Danishka Esterhazy

Esterhazy kicked off her film journey at the Winnipeg Film Group—yeah, that same offbeat crew that gave us Guy Maddin and John Paizs. Not exactly your cookie-cutter film school, but honestly, that’s probably what makes her work pop. She didn’t stop there, though. She went on to polish her craft at the Director’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, which, fun fact, was started by Norman Jewison. Not a bad place to pick up some serious directing chops. Fast forward to 2017 and she’s walking away with the Amazon Filmmaker Award at Sundance. That’s no small feat. Then she scoops up Best Director nods from both the Directors Guild of Canada and the Canadian Screen Awards for “I Was Lorena Bobbitt.” Clearly, she’s not just dabbling—she’s actually shaking things up and getting noticed for it. But it doesn’t stop at movies. She took the reins as Producing Director for the SyFy/Hulu series SurrealEstate, which, let’s be real, is a wild ride of a show. So, whether she’s making indie films with a weird twist or steering the ship on supernatural TV, Esterhazy’s got that rare blend of grit and style. She’s not just another name in the credits—she’s actually carving out her own lane in the film world, and people are starting to pay attention.