Harry Gulkin, a renowned Canadian movie producer and theatre director, played a pivotal role in elevating the international recognition of Canadian literature and film. Born and raised in Montreal to Russian immigrant parents, Gulkin's early life was marked by a departure from high school at the age of 16 to join the Merchant Marines.
Following World War II, Gulkin became involved in union activism and worked for a communist newspaper, but his views shifted after the atrocities committed by Stalin's regime came to light. He then leveraged his marketing skills to transition into a new career, securing executive positions in a supermarket chain.
In the 1970s, Gulkin began producing films with the goal of adapting Canadian fiction for the screen. One of his earliest films, Lies My Father Told Me (1975),garnered international acclaim, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film in 1976 and receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Writing and Best Original Screenplay.
Throughout his career, Gulkin held various leadership positions, including Executive and Artistic Director of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts in Montreal (now the Segal Centre for Performing Arts) from 1983 to 1987. He later worked as an analyst for a Quebec film agency, helping to fund prominent French Canadian films such as Jesus of Montreal (1989) and The Barbarian Invasions (2003).
A documentary biography, Harry Gulkin: Red Dawn on Main Street (2004),chronicles his life and work. In 2008, Gulkin received a special Genie Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for his outstanding vision and merit, which he had demonstrated through his love of film.
Gulkin was married twice, first to Ruth Penner with whom he had two children, and later to Marie Murphy. In a surprising revelation, it was discovered that he was also the biological father of actress and director Sarah Polley, as depicted in Stories We Tell (2012).
