Stephen Dunn (director)


Stephen Dunn is a Canadian director, screenwriter, producer, and web series creator. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2015 with Closet Monster, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Early life

Dunn was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. He later studied at the Canadian Film Centre and at Ryerson University.

Career

Dunn attended film school and produced several short films as a student, many of which screened at festivals. One of his early short films, titled Life Doesn't Frighten Me, starred acclaimed Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent and won various awards, including the CBC Short Film Face-Off, with a cash prize of $30,000. The film also won awards at the Toronto Student Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013.
His other short films have included Lionel Lonely Heart, Words! Words! Words! and Swallowed.

''Closet Monster''

Dunn's feature film directorial debut, Closet Monster, won the award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. He was also named the inaugural winner of the Len Blum Residency, a Toronto International Film Festival program for emerging directors.

Other work

Dunn also recently directed and produced the web series Pop-Up Porno, which streams on YouTube and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He also directed "The Son", a 2020 episode of the Apple TV+ series Little America focusing on a gay immigrant from Syria, and has been writing a planned reboot of Queer as Folk.

Personal life

Dunn is openly queer.