Maureen Bradley

Maureen Bradley
Mo Bradley (formerly Maureen Bradley) is a Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, media artist, professor, and curator. They have produced over fifty short films and their work has been recognized internationally. Through their work, Bradley challenges traditional gender norms and opposes the heteronormativity that dominates the television and film industry. Bradley's focus is to bring nontraditional representations of sex, gender, and sexuality to the forefront of film. Bradley's work predominantly features queer characters and themes, including their first feature film, Two 4 One. In 2017, Bradley became a professor at the University of Victoria in the Writing Department.
Early life and education
Bradley was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. They grew up with a love of music and sound, and in their early years, pursued this love as a bassist in the underground music scene in Montréal, in the band "Sons of the Desert". Later, Bradley discovered their interest in editing, film, and media art. Since then, Bradley has played an active role in the Canadian independent film community. Their work has been featured in major venues, including the New Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art.
Bradley attended Concordia University for Communications and Media Studies. Upon their relocation to Vancouver, they furthered their education at the University of British Columbia. There, Bradley received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Production.
Career
During their career as a Montréal-based bassist, Bradley received a VideoFACT production grant to create a music video. From there, Bradley became interested in filmmaking and media studies and later became an assistant professor of film production at the University of Regina. During their time in Regina, they were the Saskatchewan District Council of the Directors Guild of Canada's first female director in 2002. Bradley then returned to British Columbia and became an associate professor at the University of Victoria's Writing Department. In 2017, they became a full professor at the University of Victoria, where they continue to teach film and video. Using a grant they received from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Bradley brought the Hi-Def Story Incubator Lab to life at the University of Victoria.
Bradley has been active in the film community across Canada since 1988. Their work in the Canadian film scene has been focused on challenging typical gender norms and binaries. While directing and appearing in the series Road Movies in 1992, Bradley became one of the first people ever to publicly come out on a network Canadian television series.
Bradley has contributed to various film associations within Canada, including Queer City Cinema, Video In, and the Independent Media Arts Alliance of Canada. They are also the former president of the Board of Directors of CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers.
Two 4 One
Bradley's most notable work to date is their debut feature film, Two 4 One. The idea for the film was inspired when Bradley and their partner were reading a guide for lesbians interested in pregnancy. It tells the story of transgender man, Adam, his ex-girlfriend Miriam, and how they both end up—half accidentally, half intentionally—pregnant. The film stars Canadian actors Gavin Crawford, Naomi Snieckus and Gabrielle Rose. Bradley has stated that they are working towards creating a broader representation of family planning in film, branching out from traditional heterosexual conception. Two 4 One has received a great deal of positive feedback, including favourable reviews from The National Post and The Globe and Mail.
Personal life
Bradley is queer. They reside in Victoria, British Columbia.
Growing up, Bradley most identified with the label androgynous, finding that they did not fit into the typical categories of male or female. In their 20s, Bradley identified as third gender, as that was the current term to describe people outside of the gender binary. In Queer Across Canada (1993), Bradley depicted how different regions of Canada use conflicting language to describe Bradley's gender identity and sexual orientation, becoming the first person to come out as queer on Canadian network TV.
Since 2015, Bradley has used they/them pronouns.
Filmography
Additional works
Burning Down My House (2013)
Waylaid (2013)
Beyond the Pale (2010)
Pants on Fire (2009)
Gullible (2008)
Self-storage (2006)
sisyphus (2005)
Stranded (2004)
My Heart the Historian (2001)
Birthday Suit Management: a 21C Homage to Lisa Steele (2001)
Erased (1999)
Go Dyke! Go! (1998)
What I Remember (1998)
Tainted: Christopher Lefler and the Queer Censorship Chill (1997)
Forever (1997)
HER (1996)
Forever (1996)
Reframing the Montreal Massacre: A Media Interrogation (1995)
Losing It (1995)
Not Like That (1994)
The Weight of Women's Eyes (1994)
Defiance (1993)
Queer Across Canada (1993)
She Thrills Me (1993)
Road Movies (1992)
Safe Sex is Hot Sex (1991)
We're Here, We're Queer, We're Fabulous (1990)
Briser lâisolement: le SIA et les femmes au Québec (1990)
Awards and nominations
Bradley has received recognition for their work in the film industry in numerous film festivals. Their web series, Freshman's Wharf, received a Leo Award in 2011. Bradley's short film, Pants on Fire, was featured at the Worldfest/Houston International Film Festival and received a Golden Remi Award for Short Film Directing. Bradley has also been recognized at the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Reelings Festival, Chicago, and the Santa Barbara Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Bradley's debut film Two 4 One has received numerous awards and nominations. Bradley was personally nominated for three Leo Awards for this film, including Best Motion Picture, Best Direction in a Motion Picture, and Best Screenwriting in a Motion Picture. They were also nominated for two awards at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Lead actor Gavin Crawford received the ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor, and Gabrielle Rose won a Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture.
Additionally, artistic retrospectives based on Bradley's work have been created in cities across Canada. These retrospectives include Making Scenes (1999) and Out on Screen (1998), hosted respectively by Ottawa's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Vancouver's Queer Film and Video Festival.
See also
List of female film and television directors
List of lesbian filmmakers
List of LGBT-related films directed by women
References
External links
Official Website
Living people
21st-century Canadian women writers
Canadian women film directors
Canadian women screenwriters
Canadian LGBT film directors
Canadian LGBT screenwriters
Film directors from Montreal
Writers from Montreal
Canadian lesbian writers
Concordia University alumni
University of British Columbia alumni
Academic staff of the University of Victoria
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Canadian screenwriters
Lesbian screenwriters
21st-century Canadian LGBT people
Canadian lesbian artists