Guy Maddin Overview

Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's idiosyncratic, surreal, and often very funny works are often cited for their silent film sensibilities. Often compared to David Lynch's early works, Maddin's films are bizarre and post-modern, frequently including themes of unrequited love, murder, homoeroticism, incest,... [more]

Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin's idiosyncratic, surreal, and often very funny works are often cited for their silent film sensibilities. Often compared to David Lynch's early works, Maddin's films are bizarre and post-modern, frequently including themes of unrequited love, murder, homoeroticism, incest, and the subconscious. Maddin received a degree in economics from the University of Winnipeg, and did not have any formal film training. Maddin's first film was the 16mm short film The Dead Father. His first 16mm feature film was "Tales from the Gimli Hospital". He has gone on to make over nine features and over 25 short films, including "The Saddest Music in the World" starring Isabella Rossellini. His films are often set in his home town of Winnipeg, or in some abstract 20th century historical period. He plays with the boundaries between fact and fiction in his "documentary" film "My Winnipeg" and in his "autobiographical" film "Brand Upon the Brain!" In 1995, Maddin became the youngest ever recipient of the Telluride Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement award. In 2007, Maddin became the first artist-curator of the UCLA Film and Television Archive. He also teaches film at the University of Manitoba. [show less]