Belkhiria. It was filmed in Greater Montreal in 2018.

<i>Anne at 13,000 Ft.</i> 2019 Canadian film

Anne at 13,000 Ft. is a 2019 Canadian drama film. Directed and written by Kazik Radwanski, the film stars Deragh Campbell as Anne, a shy, socially awkward daycare worker whose attitude to her life and work is radically transformed after she skydives for the first time. It premiered in the Platform Prize program at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, and received an honourable mention from the Platform Prize jury. In December 2019, the film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list. After premiering on the festival circuit in 2019, the film's 2020 theatrical release was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deragh Campbell</span> Canadian actress

Deragh Campbell is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for her acclaimed performances in independent Canadian cinema. Her collaborations with filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz—Never Eat Alone (2016), Veslemøy's Song (2018), MS Slavic 7 (2019), and Point and Line to Plane (2020)—have screened at film festivals internationally. She has also featured in two of Kazik Radwanski's films, How Heavy This Hammer (2015) and Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019), both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>Violation</i> (film) 2020 horror film

Violation is a 2020 Canadian horror drama film directed and written by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli. It is the feature film debut of the two directors, who have collaborated on several short films displayed at film festivals worldwide. The film stars Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe, Obi Abili, Jasmin Geljo, and Cynthia Ashperger.

The 29th Stockholm International Film Festival took place on 7–18 November 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rising Stars 2018". TIFF. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  2. "Preview: Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival 2014". Hye's Musings. September 24, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Edwards, Samantha (March 26, 2019). "Review: Firecrackers beautifully captures the realities of living in rural Canada". NOW Magazine. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  4. "Interview: The director and star of Firecrackers blaze onto our screens". Seventh Row. April 4, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  5. "Review: Canadian drama 'Firecrackers' marks the daring arrival of new talent". Los Angeles Times. July 11, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  6. Keslassy, Elsa (November 16, 2018). "'Firecrackers,' 'Skate Kitchen' Win Top Awards at Female-Centric Stockholm Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  7. "2019 Nominees Announced". December 14, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  8. Desk, TV News. "Hannah Cheesman and Aiken Heart Film's SUCCOR Bows at TIFF20". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved September 3, 2020.