BIOGRAPHY OF BRIAN STOCKTON
Brian Stockton was born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1964. He grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan and began his career in the media as a broadcaster with illustrious prairie radio station CKCK. In 1984 he was hired by Canadian broadcasting legend Ron MacLean, who was then the program director at CKRD Radio in Red Deer.
After working under MacLean in Red Deer, Brian returned to Regina and obtained a BFA in film production from the University of Regina. At the U of R he studied under cinema pioneer Jean (Hans) Oser, a key figure in the early sound cinema of Europe.
Stockton’s career as a filmmaker began at the Saskatchewan Filmpool in Regina where he created numerous inventive short films like the animated The Blob Thing, which spawned numerous short sequels that have played to television and festival audiences around the world. He is also the co-creator of the cult hit Wheat Soup, one of the first Saskatchewan-based feature film productions. Wheat Soup resides in the motion picture negative collection of the National Archives of Canada.
Another notable short created at the Filmpool is The Final Gift, a collaboration with the filmmaker’s grandmother which was named one of the ten best shorts of the Ann Arbor Film Festival by Los Angeles Film Forum.
Brian also has an MFA in film production from York University in Toronto, and was a director resident at Norman Jewison’s prestigious Canadian Film Centre. While attending the CFC Brian wrote and directed the multi-award winning short film, The Weight of the World, which screened at numerous international festivals and on the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States.
Television has also played a part in Stockton’s career, most notably as a writer/director for the critically acclaimed comedy series Internet Slutts, which aired on The Comedy Network.
Brian has taught extensively on the subject of filmmaking at workshops across Canada, and at his alma mater in Regina. He was recently invited to screen a program of his short films at the Idaho International Film Festival, where he created the Instant Animation Workshop. In this innovative program participants wrote, prepared and shot a stop-motion animated film in one afternoon.
Stockton is currently working on a series of autobiographical short films which have premiered to widespread critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival. This includes Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Part 2 (That’s My Wonderful Town), which won the grand jury prize for best documentary at the Temecula Valley Film Festival in California, and was declared by Take One Magazine to be “a wry, observant, miniature masterpiece.”
After nine years living and working in Toronto, Stockton recently relocated back to his home town of Regina, Saskatchewan.