Morgana McKenzie
Writing
Biography
Morgana McKenzie is a cinematographer currently based in Toronto. Though Morgana works in a range of genres from music video to commercial, she specializes in dark narrative subject matter and vérité documentary. Her eye for bold colour theory and heightened naturalism can be seen throughout her work. Her extensive experience in documentary environments is evident in her proficiency as a camera operator on all her projects. Most recently, her work as a cinematographer received three nominations from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers for her work on Wild (Dramatic Short Cinematography), Lost Time and Black River (Documentary Short for Cinematography). To date, she has lensed stories for HBO Max, CBC Gem, Al Jazeera and The New York Times. Equally interested in showcasing her vision as a director, Morgana’s self-directed and lensed works have garnered over 40 awards from international festivals, including Best Director and the Canada 150 award for Best Film from TIFF Jump Cuts Next Wave. Her decisions on set are heavily informed by her experience as a colorist, which closely aligns with her holistic approach to creating images.
Known For
A struggling painter sets out on a do-or-die journey to paint the Mojave. With 72 hours to capture a perfect desert landscape, she finds herself disrupted by the hostile environment and a bizarre monolith that won't seem to go away.
En Plein Air
A teenage girl goes through a bizarre transformation after she gets her first period.
First Blood
A routine tree inspection unexpectedly gives way to a journey into the deep. Set in a hidden subterranean world, ‘Sub Terra’ is the haunting mystery of a cryptic first-person perspective.
Sub Terra
Set in the 1930s, two siblings use their imaginations as a coping mechanism to come to terms with their mother's mysterious disappearance.
The Toll
A contemporary read out of Hansel and Gretl, discussing gender, family and social problems.
Fictional Characters
A lonely retail clerk who spends most of her time chatting with AI struggles to identify the source of her unshakeable unease.
Pocket Mirror
After years of captivity, Stephen takes drastic measures to escape his violent world and his terrifying captor.
Ellie
Four budding activists battle personal and political barriers to find their voice in the movement to end violence against women in Canadian.
The smallest steps
12-year-old Grace is a criminal. After shoplifting lingerie from a discount department store, she goes to great lengths to cover up the crime.
I Need to Get This Off My Chest
A young girl befriends a supernatural entity living in her Uncle's cornfield.
Wild
Chelsea is a difficult child with a wild imagination. One day, she receives an ominous message from her bowl of cereal. Four letters: K.I.L.L. Chelsea wants her cereal - and she won't stop until she gets it.
Cereal
A malignant spirit forces a girl into a perilous journey through a watery underworld.
Atlas World
"At age six, Jan was miraculously revived after her body was retrieved from the frozen river that consumed her parents. Now, after a lifetime experiencing visions of people in peril, thirteen year old Jan intends to use her latest premonition to intervene on fate and prevent a murder."
Gifts
In Eastern Kentucky, there's a lost generation of kids. Between the environmental impact of decades of coal mining and the economic impact of one of the highest poverty rates in the United States, I wander around the town of Fleming-Neon asking residents about their daily life, hopes, and fears.
Black River
In the timeless world of fairy tales, villains and victims are visited by a vengeful fairy who offers to shift the balance of power.
We All Go the Same
A chronically online and socially inept teenager takes a leap of faith to meet up with her online bestie for the first time.