Veronika Gribanova is a writer, performer, and director. She writes comedies, dramedies, and satires with a focus on improvisational dialogue, because she likes how real people speak and wants the screen and stage to reflect that once in a while. Her feature TWO CLOWNS is in development with Independent Entertainment with BAFTA-winning director Lynsey Miller attached to direct. Her short film THE COMICS, starring Veronika alongside Ryan Belleville, was selected for Miami Film Festival, Beverly Hills Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival, Soho International Film Festival, LA Comedy Film Festival, and Telefilm Canada’s showcase at Cannes. Her short BFF HAS CANCER :(, created in partnership with Firecracker Department, Scotiabank, and Ontario Creates, was selected for the Canadian Film Fest, and her latest web series SQUAD SOULS was selected for CBC Digital Originals. She is now in pre-production on her first feature film HIGHER, which she is set to direct. She recently assisted Emmy-nominated Alyson Feltes in the creation of a new drama series for Green Room and Story Girls. Her work has been developed at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, Stowe Story Labs, Samuel French OOB Festival, Atlantic Acting School, The New Group, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, The Tank, and FEM Script Lab, and she has received funding from the CBC, Telefilm, Canada Council for Arts, and Ontario Arts Council. Her plays have been performed in Off-Broadway houses, as well as in Canada and the UK. She directed the Canadian premiere of Christine Evans’ “Trojan Barbie” and “Asuncion” by Jesse Eisenberg, her own play “zounds!” at the Edinburgh Fringe, her play “Lover Lover” at the Toronto Fringe, as well as multiple shorts and web series. She studied writing at University of Toronto and King’s College London, and trained at the Atlantic Theater Company’s Full Time Conservatory and Upright Citizens Brigade. Based in Los Angeles, she also works in New York, Toronto, and London. She is facilitating the Chateau Normandie Artist Residency in Normandy, France.
