Wanda Nolan is a writer and filmmaker, originally from Freshwater, Placentia Bay, who now lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She made her directorial debut in the Fall of 2016 with a short animation she wrote called Mystery of the Secret Room, produced by the National Film Board of Canada. She also released her short film, Crocuses, winner of the RBC Michelle Jackson Award – a financial and mentorship prize for emerging female filmmakers. Mystery of the Secret Room was nominated for two Golden Sheaf Awards, in the Emerging Filmmaker and Animation categories. It also has received a special invitation to screen at the National Arts Centre in July, 2017, as a part of CANADA SCENE – a celebration of artists across Canada.
In 2014, Nolan was named 1 of 11 writers to watch for on CBC Canada Writes. Her feature script, The Magic of Boxer Connors, is in development with Pope Productions. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies and journals, like Invisible Publishing and Riddle Fence.
In May 2013, The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council presented her with the CBC Newfoundland and Labrador’s Emerging Artist of the Year Award.
In 2012, she won the Atlantic Film Festival’s Inspired Script Award for her feature screenplay, The Magic of Boxer Connors. It was presented this year (2014) as a live reading at the Atlantic Film Festival’s Script Out Loud event. In 2009, she was given the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts & Letters Award for her short film script Four Sisters. The short aired on CBC television and has had a successful film festival run, receiving an A&E short film honourable mention from the National Screen Institute.
Besides writing, Nolan is a researcher and script consultant. Most of her research is with the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada. She love the collaborative approach they take with their projects. Nolan is an alumna of the WIDC CAM – St John’s.