James Motluk

James Motluk born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, is a filmmaker of Ukrainian descent. After studying philosophy at Trent University he travelled to Toronto and worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as an assistant director on a television show called Seeing Things. He wrote and directed his first feature film called Nasty Burgers which was released to cinemas in 1993. Nasty Burgers gained him entry into the Writers Guild of Canada. For much of the 1990s he worked as a writer for television. His credits included a season on the hit show Road to Avonlea.[1]

In 2000 he released a documentary funded by American film director Michael Moore called Life Under Mike which took a critical look at then Ontario Premier Mike Harris.[2] In 2001 the film earned him a Media Human Rights Award.[3] He released a second documentary in 2003, co-directed with Mark Wright, called Whose University Is It?.[4] This work used Trent University as a case study and argued that any corporate connections with higher learning are negative - though notably ignoring that the entire Trent University campus was donated by General Electric Canada, and its library by the Bata Shoes Corporation.[5]

In 2009 he released a documentary called Jajo's Secret which revealed the internment of Ukrainians by the Canadian government during World War One. This movie was broadcast on OMNI TV in Canada[6] and was invited to screen in New York at Columbia University in 2011[7] and at the Ukrainian Museum in Manhattan the following year.[8]

In 2018 James Motluk and J.B. Sugar created Mezcalero, a crime drama following a Canadian transgender detective operating out of Oaxaca City, Mexico. It is based on a series of novels by Canadian author T.E. Wilson and developed through No Equal Entertainment and Out TV.[9][10]

In 2020 he developed an original one hour science fiction drama, Magpie, set in Sault Ste Marie and framed against the little-known but true history of Canada's internment operations during WW1.[11]

His movies tend to sympathize with the left, encouraging grass roots social change.[12] He produces independently through the Toronto-based production company Guerrilla Films.[13]

Filmography
YearTitleRole
1994 Nasty Burgers Writer,Producer,Director
2000 Life Under Mike Producer, Director
2003 Whose University Is It? Writer, co-director, Producer
2009 Jajo's Secret Producer, Director
2011 Living In The Shadow Producer, Director
2012 Directions Home Writer, Director, Producer
2015 A Place Called Shandro Executive Producer, Director
2016 Konowal: the man behind the medal Director, Producer

References
  1. "Ontario Scene » Playback".
  2. Lypchuk, Donna (24 January 2001). "Mike, Michael and me - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail.
  3. "Sullivan extends Anne brand, greenlights more features".
  4. "Whose University Is It? (2003) - IMDb". IMDb.
  5. "50 Years Of Trent University". 29 July 2014.
  6. ":: OMNITV.ca > Canadian Documentary Premiere on OMNI.2 ::". Archived from the original on 2009-12-25.
  7. "Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University".
  8. "Ukrainian Museum programs".
  9. "OUTtv, No Equal developing hour-long drama 'Mezcalero' » Playback".
  10. "'Mezcalero' producer in los Cabos to set up first Canada-Mexico TV co-production (Exclusive)".
  11. "MemberNews-Canadian Screenwriter Summer 21 | Writers Guild of Canada".
  12. "The Varsity » Campus Camera". Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  13. "Guerrilla Films Inc".
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