Summer of Semitism
Feature Film | In Development
Four lifelong friends return as councillors to their childhood Jewish summer camp, but when one of them is brutally attacked, their bond and the camp itself begin to unravel. ​
Director, Producer Wayne Burns
Writer Ori Black
Awards + Festival Selections
*Winner - 2025 Chilliwack Independent Film Festival Pitch Competition
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Featherweight
Short Film | 4K | Digital | Post-Production
A man who works as a blanket (Michael Ayres) is sent on his latest assignment, only to discover that the customer (David Benjamin Thomlinson) who purchased him has ulterior motives.
Writer, Director Michael Ayres
Producer Wayne Burns
Cinematography Ashley Iris Gill
Production Design Nikki Watson
Costume Design Eish Van Wieren
Composer Adrian Shephard-Gawinski
BunkerTime!
Short Film | 19 minutes | 4K | Digital
​Go deep with wartime wonder and drag superstar Pearle Harbour and her friend Cheese Louise (Karen Hines), as they shelter from the horror outside in her fabulous Bunker.​
Writer, Director Justin Miller
Producers Wayne Burns, Justin Miller
Cinematographer Gayle Ye
Editor Alaine Hutton
Costume Design Justin Miller
Production Design Sonja Rainey
Sound Jonah Blaser, Quinn Hoodless
Composer Greg Morrison
Awards + Festival Selections
2025 Blood in The Snow Film Festival
2026 Dances With Films: New York
C A K E
Live Performance | 50 minutes
An exploration of indulgence and discipline through the performance of a high-intensity workout while consuming a multi-layered cake.
Creator, Performer Wayne Burns
Movement Director Yasmeen "Jazz" Kamal
Spacial Dramaturge Bianca Guimarães de Manuel
Sound Design Adrian Shephard-Gawinski
Development + Performances
2024 "Night Shift" Residency - The Theatre Centre
2025 Summerworks Performance Festival ​
EEL
Short Film | 11 Minutes | 4K | Digital
Struggling to provide for his family, Jason, a young electrician (Wayne Burns), is lured into the perilous and high-stakes world of illegal elver fishing, where survival means navigating deadly waters.​
Writer, Director, Producer, Editor Wayne Burns
Cinematographer Tim Mombourquette
Sound Josh Owen, Anthony Abbatangelo
Awards + Festival Selections
2025 Atlantic International Film Festival
2025 CineEco Film Festival
2025 Silverwave Film Festival
2026 Oceanside International Film Festival
Honey I'm Home
Live Performance | 75 minutes
When overworked Janine (Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton) uploads her consciousness into her smart home to escape workplace monotony, a slow Wi-Fi connection unravels a chilling secret, plunging her into a surreal body horror mystery that blurs the line between escape and entrapment.
Created by LesterTrips (Theatre)
Producers Lauren Gillis, Alaine Hutton, Laura Philipps, Wayne Burns
Lighting Design Andre Du Toit
Sound Design Quinn Hoodles
Development + Performances
2024 Rhubarb Festival - Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
2025 Factory Theatre
fastLOVE
Short Film | 16 minutes | 4K | Digital
On New Year’s Eve, a broke and restless young man (Wayne Burns) is drawn into a risky encounter with a hustler's client (Darius Zee) at a hotel, only to find himself unraveling a web of deceit, power dynamics, and personal boundaries.​
Writer, Director Wayne Burns
Producers Malachi Ellis, Wayne Burns​
Cinematographer J Stevens
Editor Nicole Sison, Michal Hueston
Costume Design Wayne Burns
Production Design Nikki Watson
Sound Jonah Blaser, William Cabana-Marshall, Anthony Abbatangelo
Awards + Festival Selections
2025 Roze Filmdagen - LGBTQ+ Film Festival
2025 Out + Loud Film Festival
2025 Inside Out Film Festival
2025 Mezipatra Film Festival
2025 Melbourne Queer Film Festival
2025 Image + Nation LGBTQ2A+ Film Festival
Greenhorn
Short Film | 14 minutes | 4K | Digital
When a young, masculine-presenting woman (Celia Green) returns home to care for her estranged father (Casey Fleming) after a car accident, she’s forced to confront the fragile ties of family and the collision of identity and acceptance.​
Writer, Director Sabrina Way
Producers Wayne Burns, Sabrina Way
Cinematographer Sam Holling
Editor Daniel Monteil
Production Design Hanna Jose
Costume Design Nikki Watson
Sound Jonah Blaser, Roseángela Hernández Gómez
Awards + Festival Screenings
2025 Ottawa International Film Festival
2025 Canadian Film Festival (*Winner Best Performance in a Short)
2025 Pink Apple Queer Film Festival
2025 Nefiltravanae Kino
2025 Future of Film Showcase (*Winner Best Writing)
2025 Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival
2025 Out On Film Festival
2025 Buffalo International Film Festival
2025 Tampere Film Festival - Special Program Selection
2025 LesGaiCineMad - Madrid LGBT Film Festival
2025 Kansai Queer International Film Festival
​​
Distribution
Soap
Short Film | 13 minutes | 4K | Digital
Two best friends (Lauren Beatty and Karyn Avalon), reeling from breakups, retreat to a hotel where shared laughter and hidden tensions push them to confront heartbreak, identity, and the strength of chosen family.​
Director LuLu Wei
Writers Lauren Beatty, Karyn Avalon
Producers Lauren Beatty, Karyn Avalon, Perrie Voss, Wayne Burns
Cinematographer J Stevens
Editor Naseem Loloie
Sound Sandra Annan
Awards + Festival Screenings
2023 Inside Out Film Festival
2023 Vancouver Queer Film Festival
2023 LGBT+ Film Festival Poland
2023 Indie Short Film Fest Finalist
2023 Wicked Queer Boston’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival
2023 Last Frame London
2023 ReelQ: Pittsburgh LGBTQ+ Film Festival
2023 Canadian Film Festival
A Queer's Guide to Spiritual Living
Blending zine-inspired animation, spoken word, and poetry with insightful interview footage, this lo-fi documentary collage follows four queer people from different religious backgrounds as they explore the intersections of faith and queerness.
Executive Producer Wayne Burns
Directors, Producers Michal Hueston, Ari Birch
Cinematography Brittany Nguyen
Editor Cindy Long
Sound Ariana Sharovarova
Composer Grace Dickson, Dylan Lodge
Awards + Festival Screenings
2023 Inside Out Film Festival
2023 Vancouver Queer Film Festival
​
Licensed by
OUTtv
Never Gonna Give You Up
Live Performance | 70 Minutes
A cyclical drag performance of Lisa Stansfield's 1997 chart-topping cover of Barry White's Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up. ​
Creator, Performer Wayne Burns​
Sound Design Aaron Collier
Development + Performances
2022 In The Soil Arts Festival
RUN
Live Performance | 120 Minutes
A young man (Wayne Burns) runs from something unseen; a cyclical meditation on inner demons. ​
Creator, Performer Wayne Burns​
Music Bryce Hodgson, Bri Proke
Costume Assistant Emma Banigan
Development + Performances
2022 MarcoDigitals Residency - Eastern Front Theatre
TESSEL
A national initiative conceptualized by Dora-nominated choreographer and dancemaker Esie Mensah, featuring the stories of 14 pioneering Black artists from across Canada, exploring the complexities of diverse movement and voice as a form of resilience.​
Director Esie Mensah
Producer Wayne Burns
Editor Sonya Mwambu
Sound Meg Roe, Alessandro Juliani​
Awards + Festival Screenings
2022 Festival Art Saint-Sauveur
2022 Toronto Women in Film Festival
2022 Festival Internacional De Teatro Mercosur
A Revolution of Love
A young Black woman (Esie Mensah) confronts the weight of her ancestors' histories and the pain of present-day violence in her community, using dance to reimagine her future and reclaim her power.
Directors Weyni Mengesha, Lucius Dechausay, Esie Mensah
Choreographer Esie Mensah
Producer Wayne Burns​
Cinematography Angel Navarro III
Editor Lucius Dechausay
Costume Design Rachel Forbes
Music d'bi young antifrika (feat. Assata Shakur)
Sound Reza Dahya
Awards + Festival Screenings
2021 American Black Film Festival
2021 Screen Dance Film Festival
*Winner of Lieutenant Governor Ontario Heritage Award for Community Leadership as part of “Awakenings”
here comes the rain again
Short Film | 5 Minutes | 4K | Digital
A young man (Wayne Burns) arrives at his ex's door in the middle of a rainstorm, driven by the hope of reconnecting.
Writer, Director, Producer Wayne Burns
Cinematographer, Editor J Stevens
Awards + Festival Screenings
2020 IdiotVision Arts Festival
Body So Fluorescent
Short Film | 9 Minutes | 4K | Digital
Desiree (Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah) and Shenice (Amanda Cordner) set out for a night of dancing, but when Shenice crosses a line, Desiree is forced to confront the darker truth about her friend—and the role she may have played in her transformation.
Director David Di Giovanni
Writer David Di Giovanni, Amanda Cordner
Producer Wayne Burns
Cinematographer J Stevens
Editor Michal Hueston
Costume Design Rachel Forbes
Sound Amanada Ann-Min Wong, Anthony Abbatangelo
Composer Steven Bowa
Awards + Festival Screenings
*Winner of OutACTRAto’s “Queer Your Stories” Film Competition
2020 Inside Out Film Festival (*Winner of Emerging Canadian Artist Award)
2020 Cucalorus Film Festival
2020 Izmir International Short Film Festival
2020 Ottawa International Film Festival
LIAR
Short Film | 18 Minutes | 4K | Digital
What starts as an innocent hookup between two young men (Wayne Burns and Allister MacDonald) spirals into an exploration of insecurities, dark pasts, and the emotional cost of vulnerability.
Director, Producer Wayne Burns
Writer Brian Drader, Wayne Burns
Costume Design Wayne Burns
Cinematographer J Stevens
Editor Eric Metzloff
Sound Alisa Erlickh, Anthony Abbatangelo
Composer Josh Cruddas
Awards + Festival Screenings
2020 Film Pride LGBTQ+ Festival
2020 Inside Out Film Festival
2020 Image+Nation LGBTQ2AI+ Film Festival
2025 Queer Cinema Club - The Paradise Theatre
​
Licensed by
CBC
Curtains
Short Film - Installation | 7 Minutes | 4K | Digital
Using sculpture, video, and the lives of six Toronto art-makers, "Curtains" simulates refuge from the banal by creating a cyclical intimate dance party for the viewer
Director, Writer, Producer, Editor Wayne Burns
Cinematographer J Stevens
Music "Flawless" by George Michael
Awards + Festival Screenings
2018 Fluid Fest
2018 Dark Day Monday
Prey
Short Film | 10 Minutes | 4K | Digital
A young woman (Erica Anderson) confronts her past and present romantic partners (Stephen Tracey and Andrew Chown), leading to an exploration of identity and the difficult choice to prioritize herself.
Director Vivien Endicott-Douglas
Writer Britney Tangedal
Producers Wayne Burns, Erica Anderson, Stephen Tracey
Cinematographer Gayle Ye
Editor Craig Jay
Composer Deanna H. Choi
Sound Andrew Moir, Geoff Devine
Awards + Festival Screenings
2018 Female Eye Film Festival
The Gift Giver
Short Film | 11 Minutes | 4K | Digital
A desperate young man (Wayne Burns) joins an HIV support group with the sole mission of contracting the virus
Writer, Director Denis Theriault
Producer Wayne Burns
Cinematographer Jordan Kennington
Editor Craig Jay
Composer Evan MacDonald
Sound Design Devin LaCroix, Geoff Devine
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Awards + Festival Screenings
2017 Inside Out Film Festival
2017 NewFest
2017 Image+Nation LGBTQ2AI+ Film Festival
2017 OUTfest
2017 Out South Queer Film Festival
Project: CNY
Short Film | 15 minutes | 4K | Digital
When a scientist is kidnapped and a bio-nuclear weapon stolen, Q (Michael Man), a tech engineer for the nation’s top agent (Brett Donahue), must choose between saving his family or the fate of the world.​
Director, Editor Sean Kung
Writer Celeste Koon
Producer Wayne Burns, AJ Simmons, Sean Kung
Cinematographer Howard Wan
Composer Matthew Van Driel
Sound Devin LaCroix, Mark Matusoff
Awards + Festival Screenings
2016 REELWorld Film Festival
2016 Toronto Youth Film Festival (*Winner of Audience Choice Award)
Wanted
Short Film | 5 minutes | 4K | Digital
Two socialites (Wayne Burns and AJ Simmons) hatch a daring plan to secure their next stream of income: kidnapping. ​
Director AJ Simmons
Writer, Producer, Costume Design Wayne Burns
Cinematographer Luke Wan
Editor Christine Armstrong
Composer Josh Cruddas
Sound Design James Belyea, Brett Killoran
LIONESS
Live Performance | 65 Minutes
A struggling single mother ( Wayne Burns) attends her first parent-teacher meeting at her son’s elite private school, only to face the shocking accusation that she’s the reason for his struggles, forcing her to confront prejudice, privilege, and her own self-doubt.​
Creator, Performer Wayne Burns
Original Direction Adam Lazarus, Jodi Essery
Additional Direction Petra O'Toole
Development + Performances
2013 The National Theatre School of Canada
2013 Soloicious Festival
2015 The Marigold Centre
2015 Bus Stop Theatre
2015 The Box Theatre
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