Ryan hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba—Canada’s poverty and violent crime capital, home to the windiest street corner in the country, where the only thing colder than the weather is the reception to the idea that there is actually a film industry here. But as Ryan proves, sometimes the most interesting stories come from the most unlikely of places. Growing up in a frozen, cultural wasteland where he shoots the lion’s share of his films has imbued his work with a gritty realism and poetic search for any kind of meaning inspired by pastel Prairie sunsets, the urban decay of his home city, and outlier filmmakers like Joel Potrykus, Vincent Gallo, Gasper Noé, and his former University Prof, Guy Maddin. Ryan’s debut feature, Son of the Sunshine (Slamdance), was nominated by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for a Canadian Screen Award (CSA). It screened at over 50 festivals, winning 13 awards, and was distributed by Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Hulu, and MUBI. Ryan also wrote and directed, In the Beginning Was Water and Sky (PBS) and Time Traveling Through Time (Tallinn Black Nights, Seattle International Film Festival, Flickers’ First Prize Best Experimental Film). His new feature film, The Aquanaut and the Shipwreck shoots in Los Angeles this spring.