Renuka Jeyapalan

Renuka Jeyapalan is a Canadian film director, television director, and screenwriter based in Toronto. She is best known for her award-winning short film Big Girl, which won the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Short Film, and her feature film debut Stay the Night (2022), which premiered at South by Southwest. As a television director, she has worked on series including Murdoch Mysteries, Kim's Convenience, Workin' Moms, Ginny and Georgia, Sort Of, and Wayward.

Early life and education Jeyapalan is of Tamil and Indian descent. She earned an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of Toronto, where she had initially planned to pursue a career in medicine following the path of many family members. While at university, she took a film studies class that sparked her interest in filmmaking.

After graduating, Jeyapalan enrolled in night school film production classes at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). She also participated in the Women in the Director's Chair (WIDC) Story & Leadership program.

Career

Short films Jeyapalan's debut short film Big Girl (2005), made during her time at the Canadian Film Centre, premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Short Cuts Canada Award for Best Canadian Short Film. The 14-minute drama, which explores the relationship between a nine-year-old girl and her mother's new boyfriend, subsequently screened at over 35 film festivals worldwide, including the Berlin International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and San Francisco International Film Festival.

Following Big Girl, Jeyapalan struggled for years to get her feature projects made while working as an assistant at a Bay Street investment bank, a job she intended to last six months but which extended to six years.

Feature films Jeyapalan co-directed her first feature film, the 2017 thriller Ordinary Days, with Kris Booth and Jordan Canning.

Her solo feature directorial debut, Stay the Night, premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2022. The film was released theatrically in Canada on October 7, 2022, and received positive reviews, holding an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Stay the Night was nominated for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2005 Big Girl Director, writer Short film 2014 Arranged Director, writer Short film 2016 A Bicycle Lesson Director, writer Short film 2017 Ordinary Days Co-director Co-directed with Kris Booth and Jordan Canning 2019 Life Support Director Short film 2022 Stay the Night Director, writer, producer

Television Year Title Notes 2016–present Murdoch Mysteries 2018–2021 Kim's Convenience 2019–2023 Workin' Moms 2021 Ginny and Georgia 2021–2022 Sort Of CSA nomination for Best Direction, Comedy 2022 Children Ruin Everything Pilot episode 2022–present Son of a Critch Pilot episode 2024 North of North 2024 Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent 2024 How to Die Alone 2025 Wayward