Jamie Travis (born August 13, 1979) is a Toronto-based filmmaker who has written and directed award-winning short films, music videos and television commercials. He received international recognition for his two short film trilogies, ''The Patterns'' and ''The Saddest Children in the World''. His six short films all premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, and his work has had numerous retrospective screenings at festivals and art galleries.

Life and career

Travis’ graduating short film, ''Why the Anderson Children Didn't Come to Dinner'' (2003), is a surrealist portrayal of three young siblings forced to endure their mother's bizarre culinary abuses. The film earned numerous awards, including Best Production Design at the Leo Awards, Best Script at the Golden Sheaf Awards and Best Canadian Film at Montreal's Prends ça court! Film Series. With ''Patterns'' (2005) – a playful avant-garde send-up of the suspense genre in which a woman waits anxiously for a phone call – Travis was awarded the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

's prize for Best Western Canadian Director of a Short Film. ''Patterns'' was followed by two sequels, ''Patterns 2'' (2006) and ''Patterns 3'' (2006), which transformed the austere formalism of the first installment into a boy-meets-girl romp, complete with song, dance and documentary interludes. Other festival highlights include the BFI's London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...

, where ''Patterns 3'' took home the award for Best Short Film. A dark comedy about a nine-year-old who plans to close his birthday party with a suicide, '' The Saddest Boy in the World'' (2006) firmly planted Travis on the international map. The film was met with favorable press, with upwards of 150 festival screenings and multiple awards, including Best Canadian Short at the

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. In 2020, thei ...

, Best Short Film at the Victoria Film Festival in British Columbia, and Audience Favorite at the NexT International Short Film Festival in Bucharest. Travis concluded his Saddest Children in the World trilogy with '' The Armoire'' (2009), in which a game of hide and seek goes awry. Upon its premiere, the film received an honourable mention for Best Canadian Short Film at the

2009 Toronto International Film Festival The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 2009. The opening night gala presented the Charles Darwin biography '' Creation''. ''The Young Victoria'', based ...

, and a coveted spot on TIFF's year-end

Canada's Top Ten Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films."Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema". ''Welland Tribune'', November 23, ...

list. It has also gone on to win Best Live-Action Short at the 2010

Nashville Film Festival The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...

and Best Short Film at the 53rd

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

. Travis has also directed music videos for renowned Canadian indie artists

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...

and crafted television commercials for prominent brands and organizations. He is currently developing his feature film debut. Travis lived in Vancouver for over 25 years. He is Jewish on his father's side. He is out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

."Jamie Travis opens Montreal’s Image+Nation film fest"
''

Daily Xtra ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

'', October 20, 2009.

Filmography

*''Why the Anderson Children Didn't Come to Dinner'' (2003) *''Patterns'' (2005) *''Patterns 2'' (2006) *''Patterns 3'' (2006) *'' The Saddest Boy in the World'' (2006) *'' The Armoire'' (2009) *'' Kouchibouguac'' (2011) *'' For a Good Time, Call...'' (2012) *''

Finding Carter ''Finding Carter'' is an American teen drama television series that aired on MTV for two seasons from July 8, 2014, to December 15, 2015. The first season, which consisted of 12 episodes, finished airing in September 2014. A month after its deb ...

'' (2014) *'' Faking It'' (2014-2016) *'' Scream: The TV Series'' (2015-2016) *'' Angry Angel'' (2017) *''

The Bold Type ''The Bold Type'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Sarah Watson and produced by Universal Television for Freeform. It is inspired by the life and career of former editor-in-chief of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine Joanna Co ...

'' (2017-2019) *''

Claws A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tars ...

'' (2017-2019) *''

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

'' (2018) *''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...

'' (2018) *'' Dare Me'' (2020) *''

Panic Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety, uncertainty and frantic agitation consistent with a fight-or-flight reaction. ...

'' (2021) *'' Yellowjackets'' (2021)

Music videos

*"Back in Your Head" by

(2007) *"Hell" by

(2010)

DVD

Kimstim is releasing ''The Patterns Trilogy'' along with ''Why the Anderson Children Didn't Come to Dinner'' and ''The Saddest Boy in the World'' in one comprehensive package on August 3. ''The Armoire'' will be included in issue no. 12 of Wholphin, a quarterly DVD magazine created by

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...

and Brent Hoff of

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle. McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...

publishing house.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Jamie 1979 births Film directors from Toronto Screenwriters from Toronto Living people 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian gay writers Canadian LGBTQ screenwriters Canadian LGBTQ film directors Canadian television directors Canadian male screenwriters LGBTQ television directors Gay screenwriters 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people