Morgenstern’s first screen directing experience was shared with her brother Mark Morgenstern. They shot their short film Curtains/Rideau in English and French versions, in anamorphic widescreen (16mm Cinemascope). They co-produced, co-directed and co-edited the film, mobilizing crew and cast from among friends and financing it so that they could shoot without waiting for grants. Curtains premiered at TIFF and toured festivals internationally, winning multiple awards and earning a Genie (Canadian Academy) nomination for Best Live Action Short Film.
Remembrance was next, which Morgenstern directed solo, and co-wrote and co-starred in with Mark Ellis. Like Curtains, it was shot in anamorphic widescreen, premiered at TIFF, toured the international festivals and racked up nominations and awards, including another Genie nomination. Cutting a trailer from the short, they used it to help win the national Pitch This! Competition at TIFF. The cash prize allowed them to develop Remembrance into longer dramatic form, which later became X Company.
After a ten-year detour into full-time screenwriting and showrunning, Morgenstern returned to the director’s chair to shoot the two-hour series finale of X Company with a Canadian and international cast in Budapest. Since that time she has been working as a freelance television director. After living in the WWII espionage world for many years, she has expanded into other genres as well, including medical procedural (Nurses on Global/NBC), sci-fi comedy/adventure (Killjoys on Syfy/Space), serialized legal/police drama (Burden of Truth on CBC/CW), and the episodic detective show (Hudson & Rex on CityTv).
DIRECTING SAMPLES
Director Showreel
Sizzle reel from episodic TV directing. 2 min 9 sec.
CBC Featurette
Behind-the-scenes look at the making of the two-part series finale of X Company, featuring interviews with lead actors, as well as Morgenstern and Ellis.
SELECTED SCENES
Burden of Truth
Legal / police drama (CBC/CW). Returning to her home town, Joanna confronts the emotional aftermath of the brutal murder of her father. 7 min 4 sec.
X Company
Scenes from finale of WW2 espionage drama (CBC / Sony Television). When plans to assassinate Professor Voigt go off the rails and Franz Faber reveals he’s betrayed the Allies, Aurora has one last card to play: to remind him of his little boy the Nazis forced him to kill. 10 min 9 sec.
Nurses
Medical drama (NBC/Global). Grace must treat an ex-flame suffering from a panic attack on his wedding day, and soon faces the grave consequences of exposing herself to radiation while trying to rescue a patient. 4 min 47 sec.
Killjoys
Sci-fi comedy adventure (Space Channel/Syfy). When D’av’s long-lost son Jac is hunted by bad guys because of his special powers, D’av and Johnny seek refuge on their home planet… where they are hit with a lethal silica sandstorm. 5 min 2 sec.
Hudson & Rex
Crime procedural (CityTV). 20 years after the killing of a police chief’s son, the man convicted of the crime is released from prison… only to become the prime suspect in a new murder: the victim’s brother. 5 min 55 sec.
Remembrance (Full short film)
Award-winning WWII espionage drama. A fragile man with perfect memory is approached one night by a stranger with a life-changing offer. 19 min 45 sec.
Fake Dates
Excerpt from a romantic comedy teaser. Two former lovers, now good friends, launch an app that gets them hired to impersonate anyone their client requests — usually romantic partners. 2 min 31 sec.