{{Short description|Canadian journalist and filmmaker}} {{Infobox person | name = | image = Chandler Levack - Gillian Robespierre and Elisabeth Holm Master Class (14648556346) (cropped).jpg | caption = Levack in 2014 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|30|2017|9|13}}<ref name="Flare" /> | birth_place = | education = {{plainlist| * [[University of Toronto]] (dropped out) * [[Canadian Film Centre]]}} | occupation = Writer, director, filmmaker | years_active = 2010s–present | notable_works = ''[[I Like Movies]]'' | website = }}
'''Chandler Levack''' (born {{birth based on age as of date|30|2017|9|13|noage=yes}}) is a Canadian writer, director, and filmmaker.<ref name="Flare">Meghan Collie, [http://www.flare.com/film-2/director-chandler-levack/ "Chandler Levack on Her New TIFF Short & the Importance of Telling Trans Stories"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713195833/https://www.flare.com/film-2/director-chandler-levack/ |date=2020-07-13 }}. ''[[Flare (magazine)|Flare]]'', September 13, 2017.</ref>
Levack is best known for her work as an entertainment writer, and for her [[List of directorial debuts|feature film directorial debut]], ''[[I Like Movies]]'', which premiered in the Discovery program at the [[2022 Toronto International Film Festival]] to critical acclaim.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> She has also directed the feature films ''[[Mile End Kicks]]'' (2025) and ''[[Roommates (2026 film)|Roommates]]'' (2026).
== Early life == Levack was born in [[Toronto]] and raised in [[Brantford]], [[Ontario]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The Toronto Portraits - Chandler Levack |url=https://www.blogto.com/music/2008/04/the_toronto_portraits_-_chandler_levack/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=www.blogto.com |language=en}}</ref> In 2004, Levack returned to live in Toronto's [[Parkdale, Toronto|Parkdale neighbourhood]].<ref name=":3" />
== Career == Levack dropped out of her cinema studies courses at the [[University of Toronto]] to pursue a career as a writer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brodsky |first=Jennie Punter,Katherine |date=2022-11-22 |title=Meet Variety’s 10 Canadians to Watch Set to be Honored at the Whistler Film Festival |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/spotlight/canadians-to-watch-2022-1235440111/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Since then, she has worked as an arts and entertainment writer for publications including ''[[Toronto Life]]'', ''[[Spin (magazine)|SPIN]]'', ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', and the ''[[Toronto Star]]''.
Levack is a two-time [[Juno Award]] nominee for [[Juno Award for Video of the Year|Video of the Year]], receiving nominations alongside [[Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux]] at the [[Juno Awards of 2015]] for directing [[Pup (band)|PUP]]'s "Guilt Trip" music video,<ref>[https://ca.hellomagazine.com/music/02015012712986/juno-awards-2015-avril-lavigne-nickelback-and-kiesza-among-nominees "Juno Awards 2015: Avril Lavigne, Nickelback and Kiesza among nominees"]{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}. ''[[Hello! Canada]]'', January 28, 2015.</ref> and at the [[Juno Awards of 2016]] for directing PUP's "Dark Days" music video.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/juno-nominees-list-2016-1.3430406 "Junos 2016: Complete list of Juno Award nominees"]. [[CBC News]], February 2, 2016.</ref>
She was a [[Prism Prize]] nominee for both "Guilt Trip"<ref name="vansun">[http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2015/02/12/prism-prize-announces-top-10-best-canadian-music-videos-of-2014/ "Prism Prize announces Top 10 best Canadian music videos of 2014"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303134519/http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2015/02/12/prism-prize-announces-top-10-best-canadian-music-videos-of-2014/ |date=2016-03-03 }}. ''[[Vancouver Sun]]'', February 12, 2015.</ref> and "Dark Days",<ref name="exclaim2016">Sarah Murphy, [http://exclaim.ca/music/article/prism_prize_announces_top_20_finalists_for_2016 "Prism Prize Announces Top 20 Finalists for 2016"]. ''[[Exclaim!]]'', February 9, 2016.</ref> and has also directed music videos for [[DZ Deathrays]] and [[Jeremy Dutcher]].
[[Matthew Miller (filmmaker)|Matthew Miller]]'s production company Zapruder Films (which he co-founded with [[Matt Johnson (director)|Matt Johnson]]), launched a contest in 2016 to back a first-time female screenwriter with [[Canadian dollar|$]]12,000 in funding, story editor guidance, and script optioning; Levack and her feature film ''Anglophone'' were announced as the winner from 137 entries.<ref>Regan Reid, [https://playbackonline.ca/2016/10/04/zapruder-films-selects-women-first-screenwriting-winner/ "Zapruder Films selects Women First screenwriting winner"]. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', October 4, 2016.</ref>[[File:Gillian Robespierre and Elisabeth Holm Master Class (14648556456).jpg|thumb|222x222px|Levack moderating a talk with [[Gillian Robespierre]] in 2014]]Her debut as a narrative filmmaker, the short film ''[[We Forgot to Break Up (2017 film)|We Forgot to Break Up]]'', premiered at the [[2017 Toronto International Film Festival]],<ref>Jordan Adler, [https://www.cjnews.com/culture/we-forgot-break-up-tiff "We Forgot to Break Up premieres at TIFF"]. ''[[Canadian Jewish News]]'', September 5, 2017.</ref> and won the award for [[Whistler Film Festival ShortWork Awards|Best Canadian Short Film]] at the 2017 [[Whistler Film Festival]].<ref>Craig Takeuchi, [https://www.straight.com/movies/1003786/its-tie-best-canadian-feature-2017-whistler-film-festival "It's a tie for best Canadian feature at the 2017 Whistler Film Festival"]. ''[[The Georgia Straight]]'', December 4, 2017.</ref>
Levak later studied screenwriting at the [[Canadian Film Centre]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alumni Spotlight – IWD Edition: Chandler Levack |url=https://cfccreates.com/alumni-spotlight-iwd-edition-chandler-levack/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=Canadian Film Centre |language=en-CA}}</ref>
''[[I Like Movies]]'', Levack's [[List of directorial debuts|debut feature film]], premiered in the Discovery program at the [[2022 Toronto International Film Festival]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Kay |first=Jeremy |title=Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic leads TIFF Midnight Madness; Discovery, Wavelength sections also unveiled |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/daniel-radcliffe-as-weird-al-yankovic-leads-tiff-midnight-madness-discovery-wavelength-sections-also-unveiled/5173193.article |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Screen |language=en}}</ref> and received widespread acclaim.<ref name=":1" /> On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film [[List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes|holds an approval rating of 100%]] based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=I Like Movies |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_like_movies |access-date=May 29, 2024 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end [[Canada's Top Ten]] list for 2022.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mullen |first=Pat |date=December 8, 2022 |title=Three Feature Docs Make Canada's Top Ten |url=https://povmagazine.com/three-feature-docs-make-canadas-top-ten/ |magazine=[[Point of View (magazine)|Point of View]]}}</ref>
Levack won the [[Canadian dollar|$]]10,000 [[Royal Bank of Canada|RBC]] Emerging Artist Award at the 2022 [[Calgary International Film Festival]] for the film.<ref>Michele Jarvie, [https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/movies/calgary-international-film-festival-jury-winners-announced "Calgary International Film Festival jury winners announced"]. ''[[Calgary Herald]]'', September 27, 2022.</ref>
In 2023, Barry Hertz of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' named the film as one of the 23 best Canadian comedy films ever made.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2023-06-29 |title=The 23 best Canadian comedies ever made |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-best-canadian-comedies/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref>
In November 2023, she was announced as the director of ''[[My Dead Mom]]'', a short-form comedy series which premiered in 2024 on [[Crave (TV network)|Crave]].<ref>[https://broadcastdialogue.com/tv-film-news-165/ "TV & Film News – Chandler Levack makes TV directorial debut with Crave's ‘My Dead Mom’"]. ''Broadcast Dialogue'', November 16, 2023.</ref>
In 2024, it was announced that Levack's second feature, ''[[Mile End Kicks]]'' (retitled from ''Anglophone''), would star [[Barbie Ferreira]], [[Devon Bostick]], [[Stanley Simons]], and [[Juliette Gariépy]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |date=2024-08-29 |title=‘Euphoria’ Star Barbie Ferreira to Lead XYZ’s Rom-Com ‘Mile End Kicks’ With Devon Bostick, Stanley Simons, Juliette Gariepy (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/euphoria-barbie-ferreira-mile-end-xyz-1236123378/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> The film is based on Levack's experiences as a young female music critic.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Euphoria' Star Barbie Ferreira to Lead Montreal-Set Rom-Com 'Mile End Kicks' |url=https://exclaim.ca/film/article/euphoria-star-barbie-ferreira-mile-end-kicks-chandler-levack | author=Calum Slingerland |date=August 29, 2024 |access-date=June 26, 2025 |website=[[Exclaim!]] |language=en}}</ref> The film premiered at the [[2025 Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref>John Hazelton, [https://www.screendaily.com/news/tiff-first-wave-includes-steven-soderberghs-the-christophers-nia-dacostas-hedda/5206441.article "Toronto film festival first wave includes Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Christophers’, Nia DaCosta’s ‘Hedda’"]. ''[[Screen Daily]]'', June 26, 2025.</ref>
Her third feature film as a director was the [[Netflix]] film ''[[Roommates (2026 film)|Roommates]]'' for [[Happy Madison Productions]], which was released in April 2026.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alliance |first=Morris County Economic Development |date=June 25, 2025 |title=Adam Sandler Is Making Another Movie in NJ With His Daughter! |url=https://morriscountyalliance.org/2025/06/25/adam-sandler-is-making-another-movie-in-nj-with-his-daughter/ |access-date=December 14, 2025 |website=Morris County Economic Development Alliance |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitra |first=Soma |date=July 12, 2025 |title=What Is 'Roommates' on Netflix? Everything You Need to Know About the New Comedy Drop |url=https://www.netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-what-is-roommates-on-netflix-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-comedy-drop |access-date=December 14, 2025 |website=Netflix Junkie}}</ref>
== Filmography ==
=== Film === {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer ! Notes |- | 2017 | ''[[We Forgot to Break Up (2017 film)|We Forgot to Break Up]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Short film |- | 2022 | ''[[I Like Movies]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | [[List of directorial debuts#2022|Feature-length directorial debut]] |- | 2025 |''[[Mile End Kicks]]'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | |- | 2026 |''[[Roommates (2026 film)|Roommates]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |}
===Television=== {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer ! Notes |- | 2024 | ''[[My Dead Mom]]'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |}
==Accolades== {| class="wikitable" !Award !Year !Category !Work !Result !Refs |- |[[Calgary International Film Festival]] |2022 |[[Canadian dollar|$]]10,000 [[Royal Bank of Canada|RBC]] Emerging Artist Award |''[[I Like Movies]]'' |{{won}} | style="text-align: center;" |<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-03-23 |title=Chandler Levack resurrects the video store for coming-of-age film 'I Like Movies' |url=https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2023/03/23/chandler-levack-resurrects-the-video-store-for-coming-of-age-film-i-like-movies-6745075/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=CityNews Kitchener}}</ref> |- |[[Canadian Screen Awards]] |[[14th Canadian Screen Awards|2026]] |[[Canadian Screen Award for Best Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] | rowspan="3" |''[[Mile End Kicks]]'' |{{nom}} | style="text-align: center;" |<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Aviva |title=2026 Canadian Screen Awards Nominations |url=https://www.dgc.ca/en/ontario/news/2026-canadian-screen-awards-nominations |access-date=2026-05-19 |website=www.dgc.ca |language=en}}</ref> |- |[[Palm Springs International Film Festival]] |[[37th Palm Springs International Film Festival|2026]] |Variety's 10 Directors to Watch |{{honored}} | |- |[[Whistler Film Festival]] |2025 |Best Screenplay in a [[Borsos Competition]] Film |{{won}} | style="text-align: center;" |<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |date=2025-12-07 |title=‘Akashi’ Sweeps Awards at Whistler Film Festival |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/akashi-sweeps-awards-whistler-film-fest-1236444107/ |access-date=2026-05-19 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> |- | rowspan="4" |[[Vancouver Film Critics Circle]] | rowspan="2" |[[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2022|2023]] |Best Canadian Film | rowspan="2" |''[[I Like Movies]]'' |{{won}} | rowspan="2" |<ref name="auto">[https://www.northernstars.ca/vancouver-film-critics-like-i-like-movies/ "Vancouver Film Critics Like I Like Movies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215051520/https://www.northernstars.ca/vancouver-film-critics-like-i-like-movies/ |date=2023-02-15 }}. ''Northern Stars'', February 14, 2023.</ref> |- |Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film |{{won}} |- | rowspan="2" |[[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2025|2026]] |[[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director of a Canadian Film|Best Director of a Canadian Film]] | rowspan="2" |''[[Mile End Kicks]]'' |{{nominated}} | rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Tracy |first=Andrew |title=Mile End Kicks, ‘Nirvanna’ lead noms for Vancouver critics’ awards |url=https://playbackonline.ca/2026/01/21/mile-end-kicks-nirvanna-lead-noms-for-vancouver-critics-awards/ |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref> |- |[[Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film|Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film]] |{{nominated}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|5576953}} {{Chandler Levack}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Levack, Chandler}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian journalists]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian screenwriters]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian women journalists]] [[Category:Canadian Film Centre alumni]] [[Category:Canadian film critics]] [[Category:Canadian music video directors]] [[Category:Canadian television directors]] [[Category:Canadian women film critics]] [[Category:Canadian women film directors]] [[Category:Canadian women journalists]] [[Category:Canadian women screenwriters]] [[Category:Canadian women television directors]] [[Category:Film directors from Toronto]] [[Category:Journalists from Toronto]] [[Category:Screenwriters from Toronto]] [[Category:Web series directors]] [[Category:Writers from Brantford]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]