{{Short description|Canadian actress, film director and screenwriter}} {{Infobox person | name = Ingrid Veninger | image = Ingrid Veninger 2013 (10042181223) (cropped).jpg | image_size = 200px | caption = Veninger in 2013 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|8|21}} | birth_place = [[Bratislava]], [[Czechoslovakia]] | occupation = Actress, director, writer, producer | spouse = [[John Switzer]] | years_active = 1980s–present }}
'''Ingrid Veninger''' (born August 21, 1968) is a Canadian actress, writer, director, producer, and [[film professor]] at [[York University]].<ref name="cma.ampd.yorku.ca">{{Cite web|url=http://cma.ampd.yorku.ca/profile/ingrid-veninger/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921055738/http://cma.ampd.yorku.ca/profile/ingrid-veninger/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-09-21|title=Ingrid Veninger : Cinema & Media Arts|website=cma.ampd.yorku.ca|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-21}}</ref> Veninger began her career in show business as a [[child actor]] in commercials and on television; as a teen, she was featured in the [[CBC Television|CBC]] series ''[[Airwaves (TV series)|Airwaves]]'' (1986–1987) and the [[CBS]] series ''[[Friday the 13th: The Series]]'' (1987–1990). In the 1990s, she branched out into producing, and, in 2003, she founded her own [[production company]], pUNK Films, through which she began to work on her own projects as a writer and director.<ref name=":2" />
Veninger's [[List of directorial debuts|directorial debut]] came in 2008, with the release of her [[Low budget film|low-budget feature film]], titled ''Only'', which cost [[Canadian dollar|$]]20,000 to produce.<ref name=":1" /> She has written and directed six features films—''Only'' (2008), ''[[Modra (film)|Modra]]'' (2010), ''[[i am a good person/i am a bad person]]'' (2011), ''[[The Animal Project]]'' (2013), ''[[He Hated Pigeons]]'' (2015), and ''[[Porcupine Lake]]'' (2017)''—''all of which have screened at film festivals around the world.<ref name=":3" />
In 2011, she won the [[Toronto Film Critics Association]]'s [[Jay Scott Prize]] for an emerging artist.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://torontofilmcritics.com/awards/stella-artois-jay-scott-prize/|title=Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize - Toronto Film Critics Association|work=Toronto Film Critics Association|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-US}}</ref> In 2013, she won an EDA Award from the [[Alliance of Women Film Journalists]] at the [[Whistler Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2013/12/09/blog-women-in-film-steal-the-show-at-whistler-awards/|title=Blog: Women in film steal the show at Whistler awards|access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref> ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' has dubbed Veninger "The DIY Queen of Canadian Filmmaking".<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|title=Ingrid Veninger: the DIY queen of Canadian filmmaking|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/ingrid-veninger-the-diy-queen-of-canadian-filmmaking/article565956/|access-date=2016-04-25|website=The Globe and Mail|date=12 February 2011 |last1=Lacey |first1=Liam }}</ref>
== Early life == Veninger was born in [[Bratislava]], before immigrating to [[Canada]] in the 1970s with her parents. Veninger got her start in show business in an advertisement for [[Bell Canada]] with [[Megan Follows]] at age 11.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vancouversun.com/touch/filmmaker+ingrid+veninger/5514214/story.html?rel=5515451|title=Filmmaker profile: Ingrid Veninger|website=vancouversun.com|access-date=2016-04-25|archive-date=2018-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223051531/http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/filmmaker+ingrid+veninger/5514214/story.html?rel=5515451|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Career ==
=== 1980s–1990s === As a teen actress, Veninger appeared in a number of films and television series, including the [[CBC Television|CBC]] comedy-drama series ''[[Airwaves (TV series)|Airwaves]]'' (1986–1987) and the popular horror series ''[[Friday the 13th: The Series]]'' (1987–1990).
In 1989, at the age of 21, Veninger branched out into producing by optioning the rights to [[Margaret Atwood]]'s novel ''[[Cat's Eye (novel)|Cat’s Eye]]''. She also worked as an [[assistant director]] on [[Atom Egoyan]]'s ''[[The Adjuster]]'' (1991) and produced [[Jeremy Podeswa]]’s [[Gemini Awards|Gemini]]-nominated music documentary ''Standards'' (1992), and [[Peter Mettler]]'s [[Aurora|northern lights]] documentary ''[[Picture of Light]]'' (1994).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ingrid-veninger/|title=Ingrid Veninger|last=Nayman|first=Adam|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref> As an actress, she has worked with [[Meryl Streep]], [[Holly Hunter]], [[Jackie Burroughs]], among others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cfccreates.com/alumni/962|title=Ingrid Veninger|website=cfccreates.com|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref>
=== 2000s === In 2000, after working for most of the 1990s as an actress (including a recurring role on the Canadian action series ''[[La Femme Nikita (TV series)|La Femme Nikita]]''), Veninger attended the [[Canadian Film Centre]], where she produced fellow student [[Julia Kwan]]’s award-winning short film, ''Three Sisters on Moon Lake'' (2001), which played at [[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]] and the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] (TIFF).<ref name=":0" />
In 2001, Veninger co-starred in the film ''On Her Knees'' with [[Anais Granofsky]], who also directed. Both her and Granofsky appear in a full-frontal nude scene in the film. Veninger's [[vulva]] and [[pubic hair]] are visible in this scene.
In 2002, Veninger collaborated with Atom Egoyan and Peter Mettler, among others, on the [[Genie Awards|Genie Award]] winning film, ''[[Gambling, Gods and LSD]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nfb.ca/film/gambling_gods_and_lsd/|title=Gambling, Gods and LSD|last=Canada|first=National Film Board of|website=NFB.ca|access-date=2016-04-25|archive-date=2016-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630063236/https://www.nfb.ca/film/gambling_gods_and_lsd/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2003, Veninger founded her production company, pUNK Films, and began to work on her own projects as a writer and director.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.punkfilms.ca|title=pUNK FILMS|website=www.punkfilms.ca|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref>
She is a frequent collaborator of Canadian filmmaker and actor [[Charles Officer]], having worked on numerous projects with him, including the short film ''Urda/Bone'', which screened at the [[New York Film Festival]] in 2003 and ''[[Nurse.Fighter.Boy]]'' (2008) which premiered at the [[2008 Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/only-ingrid-veninger|title=Only Ingrid Veninger – Point of View Magazine|website=povmagazine.com|date=September 2008 |access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref> The short film was later picked up for [[Film distribution|distribution]] by [[Mongrel Media]].<ref name=":0" />
Veninger's [[List of directorial debuts|directorial debut]] came in 2008, with the release of her low-budget indie film title ''Only'', which screened at a number of local film festivals and cost only [[Canadian dollar|$]]20,000 to produce. Her young son, Jacob starred at the film's protagonist and Veninger appeared in a supporting role as his mother.<ref name=":1" />
=== 2010s–present === Her second film, ''[[Modra (film)|Modra]]'', which is about returning to the Bratislava region and her home town of [[Modra]], was produced in 2010, starring her daughter Hallie Switzer. MODRA was named by [[Toronto International Film Festival|TIFF]]'s [[Canada's Top Ten]] as one of the ten best Canadian films of 2010. Upon its release, ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' dubbed Veninger "The DIY Queen of Canadian filmmaking".<ref name=":4" />
Her third film ''[[i am a good person/i am a bad person]]'' (2011) was screened at the [[2011 Toronto International Film Festival]] and prompted the [[Toronto Film Critics Association]] to award her the [[Jay Scott Prize]] for an emerging artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macleans.ca/authors/brian-d-johnson/toronto-critics-love-monsieur-lazhar/|title=Toronto critics love 'Monsieur Lazhar'|first=Brian D.|last=Johnson|date=11 January 2012|work=Maclean's|access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://torontofilmcritics.com/awards/stella-artois-jay-scott-prize/|title=Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize|website=Toronto Film Critics Association|date=30 May 2014 |access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref>
Her fourth film ''[[The Animal Project]]'' (2013) screened at numerous festivals, including in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the [[2013 Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name="TIFF">{{cite web |url=http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/festival/2013/animalproject |title=The Animal Project |access-date=2013-08-17 |work=TIFF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817032607/http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/festival/2013/animalproject |archive-date=2013-08-17 }}</ref><ref name="Indiewire">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/toronto-adds-75-titles-to-2013-edition-james-franco-alex-gibney-hayao-miyazaki-sean-durkin-and-kevin-macdonald-among-them?page=2 |title=Toronto Adds 75+ Titles To 2013 Edition |access-date=2013-08-17 |work=Indiewire|date=13 August 2013 }}</ref> The film received mostly positive reviews, with Norm Wilner of [[Now (newspaper)|''NOW Magazine'']] writing that "the reigning queen of lo-fi Canadian cinema has upped her game without abandoning any of her characteristic whimsy". ''[[The Torontoist]]'' dubbed Veninger the "godmother of Toronto’s D.I.Y. filmmaking scene".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://torontoist.com/2013/09/the-animal-project/|title=Animal Project, The {{!}} NoIndex {{!}} Torontoist|last=Torontoist|website=Torontoist|date=2 September 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref> The film is currently available for purchase on [[Vimeo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/ondemand/theanimalproject|title=Watch The Animal Project Online {{!}} Vimeo On Demand|website=Vimeo|date=21 February 2014 |access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref>
In 2013, as she accepted an EDA Award from the [[Alliance of Women Film Journalists]] for ''The Animal Project'' at the [[Whistler Film Festival]], Veninger asked the audience for help funding the Femmes Lab, a workshop she was spearheading to produce 6 female-directed feature films for $6,000. She said the $6,000 investment would not only fund six screenplays to be finished by June, it would guarantee the donor first look at the completed scripts. "The room was stone silent", recalled Veninger. [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning actress [[Melissa Leo]] ended up volunteering and put up the money, and the [[TIFF Bell Lightbox]] offered workshop space.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/01/15/oscarwinner_melissa_leo_funds_canadian_female_screenwriting_project.html|title=Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo is funding the Femmes Lab, where six female Canadian filmmakers have six months to finish six screenplays.|last=Barnard|first=Linda|date=2014-01-15|newspaper=The Toronto Star|issn=0319-0781|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/whistler-ingrid-veningers-ballsy-request-more-films-made-by-women-1200937432/|title=Whistler: Ingrid Veninger's 'Ballsy' Request? More Films Made by Women|last=Brodsky|first=Katherine|website=Variety|date=9 December 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2014/07/17/how-ingrid-veningers-sisterhood-spawned-6-scripts-in-6-months/|title=How Ingrid Veninger's 'sisterhood' spawned 6 scripts in 6 months|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|date=July 14, 2014|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref>
For her fifth feature film, ''[[He Hated Pigeons]]'', Veninger raised over $36,000 from 175 backers on [[Indiegogo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-phantasmagorical-film-with-live-score#/|title=A phantasmagorical film with live score|website=Indiegogo|language=en-US|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thetfs.ca/2015/02/02/crowdfunding-project-week-hated-pigeons/|title=Crowdfunding Project of the Week: He Hated Pigeons|website=Toronto Film Scene|access-date=2016-04-25|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227215718/http://thetfs.ca/2015/02/02/crowdfunding-project-week-hated-pigeons/|archive-date=2016-02-27}}</ref> After production, she toured with the film at numerous festivals around the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2015/10/13/ingrid-veninger-wings-it-on-he-hated-pigeons/|title=Ingrid Veninger wings it on He Hated Pigeons|last=Pinto|first=Jordan|date=October 13, 2015|access-date=2016-04-25}}</ref>
In 2017, Veninger's sixth film, ''[[Porcupine Lake]]'', was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the [[2017 Toronto International Film Festival]].<ref name="adds9Aug">{{cite web|url=http://www.thewrap.com/toronto-film-festivals-canadian-content-include-new-margaret-atwood-adaptation/|title=Toronto Film Festival's Canadian Content to Include New Margaret Atwood Adaptation|date=9 August 2017|work=The Wrap|access-date=9 August 2017}}</ref> The film was based on the script Veninger wrote through her Melissa Leo-funded Femmes Lab, and was also funded in part by [[Telefilm Canada|Telefilm]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2016/10/24/porcupine-lake-a-film-of-firsts-for-ingrid-veninger/|title=Porcupine Lake a film of firsts for Ingrid Veninger|last=Pinto|first=Jordan|date=October 24, 2016|access-date=2017-01-21}}</ref>
Veninger went into production on her seventh feature film on May 22, 2018, in [[Barcelona]]; the film is tentatively titled ''Before We Think'' and will be filmed in several different cities, including [[Whitehorse]], Toronto, Wilmington, among others.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2018/05/22/cameras-roll-on-ingrid-veningers-seventh-film/|title=Cameras roll on Ingrid Veninger's seventh film|access-date=2018-05-24}}</ref>
== Personal life == Veninger has been married to film composer [[John Switzer]] since 1990. They have two children: Hallie and Jacob, both artists.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/awards-and-festivals/tiff/ingrid-veningers-latest-filmmaking-journey/article4258645/|title=Ingrid Veninger's latest filmmaking journey|website=The Globe and Mail|date=18 August 2011 |access-date=2016-04-25|last1=Punter |first1=Jennie }}</ref>
In addition to filmmaking, Veninger works as a part-time contract faculty member at [[York University]].<ref name="cma.ampd.yorku.ca"/>
== Awards == * [[Genie Awards|Genie Award]] for Best Documentary (''[[Gambling, Gods and LSD]]'') (2003) * Audience Award, International (''Modra''), [[International Film Festival Bratislava]] (2010) * [[Jay Scott Prize]] (''i am a good person/i am a bad person''), [[Toronto Film Critics Association|Toronto Film Critics Association Awards]] (2012) * EDA Award, Narrative Feature Prize (''The Animal Project''), Alliance of Women Film Journalists (2013)
==See also== * [[List of female film and television directors]] * [[List of LGBT-related films directed by women]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|893116|Ingrid Veninger}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929103114/http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsvz/veninger_ingrid.html Northern Stars: Ingrid Veninger], accessed 4 February 2007 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100820032356/http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2010/modra MODRA: Toronto Film Festival] * [http://www.modrathemovie.com/ MODRA: Official site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321011106/http://modrathemovie.com/ |date=2021-03-21 }}
{{Jay Scott Prize}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Veninger, Ingrid}} [[Category:1968 births]] [[Category:Actresses from Toronto]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian screenwriters]] [[Category:Film producers from Ontario]] [[Category:Canadian television actresses]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada]] [[Category:Canadian Film Centre alumni]] [[Category:Canadian film educators]] [[Category:Canadian child actresses]] [[Category:Canadian women film producers]] [[Category:Canadian women screenwriters]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian women writers]] [[Category:Canadian women film directors]] [[Category:Film directors from Toronto]] [[Category:Screenwriters from Toronto]] [[Category:Producers of Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners for Best Documentary Film]]