Alison McAlpine

Alison McAlpine is a Canadian filmmaker and writer living in Montreal, Quebec, best known for her films CIELO and perfectly a strangeness.

Career Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, she began her career as a poet, playwright and theatre director.

She moved into filmmaking with her first film Second Sight, a cinematic non-fiction ghost story. Second Sight was presented at more than 35 international film festivals, winning the Special Jury Mention at Slamdance 2009. The BBC also commissioned her to make two versions of Second Sight: An Da Shealladh for BBC Alba (2005) and Ghostman of Skye (2009) for the series Wonderland on BBC2.

CIELO, McAlpine's first feature documentary, premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2017. The film is about the myths, stories, existential queries and beauty of the night sky as experienced in the Atacama Desert and was released in its final version in 2018. The film has been presented in over 400 international film festivals and cinemas, as well as winning several awards. , Named as “One of the 10 best documentaries of 2018” by Esquire and “The best films of 2018…that you didn’t see” by The Guardian, CIELO has also been critically acclaimed by Variety, The Village Voice, The Globe and Mail, Le Devoir and Indie Outlook. , , , , ,

perfectly a strangeness, McAlpine's first short film, had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Official Competition 2024, , its North American Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival , and has since travelled to over 100 international film festivals and cinemas, playing in 34 countries and winning 24 awards. Notably, it was named to TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2024 and received the Oscar qualifying Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short 2025, the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival of 2024 and the Grand Prize of 2024 at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma. , “One of the most cinematic documentaries of the year”, according to Deadline Hollywood writer Matthew Carey, perfectly a strangeness has been nominated by the 2026 Academy Awards for Best Short Documentary Film, and also by the 2026 Cinema Eye Honors for Best Nonfiction Short Film of 2026.

A 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, McAlpine has taught filmmaking at several universities. She was the Mordecai Richler Writer/Filmmaker in Residence at McGill University and has offered masterclasses at the Scottish Documentary Institute in Edinburgh, among other institutions. She is currently working on several new films and writings.

Filmography 2005: An Da Shealladh 2008: Second Sight 2009: Ghostman of Skye 2018: CIELO 2024: perfectly a strangeness

Awards and nominations Year Organization Category Nominated work Result Ref.2018 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best DocumentaryCielo Byron Bay International Film Festival Best Cinematography Best Documentary Best Film Salem Film Fest Award for Cinematography Banff Mountain Film Competition Award for Creative Excellence Santiago International Film Festival Kinêma Award 2019 Trento Film Festival Audience Award Bilbao Mendi Film Festival Best Cinematography Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma Most Successful Film Outside Quebec Best Cinematography in a Documentary Best Documentary Best Sound in a Documentary Ulju Mountain Film Festival Grand Prize 2024 Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo Documentary Short Film 2024perfectly a strangeness Festival du nouveau cinéma National Competition Grand Prize Science New Wave Festival Theme-Sensitive Award Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short Oscar Qualifying Trento Film Festival Silver Gentian, Best Artistic Technical Contribution Festival Plein(s) Écran(s) Prix Yes Sir! Madame… Green Film Network Awards Best Short Green Film