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Ryan Ward

Ryan Ward

Directing

Biography

Ryan Ward is a writer, director and actor based in Manitoba, Canada and Los Angeles, California. His newest feature, DAUGHTER OF THE SUN, that he wrote, directed and starred in, screened at Fantasia International Film Festival (Audience Award), the Berlinale (Perspective Canada 2024), and Fantaspoa (Best Actor). Praised as "stellar" (ScreenAnarchy), "captivating" (Toronto Star), and "one of the best films you'll see this year" (Unseen Films), the film will be released by Red Water Entertainment and Buffalo 8 in Fall 2024. Ryan's debut feature, SON OF THE SUNSHINE, (Slamdance), was nominated by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for a Canadian Screen Award (CSA) with Indiewire praising it as "a mature, immediately involving story" and the National Post calling it "a gem of filmmaking genius." Distributed by Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Hulu, and MUBI, it screened at over 50 festivals, winning 13 awards. Ryan's other select credits as a writer/director include, IN THE BEGINNING WAS WATER AND SKY (PBS), AMERIKA (INPUT TV Best Film), and TIME TRAVELING THROUGH TIME (Omeleto, PÖFF Tallinn Black Nights, SIFF, Flickers' First Prize Best Experimental Film). As an actor, Ryan originated the lead role of Ash in the cult hit, EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL (Broadway, Just for Laughs, Original Cast Album) that the New York Times dubbed "the next Rocky Horror Show" and MTV called "the greatest musical phenomenon on the planet." With over 800 performances, Ryan was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award (Canadian Tony) for Best Actor. Ryan also appeared in the films, WE ATE THE CHILDREN LAST (TIFF) and ABOUT FACE (Tribeca).

Known For

Son of the Sunshine
4.8

A socially disconnected young man with Tourette's Syndrome undergoes an experimental surgery to correct his disorder, but as his symptoms start to fade so does his ability to heal the sick and dying.

Son of the Sunshine

2009
Time Traveling Through Time
7.5

A wannabe film director becomes embroiled in a battle against the laws of time and space when his attempts to recreate the iconic black and white, photograph-only, time travel film, La Jetée, spiral out of control.

Time Traveling Through Time

2022
AmeriKa
9.0

A portrait of two parents and their 8-year-old son struggling against the harsh realities of inner-city life in an alternate version of modern day America.

AmeriKa

2017
Evil Dead 1 & 2: The Musical
8.2

A Musical adaptation of Sam Rami's Evil Dead performed in Montreal.

Evil Dead 1 & 2: The Musical

2004
Healer
9.0

A young woman grapples with the untimely death of her sister, seeking solace in an imagined reality where they grew up together.

Healer

2023
Daughter of the Sun
5.0

A 12-year-old girl lives life on the run alongside her father who has Tourette Syndrome. Desperately seeking a normal family life, she befriends a group of outcasts who want to harness a volatile supernatural power her father is hiding.

Daughter of the Sun

2023
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N/A

A 17-year-old snowmobile rider on the brink of going professional is driven by a quiet desire to escape her small-town life. When she discovers she is pregnant, her carefully imagined future is thrown into uncertainty, forcing her to confront the tension between motherhood and ambition.

Northern Lights

In the Beginning was Water and Sky
9.0

A haunting and visually stunning fairytale that blends the horrors of fantasy and the real life historical events of colonization and Indian Boarding Schools in the United States. A Native American girl in the 1700s and a Native American boy in the 1960s struggle to find their way back to a home that may be lost forever.

In the Beginning was Water and Sky

2017
Sidekick
7.0

Mild-mannered computer consultant Norman Neale has two great loves in this cruel world: Comic books and his office's effervescent main receptionist, Andrea Hicks. Norman spends his days dreaming of Andrea from the isolation of his cubicle and his nights dreaming of fighting crime from the solitude of his apartment. Then one fateful day Norman discovers that a fellow co-worker, Victor Ventura, a swaggering, pretty-boy salesman, has slight telekinetic abilities beyond his understanding. After discussing his mind-blowing discovery with his only friend Chuck, a know-it-all comic book store owner, Norman comes to the outlandish conclusion that he should train Victor to become a real-life superhero by helping him refine and expand his extraordinary ability.

Sidekick

2007
Evil Dead: The Musical
N/A

Five college students spend the weekend in an abandoned cabin in the woods, accidentally unleashing an evil terror. In this comedic take on the 1980s horror franchise, characters and demons sing and dance to songs written specifically for the musical. And, as in the films, Ash is there to dish out his various one-liners and fight the neverending demons.

Evil Dead: The Musical

2007
Memories of Youth
N/A

Grappling with the complexities of mental health and trauma in a digital age that feels isolating and overwhelming, a young person embarks on a surreal journey of self-discovery, navigating the raw truths of adolescence in an attempt to find a place in the world.

Memories of Youth

2024
Our Secret
9.0

As a young girl dreams about life, the universe and everything, she discovers the power of connection and the potential of the human mind.

Our Secret

2023
To All That We Are
3.3

A dreamlike love story exploring the budding relationship between two queer twenty-somethings.

To All That We Are

2022