Adam Smoluk
Encyclopedia
Adam Smoluk is a Canadian screenwriter
, director
and actor
. His work often explores themes of alienation and isolation. He has cited Jim Thompson
, James M. Cain
and Eugene O'Neill
as influences.
Smoluk won the Future Leaders of Manitoba award for the Arts and was awarded an Investors Group scholarship for leadership studies at The Banff Centre.
, Manitoba
and grew up in the St. Vital
area. As a child, he had a fascination with still photography
. He was twelve-years-old when he purchased a used Pentax K1000
SLR camera from a neighborhood garage sale. In high school he became interested in playwriting, and after graduation studied theatre on scholarship at the British American Drama Academy
at Oxford University. Upon returning home to Canada, he began working as an actor in film and television. After producing and directing several stage productions, Smoluk made his debut feature film, Horsethieves. Completed on a shoestring budget, the film was a surprise winner of the Audience Choice Award at the 2005 Winnipeg International Film Festival.
Smoluk is the youngest filmmaker ever selected to the National Screen Institute
’s Features First Program. He has been active in the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and has served on the ACTRA Manitoba Political Action Committee, and was Chairman of the ACTRA Independent Film Committee. In 2007, he was appointed to serve as ACTRA's representative on the Manitoba Federation of Labour
's Human Rights Committee. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Film Group and is a current member of the United Way of Winnipeg
's GenNext Council.
In 2009, Smoluk went into production of his second feature film, Foodland
. The film follows a naïve grocery clerk as his life spirals out of control when he inadvertently helps his inept manger rob the store. FOODLANDs cast includes James Clayton (Actor), Ross McMillan, Stephen Eric McIntyre and Kim Poirier
. The film is set for release in select cities in January 2011.
Smoluk was the first screenwriter in over two decades to be shortlisted for the prestigious John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. The award was established by the Manitoba Foundation for the Arts with a bequest from the late John Hirsch
, co-founder of the Manitoba Theatre Centre
. The endowment from the Hirsch estate will provide a cash prize to the most promising Manitoba writer selected by a jury of senior members of the Manitoba writing and publishing community.
Television
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. His work often explores themes of alienation and isolation. He has cited Jim Thompson
Jim Thompson (writer)
James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction....
, James M. Cain
James M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
and Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
as influences.
Smoluk won the Future Leaders of Manitoba award for the Arts and was awarded an Investors Group scholarship for leadership studies at The Banff Centre.
Biography
Adam Smoluk was born and raised in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
and grew up in the St. Vital
St. Vital
St. Vital is a provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba.-Historical riding:The original St. Vital riding was established at the time of the province's creation in 1870, as one of twelve "francophone" constituencies...
area. As a child, he had a fascination with still photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. He was twelve-years-old when he purchased a used Pentax K1000
Pentax K1000
The Pentax K1000 is an interchangeable lens, 35 mm film, single-lens reflex camera, manufactured by Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. from 1976 to 1997, originally in Japan. It uses a horizontal travel, rubberized silk cloth focal plane shutter with a speed range of 1/1000 second to 1 second, along with...
SLR camera from a neighborhood garage sale. In high school he became interested in playwriting, and after graduation studied theatre on scholarship at the British American Drama Academy
British American Drama Academy
The British American Drama Academy is a drama school in the United Kingdom.Background=The British American Drama Academy was founded in 1983 to enable students from around the world to study classical theatre with leading actors and directors of the British theatre...
at Oxford University. Upon returning home to Canada, he began working as an actor in film and television. After producing and directing several stage productions, Smoluk made his debut feature film, Horsethieves. Completed on a shoestring budget, the film was a surprise winner of the Audience Choice Award at the 2005 Winnipeg International Film Festival.
Smoluk is the youngest filmmaker ever selected to the National Screen Institute
National Screen Institute
The National Screen Institute of Canada is a non-profit organization headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The organization describes itself as "Canada's national film, television and digital media training school for writers, directors and producers." The NSI was created in 1986 as a...
’s Features First Program. He has been active in the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and has served on the ACTRA Manitoba Political Action Committee, and was Chairman of the ACTRA Independent Film Committee. In 2007, he was appointed to serve as ACTRA's representative on the Manitoba Federation of Labour
Manitoba Federation of Labour
The Manitoba Federation of Labour is the Manitoba provincial trade union federation of the Canadian Labour Congress.It was formed in 1956 and has a membership of 90,000 people working in various private sector and public sector fields such as Manufacturing, Government, Retail, Hospitals, Schools,...
's Human Rights Committee. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Film Group and is a current member of the United Way of Winnipeg
United Way of Canada
United Way of Canada is the national organization for the 117 autonomous, volunteer-based United Ways across Canada. United Way campaigns raise money for local groups that address community issues and problems, and the national organization provides leadership, services and coordination to the...
's GenNext Council.
In 2009, Smoluk went into production of his second feature film, Foodland
Foodland (film)
-Synopsis:The story follows Trevor, a naive grocery clerk, as his life spirals out of control when he inadvertently helps Ian, his inept manager, rob the store. When the money is lifted, they enlist the help of Glen Munn, a slimy, incompetent detective, to retrieve the stolen cash...
. The film follows a naïve grocery clerk as his life spirals out of control when he inadvertently helps his inept manger rob the store. FOODLANDs cast includes James Clayton (Actor), Ross McMillan, Stephen Eric McIntyre and Kim Poirier
Kim Poirier
Kim Poirier is a Canadian actress, singer, film producer, and television host.-Personal life:Kim Jacinthe Poirier was born in Drummondville, Quebec, the daughter of actress/model Carol Laquerre who was Miss Toronto in 1976, she has one sister. She enjoys watching movies, writing, meditating,...
. The film is set for release in select cities in January 2011.
Smoluk was the first screenwriter in over two decades to be shortlisted for the prestigious John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. The award was established by the Manitoba Foundation for the Arts with a bequest from the late John Hirsch
John Hirsch
John Stephen Hirsch, OC was an Hungarian-Canadian theater director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary, and escaped Hungary during World War Two as a refugee orphan...
, co-founder of the Manitoba Theatre Centre
Manitoba Theatre Centre
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country...
. The endowment from the Hirsch estate will provide a cash prize to the most promising Manitoba writer selected by a jury of senior members of the Manitoba writing and publishing community.
As writer/director/producer
- Horse Thieves (2005)
- FoodlandFoodland (film)-Synopsis:The story follows Trevor, a naive grocery clerk, as his life spirals out of control when he inadvertently helps Ian, his inept manager, rob the store. When the money is lifted, they enlist the help of Glen Munn, a slimy, incompetent detective, to retrieve the stolen cash...
(2010)
As actor
Film- Monster in the Coal Bin (1989) as Furby
- Zeyda and the HitmanZeyda and the HitmanZeyda and the Hitman is a 2004 Canadian television film. The story is about a grandfather who hires a contract killer to assassinate his allergy-prone son-in-law.It was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada....
(2004) as Young Nathan - Horse Thieves (2005) as Erland Eastly
- Black BridgeBlack BridgeBlack Bridge is an independent 2007 drama/comedy film from Canada and was written and directed by Kevin Doherty. It was shot over the course of 2002 and 2003 with practically no budget...
(2006) as Adrian Downing
Television
- Everybody's Doing ItEverybody's Doing ItEverybody's Doing It is a 1916 short comedy film directed by Tod Browning.-Cast:* Howard Gaye - Society gentleman* Tully Marshall - Crook* Violet Radcliffe* Georgie Stone* Lilian Webster - Young woman...
(2002) as Bobby - The Atwood StoriesThe Atwood StoriesThe Atwood Stories was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on W in 2003. A short-run dramatic anthology series produced by Shaftesbury Films, the series dramatized six short stories by Margaret Atwood....
(1 episode, 2003) as Rodney - 2030 CE2030 CE2030 CE is a Canadian children's TV series that aired for two seasons on YTV in 2002. It aired in the U.S. on HBO. The series was created by Angela Bruce, Dennis Foon and Yan Moore...
(6 episodes, 2002-2003) as Scotch - In the DarkIn the DarkIn the Dark is the twelfth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between January 6 and 13, 1987 and originally released on July 6, 1987....
(2003) as Jimmy - While I Was GoneWhile I Was GoneWhile I Was Gone is the 1999 novel by Sue Miller, and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in May 2000.While I Was Gone was a TV movie for CBS in 2004 based on the novel....
(2004) as Larry - Less Than KindLess Than KindLess Than Kind is a Canadian television comedy-drama series that stars Jesse Camacho as Sheldon Blecher, a teenager growing up in a loving but dysfunctional Jewish family in Winnipeg. The show's cast also includes Maury Chaykin and Wendel Meldrum as Sheldon's parents, Benjamin Arthur as his older...
(1 episode, 2010) as Young Doctor