Quick Facts
Biography
Dorothy A. Atabong is an award-winning actress, writer and producer best known for Sound of Tears for which she’s won various awards including an Africa Movie Academy Award in 2015.
Career
Atabong received positive reviews for theatre productions such as Wedding Band, The Africa Trilogy by Volcano Theatre, a part of Luminato Arts Festival and the Stratford Festival, The Canadian Stage Company and Studio 180 production of The Overwhelming.
Atabong published a romantic novel, The Princess of Kaya, in 2002, which she later adapted into a screenplay. Her feature length script, Daisy’s Heart, won Best Low Budget Script at the 2011 Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto. She also wrote, produced and starred in Sound of Tears, a short film which premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival. The film won the 2015 Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Diaspora Short and also garnered a Platinum Remi at the 48th WorldFest Houston Film Festival.
TV appearances include the award winning television series Mayday, Ocean Landing (African Hijack) for the Discovery Channel; Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Line for The Movie Network. Atabong also starred in Glo, a part of The Africa Trilogy directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, and led a cast of 11 in the role of Julia in the acclaimed play Wedding Band by Alice Childress. Other roles include The Studio 180 and Canadian Stage Company production of The Overwhelming by J. T. Rogers, and Theatre Awakening’s production of In Darfur at Theatre Passe Muraille for SummerWorks, for which she won the Emerging Artist Award.
Personal
Atabong married in 2008 and has two sons, one born in 2011 the other in 2015. In 2013 Atabong appeared on the CBC Radio show Metro Morning with Matt Galloway to discuss the problem of family violence against women, and her film Sound Of Tears for the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on December 6, 2013.
Filmography and Theatre
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sound of Tears | Amina | Producer, Writer, Director |
| 2010 | Dreamt | Amanda | Co-Producer, 1st Assistant Director |
| 2008 | If Only | Mother | |
| 2006 | Nancy Loves Miss Brown | Miss Brown | Calgary International Film Festival |
| 2006 | Dollar Van | Mrs. Lebbie | |
| 2003 | Mutant Swinger from Mars | Dancer | |
| 2002 | One Night | Sawudatu | Producer, Writer |
| 2000 | Impact | Hotel Receptionist |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nurse Olivia | Episode: "Say It Ain't So" |
| 2009 | The Line | Mrs. Douglas | 2 Episodes |
| 2006 | Air Emergency Mayday - African Hijack | Flight Attendant | Episode: Ocean Landing |
| 2001 | NYPD Blue | Waitress | Episode: Cops and Robber |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Overwhelming | Elise Kayitesi | The Canadian Stage Company, Toronto |
| 2010 | The Africa Trilogy | Lydia | The Fleck Dance Theatre Harbourfront, Toronto |
| 2008 | In Darfur | Hawa | Theatre Passe Muraille |
| 2001 | Joe Turner's Come and Gone | Mattie | Theatre in the Park, New York City |
| 1999 | Angelique | Manon | Detroit Repertory Theatre |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Summerworks Emerging Artist Awards | Best Actress | In Darfur | Won |
| 2011 | Female Eye Film Festival | Best Low Budget Script | Daisy's Heart | Won |
| 2015 | Africa Movie Academy Awards | Best Diaspora Short | Sound of Tears | Won |
| 2015 | WorldFest Houston Platinum Remi Awards | Best Short Film | Sound of Tears | Won |
| 2015 | Pan African Film Festival Los Angeles | Best Short Film | Sound of Tears | Nominated |
| 2015 | Yorkton Film Festival Golden Sheaf Awards | Best Director and Best Live Action Short Film | Sound of Tears | Nominated |
