Danis Goulet

Danis Goulet (born 1977) is a Canadian First Nations (Cree-Métis) filmmaker and screenwriter, whose debut feature film, Night Raiders, premiered in 2021.

Early life Goulet is originally from La Ronge, Saskatchewan. Her non-Indigenous mother worked in the education department of First Nations University. Her Nehinuw (Cree) father, Keith, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), and is a fluent Nehinuwehin (Cree) speaker who grew up living a trapping, hunting, fishing and gathering lifestyle in the Cree community of Cumberland House.

After graduating high school, Goulet backpacked abroad. She returned to Regina in 1998. Divided by Zero (2006), Wapawekka (2010), Wakening (2013), and Night Raiders (2021).

In 2013, Goulet co-authored a report for Telefilm Canada about the lack of Indigenous feature film production in the country. She was also a consulting producer on the 2020 television series Trickster, but resigned from the show after the emergence of allegations that series creator Michelle Latimer had misrepresented her Indigenous identity.

Goulet began writing Night Raiders in 2013 after her science-fiction short Wakening inspired her to experiment more with the genre. She shot the film in 2019 in Ontario. Goulet stated that the film was inspired in large part by Indigenous resistance movements. though Goulet was unable to attend the premiere. Night Raiders was one of the first 13 films announced for the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. She was also announced as the 2021 recipient of TIFF's Emerging Talent Award. The film was nominated for 11 awards at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards, tied with Scarborough for the most nominations for one film that year. Goulet was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, winning Best Original Screenplay. The film was also a nominee for both Best Picture and the John Dunning Best First Feature Award.

In its year-end review of Canadian film and television in 2021, the trade magazine Playback named Goulet the Director of the Year. Goulet directed the fourth episode of the second season of Reservation Dogs.

In the same year Goulet was announced as the director of Ivy, an upcoming Netflix thriller film slated to star Brazilian actress Alice Braga.

She directed episodes seven and eight of the first season of North of North.

Personal life Goulet is married to Tony Elliott.

Awards Year Award Category Work Result Notes 2021 DGC Discovery Awards n/a Night Raiders 2021 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Director of a Canadian Film Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film 2021Toronto International Film FestivalTIFF Emerging Talent Award 2021 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Rogers Best Canadian Film Award 2022 Canadian Screen Awards Best Picture for Tara Woodbury, Paul Barkin, Ainsley Gardiner, Georgina Conder, Danis Goulet Best Director Best Original Screenplay John Dunning Best First Feature Award