Pat Mills’s first feature film, the dark comedy GUIDANCE, had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Picked up by Strand Releasing in the USA and Search Engine Films in Canada, Guidance was hailed as a “Grade A” comedy by the Los Angeles Times and was a New York Times Critics' Pick. 

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An alumnus of NSI, CFC as well as TIFF’s Talent lab and TIFF Studio, Pat was named winner of TIFF’s Pitch This for his second feature DON'T TALK TO IRENE. The screenplay won Best Comedy Screenplay at the Austin Screenplay Competition. Released in 2018 starring newcomer Michelle McLeod, Bruce Gray, Scott Thompson and Oscar-winner Geena Davis, Don’t Talk to Irene had its world premiere at TIFF 2017 and went on to win the Comedy Vanguard Feature Award and Audience Award at the 2017 Austin Film Festival, Audience Choice at the 2018 Kingston Canadian Film Festival, the Galet d’or (Grand Prize) at Festival du film Canadien en Dieppe, as well as two Canadian Comedy Awards: Best Writing in a Feature and Best Feature.

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Pat was listed as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch and was University of Toronto’s Universal Studios Screenwriter-in-Residence in 2018-19. 

Recent directing credits include QUEENS, created by Justin Gray, a drag queen comedy series, currently streaming on CBC Gem (Harlow Creative/Caitlin Brown) and the queer thriller, THE RETREAT, written and produced by Alyson Richards for ARP/Clique Pictures, and was recently nominated for three 2022 Canadian Screen Awards. 

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Pat directed Lifetime's first LGBTQ+ Christmas movie, THE CHRISTMAS SETUP, starring Ben Lewis, Blake Lee, Ellen Wong, Chad Connell and Fran Drescher, which aired December 2020 to positive reviews, was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie, 2022 Canadian Screen Awards for Best TV Movie and Best Lead Performance for Ben Lewis.

 

Pat was nominated for a WGC Screenwriting Award for Queens, Episode 4: "Minnie and Sharron" and was nominated for a Directors Guild of Canada Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for THE CHRISTMAS SETUP.

 

Pat has also directed episodes of STRAYS, a CBC comedy starring Nicole Power and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series and DESIGNING CHRISTMAS (Discovery+).

 

Most recently, Pat co-directed (with Ayo Tsalithaba) a HERITAGE MINUTE about unapologetic trans singer Jackie Shane, who transformed the Toronto music scene. Pat also directed three episodes of RUN THE BURBS, which air winter/spring 2023. 

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Pat is represented by Great North Artists Management.

 

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