Chris Di Staulo

Chris Di Staulo (born November 9, 1990) is a Canadian film director. His films include those with elements of dark comedy, magic realism, dreams and psychological drama. His works have been selected for film festivals such as the Cannes International Film Festival, Canada International Film Festival, Las Vegas Film Festival and National Screen Institute. Di Staulo's films have been acquired and broadcast globally by streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video and DirecTV; and on networks including CBC Television and ShortsTV.

Chris Di Staulo
Born
Christian Alexander Di Staulo

November 9, 1990 (1990-11-09) (age 32)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationYork University (B.A. Spec. Hons.)
University of Windsor (B.Ed.)
Alma materVanier College at York University
OccupationFilm director
Years active2008 - present
Notable workSomnolence
Dirty Talk
RelativesJosé Greco (Cousin)
Websitechrisdistaulo.com

Early life and education

Christian Alexander Di Staulo was born in Toronto, Ontario to Joseph and Susan Di Staulo (née Blackwell), and has one sister.[1] In his teen years, he was a drama major at Etobicoke School of the Arts,[2] one of the top arts high schools in Canada.[3] Di Staulo attended York University and received a Bachelor of Arts (Specialized Honours) in Directing.[4]

Di Staulo completed a Bachelor of Education at the University of Windsor.[5] He is certified to teach Drama and English in Ontario.[6]

"I grew up on a lot of weird videos on Betamax: Thomas Dolby music videos, The Lost Boys, The Monster Squad. They’re great films but as a 4-year-old child it might be a kind of strange choice. What I find interesting and entertaining might be a little tainted."

— Chris Di Staulo, in an article by Brian Baker for Streeter

[7]

Somnolence

In 2013, Di Staulo directed the short psychological drama Somnolence; George Porter lives in a world where humans have evolved beyond sleep and as a result no longer dream, but he is somehow haunted by dreams of his sister.[8] Di Staulo was one of only a few Canadians selected to showcase their work at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2014.[9] CBC commented on how the Canadian representation at Cannes in 2014 was “an incredible vindication of our film culture.”[10] Somnolence won Best Cinematography and Best Special Effects in a Short Film at the Hollywood & Vine Film Festival in Los Angeles; Award of Excellence at the Best Shorts Competition in San Diego, Accolade Global Film Competition, and IndieFEST Film Awards; a Gold Award at the Aurora Awards; and a nomination for Best Original Score (scored by Nicolas Techer) at both the Hollywood Music in the Media Festival and the Utah Music Awards.[11][12]

Dirty Talk

Di Staulo has created a variety of short films, including his most popular short, Dirty Talk. The film starred Jeremy Ferdman and Katie Strain. On February 14, 2015, Dirty Talk aired on CBC to celebrate the success of Canadian filmmakers for the program Canadian Reflections on CBC Television.

Created as part of the Toronto Film Challenge, where filmmakers were challenged to create a short film in 24 hours using a provided theme, prop, line and location, Dirty Talk received awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound.[13] This film also received an Award of Excellence from the Canadian Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the Las Vegas Film Festival in 2014.[14]

Other work

Di Staulo has directed a number of other short films, including O(A)R, a documentary about Moby Grape frontman Skip Spence. Prior to that he filmed Love for Hire in early 2020, a dark comedy about a matchmaking service run by a middle-aged, jaded Cupid.

As someone who loves storytelling I adore the medium of filmmaking because, not only is it a great way to tell stories, but it incorporates all forms of media into one: visual art, music, dance/physicality/blocking, performance, graphic design.... the list goes on. It's the amalgamation of all these elements in to one which I admire the most."

— Chris Di Staulo, in an interview for OnStage Blog series 'The Self-Isolated Artist'

[15]

Filmography
Film Director Producer Writer Notes
Naughty Neighbours Yes Yes Yes Television film
O(A)R Yes Yes No Television film
Lovers to Strangers Yes Yes Yes Television film
Love for Hire Yes No No Television film
The Roots of Men Yes No No Television film
Dark Spaces Yes Yes Yes Television film
Etobicoke Stories Yes Yes Yes Television film
Somnolence Yes Yes No Television film
Eat, Prey Love Yes No No Television film
Canadian Reflections Yes Yes Yes Television film
Dirty Talk Yes Yes Yes Television film
The Shadow in Red Yes Yes No Television film

Selected Music Videos

• "Love You Right" - Walk off the Earth ft. Lukas Graham[16]

• "A Few Good Stories" - Brett Kissel ft. Walk off the Earth[17]

• "LIKE2LIKE" - Gabriela Bee of The Bee Family[18]

• "Words" - Brianna Corona[19]

References
  1. "'The Self-Isolated Artist' Series: Toronto profile of film maker Chris Di Staulo". OnStage Blog. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  2. Editor, Alumni (2018-10-23). "Chris Di Staulo". ESA Alumni Community. Retrieved 2020-10-05. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. "Fraser Institute - School Ranking". www.compareschoolrankings.org. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  4. "Member Info | Ontario College of Teachers". www.oct.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  5. "Member Info | Ontario College of Teachers". www.oct.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  6. "Member Info | Ontario College of Teachers". www.oct.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  7. "Chris Di Staulo's sleepless in Davisville". Streeter. 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  8. Baker, Brian (June 4, 2014). "Chris Di Staulo's sleepless in Davisville". My Town Crier. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  9. "Short Film Catalog: Somnolence". Festival De Cannes. Cannes International Film Festival. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  10. "Cannes Film Fest gets wave of Canadian movies". Huffington Post.
  11. "Awards". Chris Di Staulo | Filmmaker. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  12. "Awards". Nicolas Techer. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  13. Dirty Talk - IMDb, retrieved 2020-10-05
  14. "2014". lvff18.dropmark.com. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  15. "'The Self-Isolated Artist' Series: Toronto profile of film maker Chris Di Staulo". OnStage Blog. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  16. ""Love You Right" - Walk off the Earth ft. Lukas Graham". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  17. ""A Few Good Stories" - Brett Kissel ft. Walk off the Earth". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2020-11-06. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  18. ""LIKE2LIKE" - Gabriela Bee of The Bee Family". YouTube. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  19. ""Words" - Brianna Corona". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2019-11-16. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
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