Carl Bessai (born 1966 in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

) is a Canadian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. Bessai studied at

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD U, is a public university, public art school, art university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its main campus is located within Toronto's Grange Park (neighbourh ...

and at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

in Toronto graduating with a Master of Fine Arts Degree. He got his start directing

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

s before moving to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and directing his debut feature film '' Johnny'' in 1999. Bessai was nominated for the Genie Award for Best Director at the 29th Genie Awards for his 2007 film '' Normal'', which was also a nominee for Best Motion Picture."Victoria-shot film up for Genies; Normal, directed by Carl Bessai, depicts fallout from accident". '' Victoria Times-Colonist'', February 11, 2009. He is a member of the Directors Guild of Canada, the Writers Guild of Canada, and the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association.

Selected filmography

*'' Johnny'' (1999) *''Lola'' (2001) *'' Emile'' (2003) *'' Severed: Forest of the Dead'' (2005) *'' Unnatural & Accidental'' (2006) *'' Normal'' (2007) *'' Mothers & Daughters'' (2008) *'' Cole'' (2009) *'' Repeaters'' (2010) *'' Fathers & Sons'' (2010) *'' Sisters & Brothers'' (2011) *'' No Clue'' (2013) *'' Rehearsal'' (2015) *'' The Lears'' (2017) *''In Her City'' (2020) *''Evelyne'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessai, Carl 1966 births Living people Canadian cinematographers Film producers from Alberta Canadian male screenwriters Film directors from Edmonton Writers from Edmonton 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Screenwriters from Alberta