Brianna Russell

Brianna Russell (she/her) is a queer filmmaker, playwright and author from Clarke’s Beach, NL. Her work focuses on queerness in media, genre filmmaking, as well as the history and folklore of her childhood home. As a playwright, Brianna’s one-act plays ‘Icarus Is Falling’ and ‘The Virgin, Mary’ have received development workshops through PARC/Shakespeare by the Sea and Doormouse Productions, respectively. She is the Co-Owner/Artistic Producer at Sheep’s Clothing Theatre, and was the producer for the company’s show, ‘Pony Girls’ at Hamilton Fringe on the Streets. Most recently, she received a RGTC from Outside the March alongside co-collaborator Catie Thorne for their site-specific adaptation of Julius Caesar set in a fraternity entitled ‘Blood Brothers,’ of which she was the playwright and producer. ‘Blood Brothers’ had a limited run in August 2025 at the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. As a filmmaker, Brianna’s films have premiered at national and international film festivals, including the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, the Atlantic International Film Festival, and Blood in the Snow Film Festival. She was a quarterfinalist in the Outstanding Screenplay Competition for her feature film script POSTER CHILD. Her short of the same name premiered at the Closing Night Gala of SJIWFF and was a finalist in the 18th season of the CBC Short Film Face Off. In 2024, Brianna was selected to make a PictureStart short film entitled ‘Black Hole,’ which is currently entering the festival circuit. 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. Brianna is a current resident in the 2025 CFC’s Norman Jewison Writers’ Lab. As an author, Brianna has won multiple Arts and Letters awards for her writing, most recently for the short story ‘Black Hole’ in the Junior Prose category. She is a finalist for the ArtsNL 2024 Emerging Artist of the Year Award.