Danishka Esterhazy (born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

) is a Canadian screenwriter and film director. She is best known for her thriller and horror movies, such as '' Black Field'' (2009), '' Level 16'' (2018), ''

The Banana Splits Movie ''The Banana Splits Movie'' is a 2019 American comedy horror film directed by Danishka Esterhazy from a screenplay written by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas. Serving as a horror reimagining of Hanna-Barbera's 1968 children's television series ''The ...

'' (2019), and the ''

Slumber Party Massacre ''The Slumber Party Massacre'' (also known as ''The Slumber Party Murders'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1982 American slasher film directed by Amy Holden Jones and written by Rita Mae Brown. It is the first installment in the ''Slumber Party Ma ...

'' (2021) remake.

Career

Esterhazy is well known for her haunting stories and female-driven films. Her debut feature, '' Black Field'', won the Best Feature Drama award at Vancouver's Women in Film Festival and the Best Canadian Feature award at

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Female Eye Film Festival The Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) is a competitive international film festival established in 2001. It is Toronto’s only international film festival geared specifically for women directors. History In 2001, Female Eye Film Festival was est ...

. Esterhazy's films have screened in festivals and theaters and around the world including the

Rome International Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'Og ...

, the Puchon International Film Festival in South Korea, the Short Film Festival of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

La Maison Rouge La Maison Rouge was a private contemporary art Foundation dedicated mainly to showing private art collections, monographic shows of contemporary artists' work. It was located close to the Bastille, in Paris, at 10 Boulevard de la Bastille in the 12 ...

in Paris and Kölner Filmhaus in Germany. Her films have been broadcast on CBC Television, Bravo and Super Channel. Danishka is also a recipient of the prestigious Kodak New Vision Award for Most Promising Female Canadian Director awarded by

Women in Film and Television Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) is a global network of non-profit membership chapters. Established in 1997, it is dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and ot ...

Toronto. She also won the UBC Creative Writing Award for Best Screenplay at the 2015 Vancouver International Women in Film Festival. She won the

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series ...

for Best Direction in a TV Movie at the

10th Canadian Screen Awards The 10th Canadian Screen Awards were held on April 10, 2022, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television and digital media production in 2021.Etan Vlessing"Maitreyi Ramakrishnan to Receive Canadian Screen Awards Special Honor" ''The Hollyw ...

in 2022, for '' I Was Lorena Bobbitt''.

Education

Esterhazy graduated from the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. Originally launched as film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for pr ...

and the

National Screen Institute The National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI; originally Canadian Screen Institute, CSI) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The organization describes itself as "Serving content creators across Canada to te ...

Filmography

Short film Feature film Television

Awards

, - , 2010 , Toronto Female Eye Film Festival , Best Canadian Feature for: '' Black Field'' , , - , 2013 ,

Women in Film and Television International Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) is a global network of non-profit membership chapters. Established in 1997, it is dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and ot ...

, Most Promising Female Canadian Director ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esterhazy, Danishka 1969 births Canadian women film directors Film directors from Winnipeg Living people Writers from Winnipeg Canadian women screenwriters Canadian Film Centre alumni 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian television directors Canadian women television directors Canadian Screen Award winners Canadian people of Hungarian descent