ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Pozer is an award-winning filmmaker with over thirty years of experience. His debut feature, The Grocer’s Wife, had its European premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival and was selected as the opening film for the exclusive Critic’s Week section. Among his many notable achievements, John received the George Sadoul Award from the International Critic’s Association and the Best First Feature Award from the Canadian Film and Television Academy.
John has directed for various networks, including The Disney Channel, MTV, YTV, Fox Family, Global, and CBC. He also directed multiple episodes of the popular computer-animated series, Beast Wars, a top-rated children’s show televised in over 60 countries. In addition to directing, John’s credits include writing, producing, and editing on productions that have screened at numerous festivals and garnered world-wide sales and distribution.
John earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Cinema Production from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. A passionate educator, John has developed curriculum and taught film for more than 20 years at prestigious schools and institutions across Canada. His first book on film education, 21st Century Film Student Primer: Everything You Need to Know and Do Before You go to Film School, was published in 2019.
TELEVISION
John has directed for several networks, including comedies on MTV and the supernatural So Weird on the Disney Channel. Also known for his work on Beast Wars, John directed multiple episodes of the Daytime Emmy award-winning computer-animated series. John’s experience in television dates back to his teen years starting as an actor in several CBC dramas, including The Beachcombers (Prairie Sailor, 1971).
FESTIVALS
With screenings at hundreds of international festivals, John’s work in independent film making has been recognized around the world. He won the Inaugural Best First Feature Award from the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television for The Grocer’s Wife. He also received two awards at the Figuera da Foz International Festival in Portugal for Best First Feature & Best Film.
“John’s advice to never play it safe — or, as he likes to put it, “If you’re not dangerous, you're dead” — together with his frequent encouragements to follow my creative instincts, had a major impact on my decision to follow through with my unusual vision for my first feature film. His experience, input, and personal involvement were invaluable ingredients for the realization of this project. Through the process of working on the film, we became true artistic allies — something that is extremely hard to come by in the incredibly competitive field of feature film making.
It was not only a great honour to be selected for the ‘New Directors Competition’ at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, but it was probably an even bigger honour to attend the festival together with John in September 2015.”
— Hans Christian Berger, Writer/Director, After Eden
Reviews for ‘The Grocer’s Wife’
“Tiny comedy a masterpiece”
“Shot in suggestive black and white on a measly budget of $60,000, The Grocer’s Wife derives much of its spooky dramatic power from its atmospheric, neo-gothic setting.”
— TORONTO STAR
“A little miracle”
“From the opening shot of a towering smokestack belching out smog, Pozer’s dingy stage is set. …a slick, studied film noir which should earn him critical raves and enthuse art film aficionados worldwide.”
— VARIETY
“Scary people haunt almost-erotic vision of hell on earth”
“The Grocer’s Wife is a smart, funny and technically stunning debut from an important new Canadian director.”
— VANCOUVER SUN
“A completely original feature debut”
“It’s been a long time since such an odd, almost dangerous film arrived on the Festival’s doorstep.”
— Toronto International Film Festival