Michael Melski

Michael Melski
Born
Michael Andrew Melski

(1969-05-19)May 19, 1969
Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada
DiedJuly 18, 2025(2025-07-18) (aged 56)
Alma materCanadian Film Centre
Occupations
  • Playwright
  • filmmaker
Years active1995–2020

Michael Andrew Melski (May 19, 1969 – July 18, 2025) was a Canadian playwright and filmmaker from Sydney, Nova Scotia.[1]

Early life and education

Melski was born in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, on May 19, 1969.[2]

Melski studied screenwriting at the Canadian Film Centre in the 1990s,[3] with his early screenplays including the films Mile Zero[4] and Touch & Go.[5]

Career

Melski began his career as a playwright.[6] His plays Heartspent and Black Silence were published in book form in 1996, as the two-play volume Blood on Steel.[7] He ultimately became best known for his 1995 play Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, which was widely produced across Canada.[8]

Melski's other plays included The Fly Fisher's Companion,[9] and Miles from Home.[10]

Melski released Growing Op, his debut film as a director, in 2008.[11] He followed up in 2013 with Charlie Zone.[12]

In 2016, Melski released the documentary film Perfume War,[13] and in 2019 he released his final narrative feature film, The Child Remains.[14] His 2020 documentary film Rare Bird Alert was broadcast by CBC Television in 2020 as an episode of CBC Docs POV.[15]

Throughout his career, Melski also served as an artist in residence for various theatre companies, including the Shaw Festival, Neptune Theatre and Eastern Front Theatre.[16]

Death

Melski died on July 18, 2025, at the age of 56.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ Ian Nathanson, "'A huge loss': Friends, family pay respects to Cape Breton-born playwright, filmmaker Michael Melski". Cape Breton Post, July 23, 2025.
  2. ^ "Michael Andrew Melski – 2025". Cape Breton Post. Postmedia Obituaries. July 18, 2025. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  3. ^ Marilyn Smulders, "Editing the Bard: In scripting Martello Tower Hamlet, Michael Melski had to chop two hours out of Shakespeare's classic". Halifax Daily News, August 29, 1996.
  4. ^ Camille Bains, "Feature film Mile Zero portrays single dad's love, lies gone overboard". The Canadian Press, January 2, 2002.
  5. ^ Skana Gee, "No slacker: Local film focuses on love and work among the 20-something set". Halifax Daily News, September 20, 2002.
  6. ^ Cathy MacDonald, "Magical moments of choice; A Dalhousie student and two colleagues use theatre to dissect schoolyard racism". Halifax Daily News, August 19, 1991.
  7. ^ "Melski launches book". Halifax Daily News, April 23, 1996.
  8. ^ Lara Bradley, "Get your hockey fix". Sudbury Star, October 28, 2004.
  9. ^ Peter Birnie, "Fishermen's tale likely to be well-received". Vancouver Sun, October 12, 2006.
  10. ^ Marla Cranston, "Go, Johnny, Go: The life of Boston marathon runner Johnny Miles is examined in a new play". Halifax Daily News, July 6, 2001.
  11. ^ Katherine Monk, "Put this in your pipe!; Growing Op asks can love mix with family biz?". The Province, November 21, 2008.
  12. ^ Jane Taber, "No stranger to the dark side". The Globe and Mail, March 1, 2013.
  13. ^ Tina Hassannia, "Scent worth following". Calgary Herald, April 14, 2017.
  14. ^ "Filmmaker Michael Melski on The Child Remains, a horror movie based on the true story of the Butterbox Babies". Q, May 16, 2018.
  15. ^ Stephen Cooke, "From mosh pit to meadow, Rare Bird Alert a colourful blend of birding and punk". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, October 1, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Jeremy Hull, "Award-winning filmmaker and playwright Michael Melski dies at 56". CTV Atlantic, July 20, 2025.
  17. ^ Nicholas Sokic, "Director, playwright Michael Melski dies at 56". Playback, July 24, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.