Biography
Born in Iceland and raised in Vancouver, Sturla Gunnarsson is one of Canada’s best-known and most accomplished film-makers, equally at home directing feature films, documentaries and television drama. His films have been recognized with a multitude of awards, including Emmy, Genie and Gemini Awards, a Prix Italia and an Oscar nomination.
Recent feature films include the medieval epic Beowulf and Grendel (2006), starring Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgaard and Sarah Polley; the comedy Rare Birds (2001) starring William Hurt and Molly Parker and an adaptation of Rohinton Mistry´s Booker short-listed novel Such a Long Journey (1998), starring Roshan Seth, Om Puri and Naseeridin Shah. Between them, the films received over 20 Genie Award nominations and were among the top grossing Canadian films in the years they were released.
Television drama includes Scorn and 100 Days in the Jungle, each of which won Gemini Awards for best television movie, as well as DaVinci´s Inquest, for which Gunnarsson won a ¨Best Directing¨Gemini, Intelligence and the Canada/UK WW2 mini-series Above and Beyond starring Richard E Grant, Lianne Baliban and Josh Ackland, for which he won the DGC Award for outstanding achievement in directing.
Documentaries include the post-apartheid love story, Gerrie & Louise, which was described by the New Republic´s Stanley Kaufmann as “the gripping account of a journey through delusion to enlightenment.” His most recent film is Air India 182, which opened the 2008 Hot Docs Festival, where it was described by Canadian Press as “a movie so gripping and suspenseful in its retelling of a large-scale tragedy that it frequently seems like a tautly written drama instead of grim reality.”
Gunnarsson was elected President of the Directors Guild of Canada in May 2008.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2008 AIR INDIA 182 52 Media/Eurasia Motion Pictures Inc.
52 Media/Eurasia Motion Pictures Inc.
Narrative non-fiction account of the conspiracy to bomb Air India flight 182, which resulted in the world’s deadliest air terror attack before 9/11.
“…Gunnarson, … combines pure documentary with eloquent scenes of dramatic re-enactment. … pushes the frontiers of non-fiction with veracity and power … finds a poetic beauty and glimmers of transcendence in imagining what might have unfolded, and portraying a life that is about to be lost.” –
Brian Johnson, MacLeans Magazine
2006 BEOWULF & GRENDEL Equinoxe Releasing/Union Station Media
Loosely adapted from the Anglo Saxon epic, Beowulf, Beowulf & Grendel stars Gerard Butler, Stellan Skaarsgard and Sarah Polley.
“…good, bloody fun that stirs the intellect whenever it feels like it. And as a swashbuckler, the dead-game Butler outswings just about anyone in Troy or Kingdom of Heaven or Tristan & Isolde. Those overblown historical epics played just as loosely with history as this one does, but they don’t boast a third of its bawdy, sly humour.”
– Bill Gallo, Village Voice
2001 RARE BIRDS Lions Gate Releasing.
Rare Birds is a whimsical comedy that pits a down and out restaurateur (William Hurt) against his quirky best buddy (Andy Jones), a warmly sexy acquaintance (Molly Parker) and his own mid-life crisis. Set along Newfoundland’s dramatic coast, the film is based on Edward Riche’s best-selling novel.
“Sturla Gunnarsson’s Rare Birds is a sweetheart of a film, whimsical and touching.”
-Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Directors Guild of Canada Awards – 2002
Award – Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Award – Outstanding Achievement in Picture Editing
Award – Outstanding Achievement in Production Design
Award – Outstanding Achievement in a Feature Film
Genie Awards, Canada – 2003
Nominations Best Motion Picture
Best Achievement in Direction
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Best Sound Editing
Taos Talking Picture Festival – 2002
Nomination- Taos Land Grant Award
Atlantic Film Festival – 2001- Opening Night Gala
Award – Audience Choice Award
Toronto International Film Festival – 2001
Vancouver International Film Festival – 2001
Canadian Comedy Awards – 2002
Award – Best Female Performance (Film)
Nomination – Film – Best Direction
Film – Best Male Performance
Film – Best Writing – Original
1998 SUCH A LONG JOURNEY Red Sky Entertainment/The Shooting Gallery.
A richly textured and beautifully conceived film about a compassionate soul forced to confront a turbulent world of change. Based on the Booker Prize nominated novel by Rohinton Mistry, the story is set in Bombay, 1971, the year India went to war over the fate of what was to become Bangladesh. Gustad Noble (Roshan Seth) is an industrious bank clerk and dedicated family man whose tame domestic existence gradually begins to unravel. Gustad’s journey is marvelously rendered by Gunnarsson’s eye for details of character and place, and by the extraordinarily talented Roshan Seth.
“It’s not very often that a film crosses that line between being very good, and being a truly great work of cinema. Such A Long Journey not only crosses that line, but it makes it look easy.”
-John Binns, British Film Review
Vancouver Film Festival – 1998 – Opening Gala
Award - Audience Choice Award
Toronto International Film Festival – Special Presentation 1998
Genie Awards, Canada – 1999
Award – Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Roshan Seth
Award – Best Achievement in Editing
Award – Best Sound Editing
Nominations Best Motion Picture
Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Outstanding Performance by an actor in a supporting role.
Best Screenplay
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design
Best Music Score
Best Overall Sound
Auckland Film Festival – 1999
Calcutta Film Festival – 1999
International Film Festival of India, – 1999
1989 DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY Astral Releasing/Alliance International
A Canadian diplomat in El Salvador finds herself caught in the crossfire as the well-intentioned aid project she’s been sent to oversee becomes a flashpoint in that country’s civil war.
Rencontres Cinematographiques De La Ville De Cannes – 1992
Award – Grand Prix Ville de Cannes
Award – Prix CICAE
Montreal International Film Festival – Official Competition – 1991
Toronto International Film Festival – 1991
Havana International Festival of New Latin American Cinema – 1991
Award – Premio Coral
San Remo Festival D’Autuer – 1991
Award - Best Actress – Ofelia Medina
Worldfest Huston – 1992
Award- Gold Award
Genie Awards, Canada – 1992
Nominations – Best Music Score
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael Hogan)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael Riley)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Ofelia Medina)
Documentary Films
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2008 AIR INDIA 182 52 Media/Eurasia Motion Pictures, CBC
A non-fiction thriller about of the Vancouver-based conspiracy to bomb Air India flight 182 and the intelligence operation that failed to thwart it.
“… brilliantly crafted … will haunt viewers and shake them from complacency as it recreates the most deadly act of air terrorism in history before 9/11. … a classic of its genre and an important page of Canadian history.” - Bruce Kirkland. Toronto Sun
1997 GERRIE & LOUISE CBC/CNN.
GERRIE & LOUISE is a darkly fascinating film that uses the unlikely marriage between Colonel Gerrie Hugo, a one-time apartheid hit-squad commander and Louise Flanagan, the investigative reporter who used Hugo’s inside knowledge in her own attempts to bring to light the horrific truths of the apartheid era. While the film focuses on the couple, it also graphically illustrates the material and moral ugliness of the apartheid years and the hopes held out by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Truth Commission that South Africans might be reconciled with each other through telling and facing the truth of the apartheid years.
“The gripping account of a journey through delusion to enlightenment.”
- Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic
International Emmy – 1997
Award – Best Feature Documentary
Gemini Awards, Canada – 1998
Award – Donald Brittain Award for Best Documentary Program
Award – Best Writing in a Documentary Program or Series
Nomination – Best Directing in a Documentary
Chalmers Arts Awards – 1998
Award – $25000 M. Joan Chalmers Documentarian Award
Hot Docs Festival – 1998
African Literature Association Conference Film Festival – 2001
Human Rights Watch International – 1998
1984 FINAL OFFER National Film Board of Canada/CBC
FINAL OFFER is the classic cinema verite account of the bare-knuckle backroom brawl that broke out between the Canadian and American leaderships of the United Autoworkers Union during the historic 1982 strike at General Motors. Because Gunnarsson and his crew were given unparalleled access, it records one of the great dramas in recent Canadian history and is an invaluable document for anyone interested in the complexities of US/Canada relations. Because of tensions which developed between the Canadian and American sectors of the UAW during the talks, the film concludes with Bob White leading his membership out of the international union.
“Strap on your seatbelts. This backstage look at the GM contract talks has more intrigue, back-stabbing and double- crossing than Dallas or Dynasty. Don’t miss it.” – The Toronto Sun
Genie Awards – 1986
Award – Best Feature Length Documentary
Banff Television Festival – 1986
Award – Grand Prize
Rockie Award for Best Social or Political Documentary
Prix Italia – 1986
Award – Best Documentary
San Francisco International Film Festival – 1986
Award –Golden Gate Award
Chicago International Film Festival – 1986
Award- Gold Plaque
Columbus International Film Festival – 1986
Award- Chris Award
Leipzig International Documentary Festival – Official Competition – 1986
International Documentary Association
Listing – Top Ten Films of the Decade
1982 AFTER THE AXE National Film Board of Canada/ CBC
About a middle-aged executive and the management consultant who’s hired to orchestrate his termination.
“…fascinates like a snake.”
-Rick Groen, The Globe and Mail
Academy Awards – 1983
Nomination- Best Feature Documentary
American Film Festival – 1982
Award – Blue Ribbon Award
Yorkton Film Festival – 1982
Award – Golden Sheaf
Television
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2009 DEFYING GRAVITY Fox Pictures. ABC/BBC/CTV
2008 ST. BRIGIT’S MEDICAL Epitome Pictures. YTV/The N
Pilot for medical drama.
2008 DEGRASSI TNG Epitome Pictures. CTV/The N
2008 THE BEST YEARS Entertainment 1. Global/The N
2007 DEGRASSI TNG Epitome Pictures. CTV/The N
2007 THE BEST YEARS Entertainment 1. Global/The N
2006 INTELLIGENCE Haddock Entertainment. CBC
2006 ABOVE AND BEYOND Pope Productions/Power Pictures. CBC WW2 mini-series starring Richard E. Grant, Lianne Baliban, Jason Priestly
2005 DAVINCI — CITY HALL Haddock Entertainment. CBC
2004 DAVINCI’S INQUEST Haddock Entertainment. CBC
2002 100 DAYS IN THE JUNGLE CTV.
Based on the true story of eight Canadian oil-patch workers who were kidnapped by Colombian rebels and marched through the Ecuadorian jungle for 100 days, and the negotiations that led to their release. Shot in Costa Rica..
“… a gripping saga.” -Toronto Star
Gemini Awards – 2004
Award – Best Television Movie
Nomination – Best Achievement in Direction
Nomination – Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nomination – Best Cinematography
Nomination – Best Musical Score
Nomination – Best Overall Sound
Director’s Guild Awards – 2003
Nomination – Outstanding achievement in direction
Nomination – Outstanding achievement in a television movie
2002 THE MAN WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS CBS
Based on the life story of toy inventor A.C. Gilbert who follows his dream of inventing and manufacturing Erector Sets. When World War I begins, the American government approaches Gilbert to turn his toy factory into a munitions factory. Starring Jason Alexander, Kelly Rowan, Ed Asner.
2001 SCORN CBC
An examination of the true story of a seventeen-year old high school student whose obsession with the Roman emperor Caligula fuels a delusional conspiracy to murder his mother and grandmother. Scorn is a chilling journey into his psyche, featuring a startling debut performance by Eric Johnson as a charismatic teenager whose charm masks his murderous intentions,
“SCORN is an unflinching study of humanity’s capacity for evil as represented by those we would prefer to think of as innocents: adolescent boys.” The Ottawa Citizen
Gemini Awards – 2003
Award – Best Television Movie
Nomination – Best Achievement in Direction
Nomination – Best screenplay
Nomination – Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Writers Guild of Canada – 2001
Award – Best Television Movie
Biarritz Television Festival – 2001
Award – FIPA D’Or
Victoria Film Festival – 2001
Award – Famous Players Award- Best Canadian Feature
1999 RICKY NELSON:ORIGINAL TEEN IDOL VH-1
James Sherridan, Greory Kalpakis Sara Botsford. Biographical story of rock idol and TV star, Ricky Nelson is recalled from the view of Ricky in a discussion with a fan just hours before his death in a plane crash in 1985.
1997 JOE TORRE: CURVEBALLS ALONG THE WAY Showtime
Paul Sorvino, Robert Loggia. This drama chronicles events from the extraordinary life of New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, culminating with the Yankee’s 1996 World Series win.
1996 WE THE JURY USA Network
Kelly McGillis, Lauren Hutton, Christopher Plummer. Inspired by the courtroom classic, 12 Angry Men.
1996 MOTHER TRUCKER: THE DIANA KILMURY STORY CBC/TNT
MOTHER TRUCKER is a gritty TV drama about a feisty female truck driver who helped fight corruption and mobsters in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, starring Barbara Williams and Nicholas Campbell.
“This is one of those movies in which everything – from the direction by Sturla Gunnarsson to Barbara Williams’ extraordinary performance comes together creating an exceptionally truthful and unusual experience.”
Carole Corbeil, The Toronto Star
Gemini Awards – 1997
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program
Cable Ace Awards – 1997
Best Television Movie
1993 THE DIARY OF EVELYN LAU CBC
THE DIARY OF EVELYN LAU is a chronicle of the Vancouver author’s life as a teen poet/prostitute, featuring a fearless debut performance by Sandra Oh .
“Riveting, stylish television.”
Maclean’s Magazine
FIPA- Cannes Television Festival – 1993
Award – FIPA d’Or – Best Actress, Sandra Oh
New York Festival of Television – 1993
Award – Gold Medal Best Actress
Prix Italia
Finalist
Banff International Television Festival – 1993
Finalist
Munich Film Festival
Additional series drama including Snakes and Ladders, Wild Card, Dead Man’s Gun, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, Ray Bradbury Theatre.