Patricia Gruben facts for kids
Patricia Gruben is a talented filmmaker from America. She used to teach film studies at Simon Fraser University in Canada until 2018. As a director, she has made four full-length movies and several shorter ones. Patricia Gruben has worked in many different jobs in the film world. She has done everything from being a "property master" (someone who handles props) to directing big movies! In 2015, she won a special award called the Teamsters 155 Woman of the Year Award. This award was given to her by Vancouver Women in Film and TV.
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About Patricia Gruben
Patricia Gruben was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1947. She first studied anthropology at Rice University. Later, she went to the University of Texas to study film. After finishing her studies, she moved to Toronto, Canada, in the early 1970s.
For many years, Patricia worked in different parts of the film industry. She worked on commercials and even shows made for children. During her career, she has been a director, an editor, and an assistant director. She has also worked as a cinematographer, a propmaster, an art director, a writer, a set decorator, and a producer.
Her Film Career
Patricia Gruben's first film after school was a short one called The Central Character (1979). This film quickly got attention. People saw it as the work of an important new artist in Canada's experimental film scene.
She then made another short film, Sifted Evidence (1982), which was about forty minutes long. This film became famous at international festivals. After it was shown at the New York Film Festival, Sifted Evidence earned a special mention from a famous film critic.
Making Feature Films
For ten years, Patricia Gruben worked as a set decorator in Toronto. She worked on movies like Spasms (1982), a horror film. After this, she started making her own full-length movies.
She wrote and directed Low Visibility (1984). This was a mystery movie with a unique story style. It was about a man who seemed to have lost his memory and couldn't talk.
Patricia also wrote and directed Deep Sleep (1990). This was a psychological thriller starring Megan Follows, who is famous for Anne of Green Gables.
Another film she made was Ley Lines (1993). This was a documentary that explored how we create stories from our family history. It followed her own imagined family journey from Texas to Germany and the Canadian Arctic.
Teaching and Mentoring
Patricia Gruben started teaching at Simon Fraser University in 1982. In 1987, she and Colin Browne started the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters. This program was part of the university's School for the Contemporary Arts. It helped Canadian screenwriters work with film professionals.
The program helped many writers, but in 2013, it was announced that it would end. However, the Whistler Film Festival took over the program. It now continues as the WFF Screenwriters Lab, still helping new writers.
As a professor, Patricia Gruben taught classes on making films, writing screenplays, and studying films. She was especially interested in stories that don't follow a straight timeline and in Indian cinema. She also wrote many articles about film, books, and culture.
Other Creative Works
Besides filmmaking, Patricia Gruben also created a play called The Secret Doctrine. This play was about Helena Blavatsky, a Russian occultist. It was performed in Vancouver in 2013.
She also made an art installation called The Veil of Nature. This art piece looked like the laboratory of Oliver Lodge. He was a scientist from the 1800s who also studied the occult.
Since leaving Simon Fraser University in 2018, she has made two more films. These are the short drama Floating Islands (2019) and the feature film Heart of Gold (2023).
Patricia Gruben has also been on the boards of several organizations. She has helped choose winners for many arts awards. She is married to composer Martin Gotfrit. They have two sons who are both musicians and community workers.
Awards and Recognition
In 2015, Patricia Gruben received the Teamsters 155 Woman of the Year Award. This award came from Women in Film and Television, a group that supports women in the industry.
To win this award, a woman must have achieved great success in film or television. She must also be known for helping and guiding other women in the industry. This shows how much Patricia Gruben has helped others in her career.
Filmography
- The Central Character (1979)
- Sifted Evidence (1982)
- Low Visibility (1984)
- Deep Sleep (1990)
- Ley Lines (1993)
- Before it Blows (1997)
- Floating Islands (2019)
- Heart of Gold (2023)
