Brianna Russell
Directing
Biography
Brianna Russell is a screenwriter and director based out of Clarke’s Beach, Newfoundland. Her work focuses on queerness in media, genre filmmaking, as well as the history and folklore of her childhood home. Brianna’s films have premiered at national and international film festivals, including the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival. She was a quarterfinalist in the Outstanding Screenplay Competition for her feature film script POSTER CHILD, and her short of the same name premiered at the Closing Night Gala of SJIWFF, ahead of Fawzia Mirza’s THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS. Brianna is the 2022 recipient of the RBC Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award, an alumni of the WIDC Career Advancement Module, and a participant in the 2024 Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters Lab. She is a current resident of the Canadian Film Centre's Norman Jewison Screenwriters Lab.
Known For

Max is unsatisfied with the mundanity of his town in which no person has ever left. But when Max discovers a black hole that seemingly leads to "the outside" his life is turned upside down at the imminent possibility of escape.
Black Hole

An insecure up-and-coming pianist fights to replace her injured childhood idol as the lead soloist at the most prestigious orchestra in the country.
Poster Child

Phillip Early recounts the months spent investigating a cold case. A police interrogator presses him for answers while trying to decode the role of a retired detective/successful author in the mystery.
If Not to Die

When an unexpected phone call interrupts Ben's quiet night in with his mother, tensions rise as Ben must grapple with the complexities of his parental relationships.
Terry

Against the backdrop of the Gay Liberation Movement of the 1970s, a pastor’s daughter begins a high-stakes clandestine relationship with another girl, a rebellious outcast, while working in their small town’s flower shop, the summer before going off to college.
Sweetwater

After accidentally coming out of the closet, Deena must undo her mistake through the only logical method: time travel.
Back to the Closet

When a boy from Darcy's cadet corps insists she attend the Trampoline Social, she sets off for a dramatic evening of self-acceptance and sweet backflips.
Bounce

A person who hates all their clothes struggles to decide what to wear to a house party. At the party they see their ex-it’s-complicated with a new partner. A tense interaction sparks a nascent lifestyle change.
First Position

When Newfoundland locks down during the COVID-19 pandemic, a former dancer becomes further trapped in a toxic relationship with her emotionally abusive husband. Increasingly isolated and with only a goldfish as a friend, she is forced to choose between placating her husband and freeing herself.
Fishbowl

While dealing with the aftermath of escaping an abusive relationship, Heather starts to believe there is a vampiric shape shifting creature trying to trick her into getting inside her home. Memories of witnessing a traumatic event years ago involving the same creature come flooding back after she is mysteriously gifted the creatures calling card - a smooth stone engraved with a strange symbol. With the help of a supportive friend, Heather must finally confront her demons in the form of the monster that is haunting her, and summon her inner strength to finally defeat it.
Don't Let Them In

In a small town where nothing ever happens, a young girl steals the local watermelon, revealing tensions among the seemingly dull citizens.
Watermelon Social

Living as Canadian immigrants, an aging Filipino composer learns to connect with her grandson through her own music.
Nasaan

While searching for her mother in the deep woods of 1950s Newfoundland, an isolated daughter comes across a girl straight out of the tales of dangerous fairy folklore.
Fairyland

A game of Capture the Flag gets bloody when two team captains get... involved.
Capture Your Heart

An obsessive co-captain must live up to her older sister’s legacy by leading her team to victory at the Regional Improv Games.
And, Scene

A traumatized social media influencer receives backlash on the anniversary of the tragic crash of Flight 487.