Bruce McDonald Overview

A graduate of the film programme at Toronto's Ryerson University (where he studied with avant garde filmmaker R. Bruce Elder, among others,) Bruce McDonald is a fan favourite in the world of independent Canadian film. His career actually began in high... [more]

A graduate of the film programme at Toronto's Ryerson University (where he studied with avant garde filmmaker R. Bruce Elder, among others,) Bruce McDonald is a fan favourite in the world of independent Canadian film. His career actually began in high school, including one film that made $100 at a school cafeteria screening, but he came to be best known for his rock 'n' roll trilogy that included Roadkill (1989), Highway 61 (1991,) and Hard Core Logo (1996) - his image helped no doubt by the fact that, in accepting an award for Roadkill at the Toronto Festival of Festivals, he declared that he'd be spending the money on "a large chunk of hash". He was also given the Best Director Award for Highway 61 at the San Sebastien Film Festival. Along with other features and a solid chunk of directing television series like Lonesome Dove, Twitch city, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Queer as Folk, and more, his reputation grew on the international scene, and in 2001 he directected Claire's Hat, a Hollywood epic starring Juliette Lewis, Mickey Rourke and Gina Gershon that was largely ignored by audiences. Since his return to the world of indie filmmaking, he's directed the technically and visually fascinating Tracey Fragments (2006), starring Ellen Page, a film that took two week to shoot (all in natural light to save time,) and 9 months of post production, and 2009's zombie flick, Pontypool. [show less]