Brenna Goodwin-McCabe is a versatile writer and director with a keen interest in Gothic horror.
In 2019, she was awarded a prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities Research grant for her thesis on Mary Shelley and Guillermo del Toro, which she completed as part of her Masters of English degree at the University of British Columbia. She has presented her writing on science fiction, fantasy, and horror cinema at McGill, Dalhousie, and the University of British Columbia.
Brenna established Hearth Pictures in 2020 with her first horror short, "Half Full" (2021), followed by "The Still" (2022). "Half Full" won honourable mention at the Vancouver Badass Film Festival (2022), and "The Still" premiered at the Toronto Indie Horror Festival (2022).
She went on to Write, Direct, and Executive Produce the surreal horror short "I Can't Go On" (2023) with the Crazy8s organization. It won Best Foreign Short Award in 2023 at La Femme International Film Festival, and later Outstanding Screenplay, Cinematography, and Directing at the Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival in 2024. Most recently, the short earned a stellar 9 Leo Award nominations (including Best Program and Best Screenwriting), and won 4, Brenna winning for Best Direction of a Short Drama.
In addition to filmmaking, Brenna publishes critical analysis through her blog "You Remind Me of the Frame" (youremindmeoftheframe.ca), writing about some of her favourite films and shows. These include "Phantom of the Paradise", "Pan's Labyrinth", "Mad Max: Fury Road", "Twin Peaks", and "Labyrinth".