Sean Horlor (born January 11, 1981) is a Canadian film director, film producer, poet, actor, television producer, columnist and blogger, who co-directs with Steve J. Adams under their production company, Nootka St.[1]

Sean Horlor
Born (1981-01-11) January 11, 1981 (age 43)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Victoria
Occupations
Years active2007–present
Websiteseanandsteve.ca

Early life

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Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Horlor grew up in Victoria, British Columbia.[1] He has an undergraduate degree in fine arts from the University of Victoria.

Career

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Writing

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In 2003, Horlor collaborated with the Vancouver poet Matt Rader and the illustrator James Kingsley to publish Our Mission, Our Moment through Rader's publishing company, Mosquito Press. A hand-bound chapbook, Our Mission, Our Moment contains eight poetic transpositions of the speeches of George W. Bush.

His poem "In Praise of Beauty" won first place for poetry in This Magazine's 2006 Great Canadian Literary Hunt[2]< and "St. Brendan and the Isle of Sheep" was a 2006 Editor's Choice in Arc Poetry Magazine's Poem of the Year contest.[3]

His first poetry collection, Made Beautiful by Use, was published by the Winnipeg publisher Signature Editions in 2007.[4] Edited by the poet John Barton, the collection was described as "a striking and, yes, beautiful set of musings on belief, sex, and power".[5] It was longlisted for the 2008 ReLit Awards.[6]

His work also appeared in the groundbreaking Seminal: The Anthology of Canada’s Gay Male Poets (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007), edited by the poets Billeh Nickerson and John Barton.

Horlor is also a freelance writer. He has written for The Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun and Xtra! West.

Television and film work

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In 2009, he was the co-host and co-creator of Don't Quit Your Gay Job, an original Canadian comedy television series in which Horlor and Rob Easton tried out various jobs.[7]

He is a co-founder and co-owner with Steve J. Adams of Nootka St. Film Company. Adams and Horlor directed a number of short films together, including Just the Tip (2012), Only One (2016), A Small Part of Me (2016),[8] Angela (2016), Hunting Giants (2017), Brunch Queen (2018),[9] The Day Don Died (2018) and Dear Reader (2021).

Horlor and Adams premiered their debut feature documentary Someone Like Me at the 2021 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival,[10] where it won a Rogers Audience Award and finished as a Top 5 Audience Favourite for the festival.[11] Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, the film follows eleven strangers from Vancouver's LGBTQ community over fifteen months after they unite to help a queer youth escape life-threatening violence in Uganda.[12]

It was later a finalist for Best British Columbia Film at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2021,[13] and a nominee for the DGC Allan King Award for Best Documentary Film at the 2021 Directors Guild of Canada awards.[14]

Horlor and Adams' 2023 documentary Satan Wants You looks into the Canadian origins of North America's moral Satanic panic over alleged satanic cults and ritual abuse in the 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the discredited 1980 bestseller Michelle Remembers.[15]

Bibliography

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  • Our Mission, Our Moment (Mosquito Press, 2003)
  • Made Beautiful by Use (Signature Editions, 2007)

Filmography

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  • Just The Tip (2012)
  • Only One (2016)
  • A Small Part of Me (2016)[16]
  • Angela (2016)
  • Hunting Giants (2017)
  • Brunch Queen (2018)[9]
  • The Day Don Died (2018)
  • Dear Reader (2021)
  • Someone Like Me (2021)
  • Satan Wants You (2023)[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Mike Devlin, "Victoria native Sean Horlor makes waves with his new documentary, Someone Like Me". Victoria Times-Colonist, May 13, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Great Canadian Literary Hunt 2006". This Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-10-27.
  3. ^ "Arc 57: Table of Contents". Arc Poetry Magazine. Winter 2006. Archived from the original on November 8, 2007.
  4. ^ Billeh Nickerson (June 21, 2007). "It's all in the arms". Xtra West.
  5. ^ Uptown Magazine Online
  6. ^ The ReLit Awards
  7. ^ Raziel Reid, "Don’t Quit Your Gay Job!". Xtra!, September 8, 2011.
  8. ^ Jennifer Thuncher (May 12, 2016). "About a boy". The Squamish Chief.
  9. ^ a b Tessa Vikander, "Brunch Queen filmmakers serve up inside look at dynamic duo behind Vancouver’s Elbow Room Café". Toronto Star, August 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "Virtual Hot Docs Fest to Open with 'Artificial Immortality'". The Hollywood Reporter. April 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Pat Mullen, "Dear Future Children Wins Audience Award at Hot Docs". Point of View, May 10, 2021.
  12. ^ Rebecca Dyok, "Former Fort St. James resident to release first feature-length documentary film". Vanderhoof Omineca Express, April 19, 2021.
  13. ^ Dana Gee, "The Power of the Dog, Night Raiders lead Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards nominations". Vancouver Sun, February 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Kelly Townsend, "All My Puny Sorrows leads film nominees for 2021 DGC Awards". Playback, September 24, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Pugh, Joseph (11 August 2023). "Canadian origins of the satanic panic explored in documentary Satan Wants You". CBC News. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  16. ^ "About a boy". The Squamish Chief. 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
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