Filmmaker and artist Floria Sigismondi is no stranger to working with big names in music, movies and fashion. In fact, she's a big name herself.
Photo credit: Shane McCauley Neuehouse
Sigismondi graduated from the Communication and Design program at the Ontario College of Art (before it became OCAD University) in 1987. Since then, she has established an illustrious career as a director for music videos, films and commercials.
Now based in Los Angeles, Sigismondi has directed iconic videos for artists such as Rihanna, Bjork, The White Stripes and Sigur Ros, which have swept awards globally.
In 2004, her music video for Christina Aguilera's "Fighter" won Video of the Year at the Junos. And in 2014, her music video for Justin Timberlake's "Mirrors" won the MTV Music Video of the Year Award. Her videos for David Bowie and Marilyn Manson have earned permanent spots in New York's Museum of Modern Art.
As a filmmaker, Sigismondi recently directed the supernatural horror feature The Turning. She also wrote and directed the critically acclaimed feature The Runaways starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning and has directed episodes of The Handmaid's Tale and American Gods.
Her commercial work includes directing the commercial for Gucci's Bloom perfume in 2019, starring Florence Welch, Susie Cave, Jodie Smith and Angelica Houston. Sigismondi is also an acclaimed photographer, and her third book of photographs, Eat the Sun, features such Hollywood stars as Nicole Kidman and Tilda Swinton.
Most recently, her video for Sam Smith and Kim Petras's "Unholy" won a Juno for Music Video of the Year and the MTV UK Video for Good award in 2023, and she directed the Spotify clip that reveals Taylor Swift as the Top Artist of the Year.
In 2023, Sigismondi's powerhouse career also led her to win the EnergaCAMERIMAGE Award for Directing Achievements in the Field of Music Videos.
Flash back almost four decades: Sigismondi says that while she mostly took painting classes at OCAD U in the 80s, in her final year, she found photography to be her calling, and film was a natural progression for her after that.
Her parents were Italian opera singers, and she notes that she learned about passion from watching her father sing opera. With a passion for telling stories and creating new worlds where magic and reality merge, her work continues to impress audiences around the world.
In conversation with Floria Sigismondi
