DIRECTOR

Jennifer draws on her extensive choreographic and movement background for her work as a television and film director. An exciting new directorial voice, her style is known for its dynamic energy, a dance between the camera and its subject.

WATCH SWEAT TRAILER

Legendary film and opera director Atom Egoyan calls her feature film directorial debut, Sweat, ‘An extraordinary film. Made with care and bravura and full of rich emotion.’

Jennifer’s stage direction includes commissions for Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, over twenty years as Co-Artistic Director of Hit & Run Dance Productions and most recently, Assistant Director for the Canadian Opera Company’s production of La Bohème.

FILM & TV

Director, Choreographer

Short Film
Exultate Chamber Singers
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Director, Producer, Choreographer

Feature film
Bicycle Opera
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Co-Choreographer, Co-Director

Short Film
Moving Target Media/ Hit&Run Dance Productions
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Director, Movement Director

Short Film Canadian Art Song Project
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Co-Director

Short Film Moving Target Media/Hit & Run Dance Productions
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Director, Choreographer

Short Film
JJ Dance Arts
Co-Director, Choreographer

Short Film In Development
Co-Director

Short Film New Art/New Music
In Development
Director, Choreographer

Short Film No Intermission Media In Development

STAGE

Assistant Director

Canadian Opera Company
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Director, Choreographer

In Development
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Director, Choreographer

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
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Co-Director, Choreographer

FAWN Chamber Creative
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Co-Artistic Director, Choreographer

Hit & Run Productions
2004-current
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SWEAT

Jennifer’s feature film directorial debut, ‘Sweat’ (Bicycle Opera), premiered at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and won Best Narrative Feature at the L.A. Independent Women Film Awards. Celebrated director Atom Egoyan calls it ‘An extraordinary film. Made with care and bravura and full of rich emotion.’

Producers- Larissa Koniuk, Jennifer Nichols
Composer- Juliet Palmer
Librettist- Anna Chatterton
Music Director- Geoffrey Sirett
Director of Photography- Ash Tailor
1st Assistant Camera- Vy Nyugen
Costume Designer- Krista Dowson
Key Gaffer/Additional Camera Operator- Braden Dragomir
Key Grip/Additional Camera Operator- Brody McMaster
Production Manager- Emese Kiraly

The Overseer- Catherine Daniel
The Manager- Keith Lam
The Neighbour- Larissa Koniuk
The Union Organizer- Stephanie Tritchew
Worker 1- Caitlin Wood
Worker 2- Justine Owen
Worker 3- Erica Iris
Worker 4- Alex Beley
Worker 5- Cindy Won
Dancer 1- Dedra McDermott
Dancer 2- Carleen Zouboules
Dancer 3- Miyeko Ferguson

WATCH TRAILER

An extraordinary film. Made with care and bravura and full of rich emotion.

Atom Egoyan

This film fires on all pistons — a thrilling, masterfully crafted union of opera and dance.

Michael Maclennan
(Creator/Showrunner, Tiny Pretty Things, Bomb Girls, Writer Queer as Folk)

It’s a rare thing that an opera holds power both as a live art form and on screen. …As a film, it’s stylized yet real, a true and earthy story told through a lens of beauty. …And since it’s also Nichols’ feature film directorial debut, it’s worth noting how effective the climactic scene is, how she leans into the heartbreaking beauty in the singers even as a nightmare unfolds.

Jenna Simeonov
(Editor, Schmopera)

A ferociously inventive, profoundly disturbing, piercing cinematic cry for humanity and justice. Demands to be seen.

Ian Ritchie (Opera Going Toronto)

I was expecting, I think, something like a video of the stage show along the lines of all those things we watched with mixed feelings during the Great Plague. I was wrong. This is an atmospheric, location filmed, movie with terrific direction by Jennifer Nichols, really impressive cinematography by Ash Tailor and very effective sound design by Geoff Sirett.

John Gilks
(Opera Ramblings)