Adrian Wills is a Canadian film and television director from Montreal, Quebec, most noted for his documentary films All Together Now and A Quiet Girl. Early life Born in Newfoundland and Labrador, he was placed for adoption and grew up in Montreal.Brendan Kelly, "Montreal filmmaker emerges from ‘the fog’ to find his birth mother and discover The Rock". Montreal Gazette, February 28, 2024.
Career Wills directed a number of short films before making his documentary debut with Entre les mains De Michel Tremblay in 2006.Luc Boulanger, "Un docu sur Tremblay et son théâtre". La Presse, October 27, 2006. He then collaborated with Cirque du Soleil on All Together Now, which was released in 2008.Adam Nayman, "Sneaking Through The Middle". Point of View, November 1, 2008. He has since collaborated with Cirque du Soleil on filmed versions of other Cirque shows, including Touch the Sky (Toucher le ciel), Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, Toruk – The First Flight and Luzia."ONF – Une fille tranquille, du cinéaste montréalais Adrian Wills sera disponible gratuitement sur ONF.ca dès le 25 mars 2024". CTVM, March 15, 2024.
In 2017 he was a co-creator of the television series 21 Thunder.Carolyn Potts, "21 Thunder: Diversity". TV, eh?, August 1, 2017.
A Quiet Girl, released in 2023, centred on his efforts to find out more information about his adoption and birth family.Alejandra de la Huerta, "A Quiet Girl Review: Adrian Wills Rediscovers His Identity". Point of View, March 25, 2024. The film premiered at the 2023 Atlantic International Film Festival."Film Documenting Man’s Journey to Find Birth Family in NL to Premiere at Atlantic Film Festival". VOCM, September 12, 2023.
In 2024 he was co-director with Sylvain Lebel of Leonard Cohen: If It Be Your Will, a television documentary special which blended historical interviews with writer and singer Leonard Cohen with performances of Cohen's songs from the 2017 Tower of Song Cohen tribute concert."Sting, Courtney Love, k.d. lang and others celebrate Leonard Cohen's life in stunning concert documentary". CBC Television, November 21, 2024.
Awards Award Date of ceremony Category Work Result Directors Guild of Canada 2024 Allan King Award for Best Documentary Film A Quiet Girl Connie Thiessen, "Sweet Angel Baby leads DGC Awards’ film nominations". Broadcast Dialogue, September 20, 2024. Gémeaux Awards 2009 Best Documentary: Culture All Together Now Grammy Awards 2010 Best Music Film Paul Grein, "A Closer Look at the Grammys’ Best Music Film Category". Billboard, April 23, 2019.
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