Brian Paisley was born in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, but grew up in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He is most famous in Western Canada for his contributions to the development of Canadian theatre, most notably as the founder of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival

Edmonton International Fringe Festival

The Edmonton International Fringe Festival produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures is an annual event held every August in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada....

, which he modeled after the Edinburgh Fringe

Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...

. The festival began in 1982 and was the very first Fringe festival in North America. The alternative theatre concept has since spread and been developed as similar 'Fringes' in major cities across the continent including Vancouver, Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Winnipeg

Winnipeg

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...

, Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, and New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Brian worked as producer of the Fringe festival in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

 for the first ten years of its existence, until 1991, when he left his position to shift his artistic focus from theatre to film.

Brian's feature-length screenplay, Lies Like Truth, won the 2003 CHUM TV Reel Edge competition. Along with a million dollar plus budget for the film itself, a 13-part documentary

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 entitled Good To Go was made to chronicle the development of the project from script to screening. The documentary, which featured Brian's insight prominently throughout the series, aired nationally in Canada on the A-Channel network. Lies Like Truth premiered at the 2005 Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival.

In 2006, Brian once again tackled event production and worked as producer for the 2006 Victoria Arts Symposium.

In April, 2010, Brian was awarded the Order of Canada. Named as a Member, he received the honour as "a cultural visionary who has left an indelible mark on Canadian theatre".