Sam Grana

Saverio "Sam" Grana is a Canadian Academy Award-nominated television and film producer and screenwriter,[1] most noted for the film Train of Dreams[2] and the television miniseries The Boys of St. Vincent.[3]

Saverio "Sam" Grana
Born
Saverio Grana

Italy
NationalityCanadian
Notable workTrain of Dreams and The Boys of St. Vincent
SpouseEleanor Grana
ChildrenFelice Grana, Stefanie Grana

Career

For much of his career he was associated with the National Film Board of Canada, for whom he was one of the originators alongside directors Giles Walker and John N. Smith of the studio's 1980s foray into "alternative drama" docufiction filmmaking.[1] He left the NFB in the 1990s and was briefly executive director of Film NB, the provincial filmmaking agency in New Brunswick, from March 1997 until resigning in August 1998.[4][5][6] He then formed his own production firm, Grana Productions, for which his projects included the documentary television series Eastern Tide, and the films Geraldine's Fortune and Black Eyed Dog.[7]

At the 9th Genie Awards in 1988, Train of Dreams was a nominee for Best Picture, and Grana was a nominee alongside Smith and Sally Bochner for Best Screenplay.[8] At the 8th Gemini Awards in 1994, Grana, Smith and Des Walsh won the Gemini Award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Miniseries for The Boys of St. Vincent.[9] Sam Grana was nominated for an Academy Award in 1981 for "Short Winter",a short film about an Irish family immigrating to North America in the 1890's.

He has also had a small number of acting roles,[1] most notably as Alex Rossi in Walker's docufiction trilogy The Masculine Mystique, 90 Days[10] and The Last Straw.[11] He also appeared in The Boys of St. Vincent, in the minor role of Monsignor Forucco.[12]

Nominations

Grana was nominated for an academy award in 1981 for "Short Winter".

He was a Genie Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor at the 7th Genie Awards in 1986 for 90 Days.[13]

References
  1. "Producer finds a new act in front of the cameras". Toronto Star, October 8, 1987.
  2. "'Guerrilla cinema' tells of hope; NFB film highlights caring correctional system for young offenders". Ottawa Citizen, June 15, 1988.
  3. "Filmmaker aims for truth in preparing Newfoundland drama". Ottawa Citizen, May 19, 1992.
  4. Swedko, Pam (24 August 1998). "Grana exits Film NB". Playback. Brunico Communications. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  5. "New Brunswick may rival Vancouver as the new film capital". Vancouver Sun, July 11, 1997.
  6. "Film NB boss quits". Telegraph-Journal, August 19, 1998.
  7. "Fargo with a Miramichi accent; Producer Sam Grana says film could be a breakthrough for New Brunswick talent". Telegraph-Journal, October 25, 2005.
  8. "Quebec film picks up 14 nominations: Zoo paces race for Genies". The Globe and Mail, February 17, 1988.
  9. "CBC's Boys of St. Vincent wins two more Geminis". Montreal Gazette, March 6, 1994.
  10. "90 Days is an exception to the NFB rule". Montreal Gazette, September 13, 1985.
  11. "90 Days sequel set for Cannes". Ottawa Citizen, July 12, 1986.
  12. "An emotionally corrosive tour de force". The Globe and Mail, December 7, 1992.
  13. "Genie films are coming on strong". Toronto Star, February 14, 1986.
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