Taylor Olson

Taylor Olson (he/ him) is a Canadian Screen Award nominated filmmaker, and actor in Mi’kma’ki/ Nova Scotia. He has directed over seven short films, many of them award-winning, and – alongside partner Koumbie – won Season 10 of CBC’s Short Film Faceoff for the coming-of-age drama Hustle & Heart.

Taylor’s work generally centers around deconstructing toxic ideals of masculinity, his experience as being bisexual, his struggles with bulimia and eating disorders, or the environment.

His first feature film – Bone Cage – has been released to critical acclaim; sweeping the awards at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and earning additional accolades at the Kansas City FilmFest, Silver Wave Film Festival, Mosaic Film Festival, and Hamilton Film Festival. It has appeared in competition at Poland’s Camerimage, where it was nominated for Best Cinematographer’s Debut and had its US debut in January 2021, with nine more US festivals lined up including Cinequest Film Festival. Bone Cage was recently nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards for Adapted Screenplay & Supporting Actress. Taylor is the recipient of the 2020 Arts Nova Scotia Emerging Artist Award.

Directorial Reel: https://vimeo.com/517873184

Afro Viking Pictures Inc. is operated by Taylor Olson and Koumbie, focused on promoting a Canadian culture of kindness, courage and inclusion by challenging societal thinking. Most recently, Olson's first feature, Bone Cage, has been released to critical acclaim; sweeping the awards at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and earning additional accolades at the Kansas City FilmFest, Silver Wave Film Festival, Mosaic Film Festival, and Hamilton Film Festival. It has appeared in competition at Poland’s Camerimage, where it was nominated for Best Cinematographer’s Debut and had its US debut in January 2021, with nine more US festivals lined up including Cinequest Film Festival. Bone Cage was recently nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards for Adapted Screenplay & Supporting Actress.

A list of films produced in whole or part by Afro Viking Pictures:

https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0632847

• Bone Cage (2020) - Writer/ Director/ Lead Actor
• Inceldom, or why are the angry men angry (2020) - Writer/ Director/ Lead Actor/ Producer
• The Date (2019) - Director/ Co-Producer
• Masc (2019) - Writer/ Director/ Lead Actor/ Producer
• Grace (2018) - Writer/ Director/ Co-Producer
• Cut (2017) - Writer/ Director/ Lead Actor/ Producer
• Perfectly Sane (2017) - Writer/ Director/ Lead Actor/ Producer
• Hustle & Heart (2016) - Writer/ Lead Actor/ Co-Producer