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Sofia Bohdanowicz

Sofia Bohdanowicz is a Canadian filmmaker.[1] She is known for her collaborations with Deragh Campbell and made her feature film directorial debut in 2016 with Never Eat Alone. Her second feature film, Maison du Bonheur, was a finalist for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the 2018 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards. That year, she won the Jay Scott Prize from the Toronto Film Critics Association. Her third feature film, MS Slavic 7, which she co-directed with Campbell, had its world premiere at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in 2019. She has also directed several short films, such as Veslemøy's Song (2018) and Point and Line to Plane (2020).

Sofia Bohdanowicz
Bohdanowicz in 2019
NationalityCanadian
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active2009–present
Known forMaison du Bonheur
Websitesofiabohdanowicz.com

Career

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After directing several short films since 2009, Bohdanowicz made her feature film directorial debut in 2016 with Never Eat Alone.[2] The film follows a lonely grandmother as she tries to reconnect with an ex-boyfriend from her youth. After premiering at the Vancouver International Film Festival,[2] it screened at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema as part of a 2017 retrospective of Bohdanowicz's work.[3] Her second feature film, Maison du Bonheur, which profiles 77-year-old Juliane Sellam, a French astrologer living in Montmartre, was a finalist for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2018.[4] The film premiered at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema on April 23, 2017,[5] and had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada in 2018.[6][7] The Globe and Mail's Barry Hertz named the film one of his top 10 films of 2018, writing "A supremely thoughtful and careful study of one elderly Parisian woman, Maison du bonheur is as revealing as it is honest and sincere," adding, "This is a film to seek out and cherish.”[8] Glenn Kenny of The New York Times selected the film as a Critics' Pick and called it "a profound delight."[9]

Her collaborations with actress Deragh Campbell have screened at festivals around the world. Since 2016, Campbell has portrayed the character of Audrey Benac in four of Bohdanowicz's films—Never Eat Alone, Veslemøy's Song (2018), and MS Slavic 7 (2019), the latter of which Campbell co-directed.[10] Never Eat Alone premiered in the Future//Present section of the 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival;[2] Veslemøy's Song, a short film, premiered at the 2018 Locarno Film Festival and was named by the Toronto International Film Festival to its annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list;[11][12] MS Slavic 7 had its world premiere at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival and screened at the annual New Directors/New Films Festival.[13][14]

Her latest short film, Point and Line to Plane, which also featured Campbell as the fictional character Audrey Benac,[15] premiered at the Marseille International Film Festival in July 2020 and subsequently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, the Festival de nouveau cinéma in Montreal, and the Vienna International Film Festival, among others.[16][17][18]

In a 2020 interview with film website Seventh Row, Bohdanowicz revealed that despite directing and editing several feature films, she has never written a screenplay.[19] That year, she also directed a short documentary film titled The Hardest Working Cat in Show Biz, which was released online by Filmmaker.[20]

In 2021, she was one of the participants in John Greyson's experimental short documentary film International Dawn Chorus Day.[21]

Accolades

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Bohdanowicz has won accolades for her work. In 2016, at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Bohdanowicz won the Emerging Canadian Director award for Never Eat Alone.[2] At the 17th Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, she was nominated for Best Director of a Canadian Film and won the award for Best Canadian Documentary.[22] In 2018, she was awarded the Jay Scott Prize by the Toronto Film Critics Association.[23]

Filmography

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Year Film Type Director Writer Producer Cinematographer Editor Notes
2009 Falling with Force Short film Yes Yes No Yes Yes
2012 Dundas Street Short film Yes No Yes No Yes Co-directed with Joanna Durkalec
2013 An Evening (Wieczór) Short film Yes No No Yes Yes
A Prayer (Modlitwa) Short film Yes No No No Yes
2014 Another Prayer (Dalsza Modlitwa) Short film Yes Yes No Yes Yes
2016 A Drownful Brilliance of Wings Short film Yes No Yes No Yes
Never Eat Alone Feature film Yes Yes No No No Feature directorial debut
2017 Maison du Bonheur Feature film Yes No Yes Yes Yes Documentary
2018 Veslemøy's Song Short film Yes No Yes No No
The Soft Space Short film Yes No No No No Co-directed with Melanie Scheiner
2019 MS Slavic 7 Feature film Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Co-directed with Deragh Campbell
2020 Point and Line to Plane Short film Yes Yes No Yes Yes
2020 The Hardest Working Cat in Show Biz Short film Yes Yes Yes No Yes Documentary
2024 Measures for a Funeral Feature film Yes Yes Yes No Yes

References

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  1. ^ "Onscreen/Offscreen: Sofia Bohdanowicz and the cinema of forgetting". The Georgia Straight, October 8, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Cook, Adam (September 22, 2017). "Future//Present Returns to VIFF". VIFF. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  3. ^ Mango, Agustin (March 30, 2017). "Buenos Aires Film Festival Unveils Full Slate". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved Dec 16, 2017.
  4. ^ "Toronto Film Critics Association Names ‘Roma’ Best Picture Of 2018". ET Canada, December 10, 2018.
  5. ^ Cook, Adam (May 14, 2018). "A Look Inside Sofia Bohdanowicz's 'Maison du bonheur'". VIFF. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  6. ^ DeFore, John (August 25, 2018). "'Maison du Bonheur': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  7. ^ Hertz, Barry (August 16, 2018). "Review: Maison du bonheur is as revealing as it is honest and sincere". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  8. ^ Hertz, Barry (December 11, 2018). "The Globe and Mail's top 10 films of 2018". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Kenny, Glenn (August 23, 2018). "Review: 'Maison du Bonheur,' a Beguiling Portrait of a Woman in Paris". The New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  10. ^ Mantagni, Ian (February 20, 2019). "Berlinale first look: MS Slavic 7 draws strength from the written word". Sight and Sound. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  11. ^ Howell, Peter (December 6, 2018). "TIFF strategically trades champagne for screen time for Canada's Top Ten movies". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Kasman, Daniel (August 8, 2018). "Locarno 2018. The Three Heroines". Mubi. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  13. ^ Young, Deborah (February 21, 2019). "'MS Slavic 7': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  14. ^ Asch, Mark (April 1, 2019). ""No One's Going to Knock at Your Door and Say 'I Want to Hire You to Be a Filmmaker'": Sofia Bohdanowicz and Deragh Campbell on MS Slavic 7". Filmmaker. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  15. ^ "TIFF Talk: Sofia Bohdanowicz and Deragh Campbell on Point and Line to Plane – Point of View Magazine". povmagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  16. ^ "Point and Line to Plane". FIDMarseille. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  17. ^ "Short Cuts Programme 02". TIFF. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  18. ^ "Point and Line to Plane". MAISON DU BONHEUR. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  19. ^ "A masterclass with Sofia Bohdanowicz and Kazik Radwanski on directing low-budget films". Seventh Row. 2020-08-17. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  20. ^ Rizov, Vadim. "Online Premiere: Sofia Bohdanowicz's The Hardest Working Cat in Showbiz". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  21. ^ Sarah Jae Leiber, "International Dawn Chorus Day Premieres April 29". Broadway World, March 29, 2021.
  22. ^ Mullen, Pat (January 10, 2018). "Toronto and Vancouver Film Critics Award Sofia Bohdanowicz's 'Maison du Bonheur'". Point of View. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  23. ^ "Toronto and Vancouver Film Critics Award Sofia Bohdanowicz’s ‘Maison du Bonheur’". Point of View, January 10, 2018.
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