Ingrid Veninger, a filmmaker and professor at York University's School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, has spent her career carving out a niche in Canada’s independent film scene.
Known for her resourceful, low-budget approach to storytelling, she has directed eight feature films that have premiered at festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Rotterdam and Slamdance. Now, she is preparing for one of the busiest periods of her career: the premiere of her latest film, Crocodile Eyes, and a sabbatical to develop three new screenplays.
Crocodile Eyes, which debuts at the Canadian Film Festival at the end of the month, marks a departure from Veninger’s usual tightly scripted productions. For this project, she embraced spontaneity and collaboration as central elements of the filmmaking process. “It’s the most improvisational film I’ve ever made,” she says.
Spanning four generations of her family’s story, the film explores themes of memory and reality while reflecting on how fleeting moments are captured through cinema. The project consumed much of Veninger’s creative energy over the past two years, as she balanced production with teaching and directing York’s Motion Media Studio (YUMMS) at Cinespace.
With Crocodile Eyes complete, Veninger is shifting her focus to a new chapter in her career. Supported by Telefilm Canada funding and a residency at the Banff Centre’s prestigious Leighton Artist Studios, she plans to develop three new screenplays during her upcoming sabbatical.
The first project, Fero, is inspired by Veninger’s father, a Slovak immigrant whose life experiences form the foundation of the story. The film explores themes of belonging and identity through its title character, Fero, who undergoes death, a transitional state described in Tibetan Buddhism as the “bardo,” and eventual rebirth after a freak accident. “It’s a ghost story at its core,” Veninger explains.
The second screenplay, titled Island Shenanigans, is an absurdist comedy that thrives on unexpected, illogical scenarios. It tells the story of high school misfits stranded on a deserted island during a class trip. Co-written with James Kidd, a graduate of York University’s BFA screenwriting program, the story blends teenage awkwardness with over-the-top antics. Veninger plans to involve York students in an extensive script read-through this spring as part of their experiential learning opportunities.
The third project has yet to be named but will take Veninger to Iceland this summer for research and development. She envisions part of the story being shot in Reykjavik and is exploring international co-production opportunities – a topic she teaches in her upper-year producing class at York.
As Veninger embarks on this new chapter of her career, The Cardinal Studio in Banff will offer her the solitude she needs to focus on her creative work. “Having uninterrupted time to immerse myself in writing is going to be invaluable,” she says.
Crocodile Eyes premieres Friday, March 28 at 4:30 p.m., at Scotiabank Theatre. Tickets go on sale March 10 at canfilmfest.ca.