Maureen Bradley

Mo Bradley (formerly Maureen Bradley) is a Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, media artist, professor, and curator.[1][2] They have produced over fifty short films and their work has been recognized internationally.[1][3] Through their work, Bradley challenges traditional gender norms and opposes the heteronormativity that dominates the television and film industry.[2] Bradley's focus is to bring nontraditional representations of sex, gender, and sexuality to the forefront of film.[2] Bradley's work predominantly features queer characters and themes, including their first feature film, Two 4 One.[2][4][5][6] In 2017, Bradley became a professor at the University of Victoria in the Writing Department.[1][7]

Mo Bradley
Born
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationConcordia University
Occupation(s)filmmaker, professor, media artist, and curator

Early life and education

Bradley was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec.[7] They grew up with a love of music and sound, and in their early years, pursued this love as a bassist in the underground music scene in Montréal, in the band "Sons of the Desert".[1][7] Later, Bradley discovered their interest in editing, film, and media art.[1][7] Since then, Bradley has played an active role in the Canadian independent film community. Their work has been featured in major venues, including the New Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art.[1][7]

Bradley attended Concordia University for Communications and Media Studies.[1] Upon their relocation to Vancouver, they furthered their education at the University of British Columbia. There, Bradley received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Production.[1][2]

Career

During their career as a Montréal-based bassist, Bradley received a VideoFACT production grant to create a music video.[1][7] From there, Bradley became interested in filmmaking and media studies and later became an assistant professor of film production at the University of Regina. During their time in Regina, they were the Saskatchewan District Council of the Directors Guild of Canada's first female director in 2002.[1][7] Bradley then returned to British Columbia and became an associate professor at the University of Victoria's Writing Department. In 2017, they became a full professor at the University of Victoria, where they continue to teach film and video.[1][8] Using a grant they received from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Bradley brought the Hi-Def Story Incubator Lab to life at the University of Victoria.[7]

Bradley has been active in the film community across Canada since 1988.[8] Their work in the Canadian film scene has been focused on challenging typical gender norms and binaries.[2][3] While directing and appearing in the series Road Movies in 1992, which reached an audience of fifteen million viewers, Bradley became the first person to publicly come out on a network Canadian television series.[3][7]

Bradley has contributed to various film associations within Canada, including Queer City Cinema, Video In, and the Independent Media Arts Alliance of Canada. They are also the former president of the Board of Directors of CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers.[1][7]

Two 4 One

Bradley's most notable work to date is their debut feature film, Two 4 One. The idea for the film was inspired when Bradley and their partner were reading a guide for lesbians interested in pregnancy.[9] It tells the story of transgender man, Adam, his ex-girlfriend Miriam, and how they both end up—half accidentally, half intentionally—pregnant.[2][4][5][6][10] The film stars Canadian actors Gavin Crawford, Naomi Snieckus and Gabrielle Rose.[4][11] Bradley has stated that they are working towards creating a broader representation of family planning in film, branching out from traditional heterosexual conception.[10] Two 4 One has received a great deal of positive feedback, including favourable reviews from The National Post and The Globe and Mail.[12]

Personal life

Bradley is queer.[13] They reside in Victoria, British Columbia.

Growing up, Bradley most identified with the label androgynous, finding that they did not fit into the typical categories of male or female.[3][13] In their 20s, Bradley identified as third gender, as that was the current term to describe people outside of the gender binary.[3] In Queer Across Canada (1993), Bradley depicted how different regions of Canada use conflicting language to describe Bradley's gender identity and sexual orientation, becoming the first person to come out as queer on Canadian network TV.[14][3]

Since 2015, Bradley has used they/them pronouns.[13]

Filmography
Year Title Credit Listing
2014 Godhead Executive Producer
2014 Two 4 One Executive Producer, Director, Writer, Editor
2014 Jackhammer Associate Producer
2014 'Til Death (Short) Producer
2013 Floodplain (Short) Associate Producer
2012 Stuck (Short) Executive Producer
2012 Bardo Light (Short) Executive Producer
2009 Freshman's Wharf (TV Mini-Series) Producer
2005 What Remains Human (Short) Director, Writer
2004 You Fake (Short) Director, Writer
2003 Blindspot (Short) Director
2002 The Chosen Family (Short) Director, Writer
2001 Last Wedding Location Production Assistant

Additional works
  • Burning Down My House (2013)
  • Waylaid (2013)
  • Beyond the Pale (2010)
  • Pants on Fire (2009)
  • Gullible (2008)
  • Self-storage (2006)
  • sisyphus (2005)
  • Stranded (2004)
  • My Heart the Historian (2001)
  • Birthday Suit Management: a 21C Homage to Lisa Steele (2001)
  • Erased (1999)
  • Go Dyke! Go! (1998)
  • What I Remember (1998)
  • Tainted: Christopher Lefler and the Queer Censorship Chill (1997)
  • Forever (1997)
  • HER (1996)
  • Forever (1996)
  • Reframing the Montreal Massacre: A Media Interrogation (1995)
  • Losing It (1995)
  • Not Like That (1994)
  • The Weight of Women's Eyes (1994)
  • Defiance (1993)
  • Queer Across Canada (1993)
  • She Thrills Me (1993)
  • Road Movies (1992)
  • Safe Sex is Hot Sex (1991)
  • We're Here, We're Queer, We're Fabulous (1990)
  • Briser lâisolement: le SIA et les femmes au Québec (1990)

Awards and nominations

Bradley has received recognition for their work in the film industry in numerous film festivals. Their web series, Freshman's Wharf, received a Leo Award in 2011.[1] Bradley's short film, Pants on Fire, was featured at the Worldfest/Houston International Film Festival and received a Golden Remi Award for Short Film Directing.[1] Bradley has also been recognized at the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Reelings Festival, Chicago, and the Santa Barbara Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.[1]

Bradley's debut film Two 4 One has received numerous awards and nominations. Bradley was personally nominated for three Leo Awards for this film, including Best Motion Picture, Best Direction in a Motion Picture, and Best Screenwriting in a Motion Picture.[15] They were also nominated for two awards at the Vancouver International Film Festival.[15] Lead actor Gavin Crawford received the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor, and Gabrielle Rose won a Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture.[15]

Additionally, artistic retrospectives based on Bradley's work have been created in cities across Canada.[1] These retrospectives include Making Scenes (1999) and Out on Screen (1998), hosted respectively by Ottawa's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Vancouver's Queer Film and Video Festival.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Maureen Bradley: Independent Canadian Filmmaker". www.maureenbradley.com. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  2. "queer arts and literature magazine". plenitudemagazine.ca. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  3. Bradley, Maureen (2008-01-01). "Choosing the Ghetto". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 14 (1): 130–132. doi:10.1215/10642684-14-1-130. ISSN 1527-9375. S2CID 144603390.
  4. "Man becomes pregnant in Calgary film fest movie". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  5. "Two 4 One and the accidental pregnancy | Daily Xtra". Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  6. Reid, Michael D. "Victoria filmmaker aims to transcend transgender cliché". Archived from the original on 2016-06-19. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  7. Hladki, Janice (2010). Fierce: Women's Hot-Blooded Film/Video. Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster University. ISBN 9781926632049.
  8. "About the Contributors". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 14 (1): 165–167. 2008-01-01. doi:10.1215/10642684-14-1-165. ISSN 1527-9375.
  9. Fraser, Dorothy June (June 29, 2013). "Doing it [Her]self: Maureen Bradley's film, media activism and new movie Two 4 One". Plenitude. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  10. "VIFF 2014 BC Spotlight: 6 Questions with Maureen Bradley". VIFF. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  11. "Two 4 One". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  12. "In the Press". Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  13. "Not Like That: Diary of a Butch-a-Phobe". Media Queer. Queer Media Database Canada-Québec. May 9, 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  14. Bradley, Mo (2022-09-05), Queer Across Canada, 1993, excerpt, retrieved 2023-10-02
  15. "IMDb - Maureen Bradley". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
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