Anne Wheeler, OC, (born September 23, 1946) is a Canadian film and television writer, producer, and director.

Biography

After graduating in mathematics from the University of Alberta, Wheeler was a computer programmer before traveling abroad. Her years of travels inspired her to become a storyteller and when she returned she joined a group of old friends to form a film collective. From 1975 to 1985 she worked for the NFB where she made her first feature film, A War Story (1981), which was about her father, Ben Wheeler and his time as a doctor in a P.O.W. camp during World War II. The war is a common theme in her work and she revisited it later in her films Bye Bye Blues (1989) and The War Between Us (1995). Her first non-NFB film was Loyalties in 1986.

In addition to her films, Wheeler has directed episodes of Anne with an E, Private Eyes, Strange Empire, The Romeo Section, The Guard, This Is Wonderland, Da Vinci's Inquest, and Cold Squad.

Awards and honors

Wheeler has been nominated four times for the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction for her films Loyalties (1986), Cowboys Don't Cry (1988), Bye Bye Blues (1989), and Suddenly Naked (2001). Her 1998 television miniseries, The Sleep Room, won Gemini awards for best television movie and best direction.

In 2017 Wheeler won a Leo Award for Best Direction (Television Film) for the Hallmark movie Stop the Wedding.

Wheeler was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995. In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Wheeler has also been awarded seven honorary doctorates and is the first woman to be given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of Canada.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
1986LoyaltiesYesYesNo
1988Cowboys Don't CryYesYesYes
1989Bye Bye BluesYesYesYes
1991Angel SquareYesYesNo
1999Better Than ChocolateYesNoNo
2000Marine LifeYesNoNo
2001Suddenly NakedYesNoExecutive
2002Edge of MadnessYesYesNo
2011KnockoutYesNoNo

Documentary film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
1975Great Grand MotherYesYesNo
1976AugustaYesYesNo
1981A War StoryYesYesYes
2000The Orkney Lad: The Story of Isabel GunnYesNoNo
2013ChiYesNoNo
1977Happily UnmarriedNoNoYes
1978Priory: The Only Home I've GotNoNoYes
1979Triangle IslandNoNoYes
Welfare MothersNoNoYes
Never a Dull MomentNoNoYes
1983Great Days in the RockiesNoNoYes
From Bears to BartokNoNoYes
1984Children Of AlcoholNoNoYes
This Is Only a TestNoNoYes

Short film

YearTitleDirectorWriter
1977Happily UnmarriedYesNo
1978Teach Me to DanceYesNo
2000Legs ApartYesYes

Television

TV movies

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerWriter
1993The DivinersYesNoNo3-hour special
Other Women's ChildrenYesNoNo
1995The War Between UsYesNoNo
1996Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury StoryNoYesYes
2002The InvestigationYesNoNo
2003BetrayedYesYesNo
2004A Beachcombers ChristmasYesNoNo
2006Christmas on Chestnut StreetYesNoNo
2007Mom, Dad and HerYesNoNo
2008Mail Order BrideYesNoNo
Living Out LoudYesNoNo
Dancing Trees (Partners in Crime)YesNoNo
2009The Gambler, the Girl and the GunslingerYesNoNo
2012The Horses of McBrideYesNoNo
2014The Color of RainYesNoNo
2015A Country WeddingYesNoNo
2016Stop the WeddingYesNoNoBest Direction, 2017 Leo Awards
2023Friends & Family ChristmasYesNoNo

TV series

YearTitleNotes
1984For the RecordEpisode 46: A Change of Heart
1984-1985Global PlayhouseEpisodes One's a Heifer and To Set Our House in Order (Also writer)
1985The Ray Bradbury TheaterEpisode The Martian
1990Mom P.I.2 episodes
1992North of 602 episodes
1995Jake and the Kid2 episodes
1996The Adventures of Shirley HolmesPilot
1998Cold Squad3 episodes
The Sleep RoomMiniseries
1998-2003Da Vinci's Inquest7 episodes
2000Mysterious WaysEpisode 6:Twins
Beggars and Choosers1 episode
2004-2005This Is Wonderland8 episodes
2005Godiva's2 episode
2006Jozi-H2 episodes
The Guard2 episodes
2014HeartlandEpisodes 5: Endings and Beginnings and 6: Steal Away
2014When Calls the HeartEpisode 9: Change of Heart
2021Firefly LaneEpisodes 3: Dancing Queens and 4: Love is a Battlefield

See also

External links