Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter and director of both features and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba. His most distinctive quality is his fondness for recreating the look and style of silent or early sound era films.
While Maddin strives to recreate the styles and moods of early film melodramas, Weimar Republic German silent films, and 1920s Soviet agit-prop, his own distinct personal style lies in his use of clichés, psychosexual situations, bizarre stories and humor. It is this self-conscious and surreal merging of early film-making techniques with a post-modern sensibility that give Maddin's films their distinct style.
His film education came not with any formal training at a trade school, but with endless weekends of watching films with close friends John Paizs and Steve Snyder. Soon realizing that Paizs was making films and Snyder was teaching production at the University of Manitoba, Maddin eventually decided that he needed to put his own knowledge to work and step behind the camera.
Maddin's first film was the 1986 short The Dead Father. His first feature film was Tales from the Gimli Hospital.
His latest work Brand Upon the Brain was made in collaboration with The Film Company.
In 2007, Maddin became the first artist-curator of the UCLA Film Archives. In this position, he performs the programming for their new "Curated by..." series.
As of fall 2007, Maddin will be teaching film at the University of Manitoba. Also in 2007, Maddin's documentary My Winnipeg won the Best Canadian Feature award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Born in Winnipeg, Mr. Maddin's show business career began early when as a child he received a piggy-back ride from the immortal Bing Crosby. Maddin studied Economics at the University of Winnipeg. He worked as a bank teller and house painter before settling upon a career as a filmmaker. For his first three legendary features, Maddin worked in tandem with one of the world's best producers, Greg Klymkiw. Together, they were a powerhouse team. Maddin's father, Charlie, was the business manager of Canada's National Hockey Team. Curiously enough, Maddin's producer, Greg Klymkiw also had a father who played goal on the same team. Maddin continues to live and work in Winnipeg.
