Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Adam Brooks dreamed of drawing comic books for a living before he set his sights on the world of fine arts. He exhibited his oil paintings at The Gallery and the Winnipeg Art Gallery among others before ever stepping foot on a film set. In 2006 he formed the filmmaking collective ASTRON-6 with four of his closest friends. Their films have been exhibited all over the world, most notably at The Toronto International Film Festival (2014) and The Sundance Film Festival (2019.) Adam has appeared in multiple films as an actor including 'Stump The Guesser' by Guy Maddin and the Johnson bros, and 'Psycho Goreman' by Astron-6 Alum Steven Kostanski. In 2019 Adam won the Best Actor award at The Gimli Film Festival for the Astron-6 picture 'Chowboys' and in 2022 he won Best Manitoba Director for his documentary 'Cliff: a Portrait of an Artist.' When he's not working he still finds time to draw and paint. One of his illustrations was recently featured on an episode of Amazon's 'The Boys' (s03e02). He still dreams of drawing comic books (or making movies) for a living and continues to make films and animations with his two sons in Winnipeg (see - 'Pandemic Bear' on Youtube).

Education
2002 Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours, University of Manitoba

Solo Exhibitions
2005 Rejected & Unknown, <SITE> Gallery, Winnipeg, MB

Group Exhibitions
2022 Library of Babel, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
2012 If they came from Within, Fantasia, Montreal, QC
2008 What Fall'ows, The Spot, Winnipeg, MB
2006 Supernovas, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
1998 Royal Art Lodge Doll Show, Royal Art Lodge, Winnipeg, MB

Selected Film Festivals
2023 Fantastic Fest, Austin, TX
2023 Vox Popular Media Arts Festival, Thunderbay, ON
2023 Fantasia Film Festival, Montreal, QC
2022 Lunenberg Doc Fest, Halifax, NS
2022 Gimli Film Festival, Gimli, MB
2022 Yorkton Film Festival, Yorkton, SK
2021 Calgary Underground Film Festival, Calgary, AB
2021 Chattanooga Film Festival, TN
2019 Sundance Film Festival, Park City, UT
2018 Fantastic Fest, Austin, TX
2015 Fantasia Film Festival, Montreal, QC
2015 Fantastic Fest, Austin, TX
2014 The Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2014 The Torino Film Festival, Turin, Italy
2014 The Chicago International Film Festival
2014 The Vancouver International Film Festival
2014 Fantastic Fest, Austin, TX
2011 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2010 Faux Film Festival, Portland, OR
2009 Gimli Film Festival, Gimli, MB
2007 Possible Worlds Film Festival, Sydney, Australia
2007 Terror Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2007 Canadian Filmmakers Festival, Toronto, ON
2007 A Night of Horror Short Film Festival, Sydney, Australia
2004-2009 Winnipeg Short Film Massacre, Cinematheque, Winnipeg, MB

Grants
 2022 Hothouse Award, The Winnipeg Film Group
2022 Manitoba Arts Council
2021 Canada Council for the Arts
2019 Individual Artist Grant, Winnipeg Arts Council
2019 Learn - Travel/Professional Development, Manitoba Arts Council
2019 Production Fund, Winnipeg Film Group
2018 Media Arts Grant - Established Artist, Manitoba Arts Council
2014 Marketing Grant, MFM
2013 Emerging Talent Production Grant, MFM
2013 Micro-Budget Production Grant, Telefilm Canada
2010 Visual Arts B Grant, Manitoba Arts Council
2008 Marketing Fund, Winnipeg Film Group
2007 2nd Place, Power of the Portrait Competition, Artrom.com
2006 Visual Arts C Grant, Manitoba Arts Council
2006 Individual Artist Grant, Winnipeg Arts Council

Awards
 2022 Best Manitoba Director, The Gimli Film Festival
2022 Best Feature Documentary, Artstream, April 2022
2021 Gold Award, Spotlight Documentary Film Awards
2019 Best Actor, ACTRA, Gimli Film Festival
2016 Manitoba's Future 40 under 40, CBC
2016 Best Feature, Editing, Cinematography, The Windy Awards, WFG
2014 Best Film, La Semain Du Cinema Fantastique, Niice, France
2014 Best Actor, Monsterfest, Australia
2014 Best Actor, A Night of Horror, Australia
2011 Best Hero, Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Toronto, ON
2009 First Prize - Best Film, Winnipeg Short Film Massacre
2007 2nd Place, Power of the Portrait Competition, Artrom.com

Catalogues
2022 Cliff Eyland: Library of Babel, Winnipeg Art Gallery
2021 99.1% Pure: Breaking Bad Art
2008 Carte Blanche, Vol. 2 — Painting, Magenta Foundation, Canada
2008 Paper Wait 8 & 9, Ace Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
2006 Supernovas, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB

    I paint images of cultural alienation. Most important to me is that the work have a painterly quality: that each stroke is a color, shape, gesture and subject all at once.  In this way the paint and the color can infuse the subject matter with a beauty that it was previously lacking.  Elevating the artistic beauty of pop images and forensic photography lets the viewer reconsider the imagery and possibly meditate on their own isolation and the beauty and sadness of living in a compartmentalized society.