D.W. Gordon

DW Gordon is a critically-acclaimed and fiercely-independent writer/producer. He is best known for I Hate Toronto: A Love Story which was recently nominated for a Voice Award in recognition of its "dignified, respectful and accurate portrayal of individuals with behavioral health problems". He is also known for his genre-bending drama-thriller The Long Weekend. Before that, he first gained attention by making the world's first 'completely improvised' movie, entitled Steve. Gordon began his career by defying all odds and self-financing and shooting his first movie in a miraculous 6 days. DW Gordon is as international a filmmaker as you will find. He was born in Jamaica, and raised in Cyprus, Haiti, Malaysia, Canada, the USA, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He has worked in Toronto, New York and San Francisco. He is now based in Munich, Germany. Gordon attended film school at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada; graduating with a degree in Film and English. He then attended Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada; completing two years of the Certificate in Film Production program. Instead of completing the third year of the program, he struck out on his own and made his first feature in 1994 - an homage to Orwell's 1984 which Gordon titled 1994. The movie 1994 featured a spectacular young cast and crew, exemplifying Gordon's talent for spotting rising stars. Luc Montpellier, is now one of Canada's top DOPs, having recently shot the Academy Award-nominated Away from Her for Sarah Polley. First AD Christos Sourligas and Editor Aaron Woodley have gone on to become two of Canada's top directors. On the talent side, Naomi Snieckus, Rob Fulton and Scott McCord have all become mainstays on Canadian television. In 2000, Gordon completed Steve which was universally acclaimed by the critics and hailed as the world's first improvised movie. Exemplifying auteur film-making at its finest, Gordon shot and sound recorded, as well as edited, the entire film himself. Steve was lauded not only for its technical achievement of being shot on a single hand-held camera over four days, without any rehearsal or retakes. It was also noted for addressing social issues ignored in most mainstream movies. In 2005, Gordon made The Long Weekend, which went through several iterations until the final cut was selected to premiere at the Marbella Film Festival in Spain in 2009. It has since gained a cult following on Youtube as the 'world's first reality/horror movie'. Most recently, Gordon wrote, produced and directed I Hate Toronto: A Love Story. In the final phase of post-production the movie is scheduled for release in 2014. The movie was nominated for a Voice Award based on an early cut of the movie. In 2014, Gordon's other focus is Two Captains. A movie about the sinking of the Lusitania during the first World War. It is being billed as "a mix of the romance of Titanic with the mystery and suspense of The Da Vinci Code". Gordon is also in the financing phase for two other completed scripts of his: Gitmo and Brothers of the Battery. Gitmo is an ultra-provocative psychological thriller set at the terrorist detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Brothers of the Battery is an epic family drama about two baseball-playing brothers who desperately struggle to be the first brother battery in the major leagues in 50 years.