ABOUT us

FILM FORGE is a production company dedicated to producing thematically complex, formally innovative film and television from indelible cinematic voices. Founded in 2007 and led by writer-director Andrew Cividino and producer Karen Harnisch, we cater to global audiences from our home base in Toronto, Canada

The company’s credits include Cividino’s SLEEPING GIANT (Cannes Critics Week 2015; TIFF 2015), Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis’ WHITE LIE (TIFF 2019), and Brandon Cronenberg’s INFINITY POOL (Sundance 2023; Berlinale 2023), a Neon, Focus Features and Elevation Pictures release.

Upcoming projects include Amar Wala’s debut fiction feature SHOOK, Eva Michon’s MIZERIA and CUTBLOCK from Cividino and Trey Edward Shults, in development with Hyperobject Industries.

In September 2022, we joined forces with fellow Canadian prodco Triple Point to launch a capitalized development slate of new work, fostering collaborations with breakthrough talent from around the world.

 

ANDREW CIVIDINO

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Andrew Cividino (he/him) is a writer/director and Co-President of Film Forge. His debut feature film SLEEPING GIANT had its world premiere at Critics’ Week in Cannes and went on to win prizes at TIFF, Munich and Mumbai. Andrew was a frequent director on the POPTV/CBC series SCHITT’S CREEK, for which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction for a Comedy Series in 2020. His upcoming feature film CUTBLOCK is in development with Adam McKay’s Hyperobject Industries (Succession).

Andrew is an alumni of Berlinale Talents, TIFF’s Len Blum Fellowship, Sundance Institute’s FilmTwo Lab, and the Oxbelly Screenwriters Lab. As a producer, Andrew plays an active role in Film Forge’s slate of projects, including Brandon Cronenberg’s INFINITY POOL.

 

KAREN HARNISCH

Karen Harnisch (she/her) is a film and television producer and Co-President of Film Forge. She produced Andrew Cividino’s breakthrough SLEEPING GIANT which premiered at Semaine de la Critique (Critics' Week) in Cannes and won the Best Canadian First Feature Award at TIFF. Karen has since produced Brandon Cronenberg’s INFINITY POOL, Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis’ WHITE LIE, Antoine Bourges' FAIL TO APPEAR, Drew Lint's M/M and 13 MINUTES by Lindsay Gossling. Karen is currently producing Amar Wala's feature SHOOK and CUTBLOCK, written and directed by Cividino and Trey Edward Shults. 

Karen is also experienced as a line producer and production executive on independent, studio- and streamer-backed films and television series. She is an alumna of TIFF Studio, the EAVE Producers Workshop and The Torino Film Lab, and a recipient of a SSHRC grant for her Master's Thesis: “Producing Producers: Critical Film Production Education and Canada’s Future Cinema”. In 2021, Karen joined the faculty of Toronto Metropolitan University's The Creative School - Image Arts, where she teaches creative producing.