Arianna Bardesono

A graduate of both the Directing Program at the National Theatre School of Canada and the documentary program at INIS, Arianna Bardesono is a Montreal-based director, theatre maker, and filmmaker originally from Italy. Her practice spans contemporary theatre, documentary film, audio walks, and installation — driven by a constant desire to reveal the complexity of the real and to deepen public dialogue.

In the theatre, Arianna has directed for a wide range of Montreal companies, including Repercussion, Teesri Duniya, Infinitheatre, Théâtre du Quat’Sous, Talisman, Imago, and Geordie, as well as internationally. She was co-founder and co-artistic director of Odelah Creations, an independent company committed to original, boundary-pushing work. In 2013, she received the prestigious John Hirsch Prize, awarded to theatre directors of exceptional promise. Her original creation Les Voisines — an audio walk engaging the Hasidic community of Montreal — exemplifies her commitment to art that crosses boundaries of form and community alike. From 2016 to 2017, she served as Interim Associate Director of the Directing Program at NTS.

Expanding her practice into documentary filmmaking, Arianna’s short films Silvana and Au-delà du regard were selected by numerous festivals, including the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma and Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma; the latter won the Best Documentary Prize at Festival CinéRélève. In 2025, she authored, co-wrote and contributed additional directing to IA : l’angle mort, broadcast on Télé-Québec.
Since 2011, Arianna has been a mentor and instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada. She has also been an artist-in-residence and invited instructor at Concordia University and a faculty member of the Theatre Department at Dawson College.