Nadia Litz
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Nadia Litz (born December 26, 1976) is a Canadian actress and director.


Early life

Litz was born in
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
. A former
child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...
, she has described herself as somewhat ambitious. She is of
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
, Polish and British descent. She took an interest in films at the age of 6, and started living in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
at 17 to attend
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, ...
, but left to film '' The Five Senses''. She also joined the 2,500 hopefuls who auditioned for the title role in the 1997 film version of ''
Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...
'', which went to Dominique Swain. She returned to York University to take film studies.


Film career

Litz would go on to achieve a long acting resume, although she often received no money for her parts and instead chose projects she liked. In 1998 and 1999 she appeared in episodes of the Canadian television series ''
Due South ''Due South'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama television series created by Paul Haggis, and produced by Alliance Communications from its premiere on April 23, 1994, to its conclusion after four seasons on March 14, 1999. The series starred P ...
'' and ''
Wind at My Back ''Wind at My Back'' is a television series which aired in Canada on CBC Television between 1996 and 2001. It was created and produced by Kevin Sullivan (producer), Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of ''Anne of Green Gables (1985 film ...
''. She starred in Jeremy Podeswa's ''The Five Senses'' that screened at The Director's Fortnight in Cannes. She later received the title role in the
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
'' Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl'' (2002) by
Brad Peyton Brad Peyton (born May 27, 1978) is a Canadian filmmaker, best known for directing the Dwayne Johnson star vehicles '' Journey 2: The Mysterious Island'' (2012), '' San Andreas'' (2015), and '' Rampage'' (2018) as well as the Netflix series '' Day ...
. That year, she also appeared in the
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
''
Salem Witch Trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...
'' as Mary Walcott (here called May Walcott), and has starred in films such as '' Rhinoceros Eyes'' (2003), '' Love That Boy'', and '' Monkey Warfare'' (2006) for which she won a Vancouver Critics Award and '' You Are Here'' (2011). Her honours have included being named by ''
Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...
'' magazine as "25 People Under 25 To Watch" for ''The Five Senses'', and being nominated for a
Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...
for acting in the television miniseries '' After the Harvest''. While studying film theory, Litz briefly considered
law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...
as a "fallback career possibility," although the law degree would be used for film production and not to leave the film business. She explained to the press that "I work, but I work in independent films. There have been a few years that I have made a living and a few years that I haven't. It's a struggle for anyone trying to have a full-time career in film in Canada. Or anywhere." Litz's graduating year she wrote, directed, shot and edited her first short film, on super 8 film called Remembering The Only Time I Tried To Stop My Heart From Failing (and Failed). In 2009 she attended the prestigious
Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
Talent Campus and studied under
Janusz Kamiński Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and director. He established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer of all of his films since 1993, winning one Academy Award for Best Cine ...
and
Tilda Swinton Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...
who were guest moderators. Later that year, she was accepted as a Director-in-Residence to
Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical Social issue, social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects acces ...
's sought after program at the Canadian Film Center. There she directed the successful short film called How To Rid Your Lover Of A Negative Emotion Caused By You! which made its world debut 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 ...
in September 2010, described by The Style Notebook as "one of the best films at TIFF this year!" Litz also directed the 2016 movie '' The People Garden'' which starred Dree Hemingway,
Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress, model and media personality. She rose to prominence after being selected as the February 1990 ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month. She went on to make regular appearan ...
and François Arnaud.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Litz, Nadia 1976 births Actresses from Winnipeg Canadian film actresses Canadian people of British descent Canadian people of Polish descent Canadian people of Russian descent Canadian television actresses Living people 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Canadian Film Centre alumni