Michelle Latimer

Michelle Latimer is an Indigenous Canadian actress, director, writer, and filmmaker. She initially rose to prominence for her role as Trish Simkin on the television series Paradise Falls, shown nationally in Canada on Showcase Television (2001–2004).[1]

Michelle Latimer
Latimer in 2015
Born
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian, Métis, Algonquin
OccupationActress, director, filmmaker
Years active2001–present

Since the early 2010s, she has directed several documentaries, including her feature film directorial debut, Alias (2013),[2] and the Viceland series, Rise, which focuses on the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests; the latter won a Canadian Screen Award at the 6th annual ceremony in 2018.[3][4]

Early life

Latimer was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario with Métis/Algonquin descent.[5] She later studied theatre at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec.[6]

Career

Latimer initially garnered recognition for portraying goth teen Trish Simpkin in Paradise Falls.[7][1] Aside from Paradise Falls, Latimer has had limited roles in other television productions. In 2004, she had two guest appearances on the low budget Canadian series Train 48. She also had a minor appearance in the 2004 film Resident Evil: Apocalypse.[8]

After Paradise Falls, she returned to the stage, starring in Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love, written by Brad Fraser.[9] She performed the play in 2004 at Crow's Theatre in Toronto and she played Benita, a psychic prostitute. Like Paradise Falls, the play also had some controversy for its open depiction of sexuality.[9]

Latimer later produced and directed an animated film titled Choke, which was funded by bravoFACT and screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was one of five animated shorts nominated for a Genie Award in 2011.[10]

Since the early 2010s, Latimer has dedicated her time to documentary filmmaking.[11] In 2013, she made her feature film directorial debut Alias, which "follows aspiring rappers trying to escape the gangster life."[12] The film received positive reviews, was nominated for several awards,[13] including for a Canadian Screen Award,[14] and screened at the Hot Docs Film Festival.[15] Also in 2013, she was chosen as one of Playback's "10 To Watch".[16]

Latimer's Viceland documentary series, titled Rise, which focuses on the 2016 Dakota Access Pipeline protests, premiered at the Special Events section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.[17] The series won a Canadian Screen Award at the 6th annual ceremony in 2018.[3][4] While accepting the award, Latimer delivered what was described by CBC News as "one of the night's most passionate speeches", in which she celebrated Indigenous resistance at Standing Rock.[3]

She directed the 2020 drama series Trickster for CBC,[18] as well as the documentary film Inconvenient Indian.

Other work

Latimer also works as a film curator; she is a programmer for the ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the Hot Docs Film Festival and is a programming advisor for Winnipeg Film Group’s Cinematheque and the Regent Park Film Festival.[5]

Accolades
Year Association Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2012 Gemini Awards Best Animated Short Choke Nominated [19]
2013 Hot Docs Film Festival Best Canadian Documentary Alias Nominated [20]
2015 Canadian Screen Awards Best Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series Nominated [21]
2018 Canadian Screen Awards Best Documentary Program Rise Won [4]

References
  1. "Arguably the gayest Canadian drama on TV | Daily Xtra". Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  2. 13, Playback Staff January; 2015. "Canadian Screen Awards '15: TV categories". Retrieved 2017-01-17.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. "Canadian Screen Awards 2018: Heather Hiscox, The Fifth Estate, APTN win top awards | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  4. "Hey, These VICELAND Shows Just Won Canadian Screen Awards". Vice. 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  5. "About | Streel Films | Michelle Latimer". www.michellelatimer.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  6. "Concordia's Thursday Report". ctr.concordia.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  7. "Campy Soap Dives Between the Sheets in Cottage Country in Third Season of Paradise Falls". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  8. "Michelle Latimer". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  9. "Review - Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love - Crow's Theatre, Toronto - Christopher Hoile". www.stage-door.com. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  10. Minovitz, Ethan (17 January 2012). "Five animated shorts nominated for Genie Award". Big Cartoon News. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  11. "Filmmaker explores agony of solitary confinement in Canada". rabble.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  12. Latimer, Michelle (2013-04-01), Alias, retrieved 2017-01-17
  13. Lattanzio, Ryan. "FatLabs Composer Vikas Kohli Heads to Cannes and HotDocs (VIDEO) | IndieWire". www.indiewire.com. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  14. "Canadian Screen Award nominations: 19 projects from 18 alumni". National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI). 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  15. "Alias | Hot Docs 2013 Review". U.S. Indie News, Filmmaker Interviews, Film Festivals, Movie Reviews | Ioncinema. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  16. "The 2013 10 To Watch: Michelle Latimer". Retrieved 2017-01-17.
  17. Howell, Peter (January 13, 2017). "Canadians set to Rise up and shake up Sundance and Slamdance". Toronto Star.
  18. Jane van Koeverden, "Cast revealed for CBC's upcoming series, The Trickster". CBC Books, September 18, 2019.
  19. "Choke | National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)". National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI). 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  20. "HotDocs 2013 Preview: 'Alias' Goes Beyond Typical Music Video Images of Girls, Guns & Gold".
  21. "Canadian Screen Awards '15".
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