BIO
Oshini Wanigasekera is a Toronto based director, actor, animator, dancer and illustrator.
Oshini Wanigasekera is a Toronto based director, actor, animator, dancer and illustrator.
Oshini was born
in Calgary, Alberta. She trained as a dancer at the Ailey School
and Dance Theatre of Harlem School in New York. In 2011 she was
awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award in the performing arts by the province
of Alberta. Oshini has performed for Brooklyn Ballet, Collage Dance Collective, Neville Dance Theatre, The Francesca Harper Project, Eglevsky Ballet, Classical Contemporary Ballet Theatre, The Albano Ballet, and choreographers, Robert Garland, Jeremy McQueen, Nathan Trice, and Julia Gleich.
In 2014, Oshini founded Teeny Trina Inc. Starting with a series of watercolor paintings, her ballet greeting card line expanded and has been sold by dance retailers across the United States. She has since illustrated for web and books.
After completing her studies in 2D and 3D animation at Seneca College in Toronto, Oshini transitioned into acting. Her television appearances include The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu), Titans (HBO), Workin' Moms (CBC) and Good Sam (CBS). Oshini wrote and directed the film, What I Meant To Say, which won Best Short at CineFAM Film Festival in 2021. Her one-woman show, Brown People Can't Be Ballerinas, premiered at the Mississauga Multilingual Fringe Festival in 2023.
Oshini is a pitch finalist in the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival's So You Think You Can Pitch competition 2024, where she will pitch her upcoming animated short film, The Frontrunner. Her animated film, I Can't Do This Anymore premiered at the Toronto Animated Image Society's Animation Showcase in 2024. She has also animated for Disney and Netflix series, video games, short films and several original feature films by HighballTV. She is currently the animation director and storyboard artist for "The Christmas Witch Trial of La Befana" starring Anjelica Huston and directed by Melissa D'Agostino and Matthew Campagna.
In her spare time Oshini has worked in arts education and directed community theatre productions. She loves to do watercolour urban sketching and thrifting. Visit her IMDb for more information.
MISSION
As a Sri Lankan Canadian, I had many obstacles to overcome both in finding my identity and pursuing my dream of performing professionally. I developed a passion for speaking about finding purpose and compassion for the self.
In 2014 I created The Brown Girl Project, an educational outreach program that premiered in Sri Lanka. I was training and working in leading multi-cultural dance institutions that were created to address racial inequalities. These performance and teaching experiences inspired me to broaden their vision to people of my own ethnicity. The Brown Girl Project was designed to open discussion about expanding opportunities for women of colour and inspiring young people to pursue their dreams. It included a classical ballet performance, a dance class, and an open discussion at no cost to participants or participating schools.
As an actor and film maker, I am driven by the need to see women and non-binary people of colour in media and film. South Asian women are still breaking through many of these barriers. I look forward to seeing our stereotypical media presence become a thing of the past.