Deric Olsen is an Associate Professor in the Department of New Media where he teaches courses in cinema production. With a wide variety of experience as a director, screenwriter, editor and producer, his research and creative practice spans many facets of the production of dramatic narrative cinema. His recent filmography includes, Common Chord (2013) and The Phoenix Agenda (2006) and he is currently developing the feature-length thriller Threshold Effect and the cinematic web series Zenith.

His films have been official selections at national and international film festivals and his accolades include some prestigious individual awards, most notably the Les Kimber Award for Best Direction from the Director's Guild of Canada - Alberta Council together with the Best Director (Drama over 60 minutes) Award at the 2007 Alberta Film and Television Awards for his work on The Phoenix Agenda. He was nominated in four categories at the 2014 Alberta Film and Television Awards including Direction, Screenwriting, Editing, and Producing for his work on Common Chord.

Professor Olsen holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Department of Film at the University of Regina and teaches courses in digital video production, cinematography and lighting, editing and post-production, and narrative production techniques at the University of Lethbridge. His courses take a comprehensive, flexible approach to production methodology and provide a foundation of theory and practice that enable students to develop into creative visual storytellers.