Dawn Wilkinson

Dawn Wilkinson is an award-winning Director and screenwriter, born in Montreal and raised in Toronto. She has an Honors BA from The University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s Directors’ Lab and Short Dramatic Film Program. Her first feature film DEVOTION (2005) is a coming-of-age story based on her personal experience growing up in small town Ontario. DEVOTION won awards at Toronto’s Reel World Film Festival and Best Feature at the San Francisco Black Film Festival’s Urban Kidz Program in 2005. Like her mentor Norman Jewison (she was his apprentice on THE HURRICANE), Dawn is an actor’s Director who knows how to get the best performances out of her cast. Her short drama, GIRLS WHO SAY YES (VIFF 2000), charts the complicated emotional journey between two young women whose friendship comes to an end. Her additional shorts include DANDELIONS and WILDERNESS. Since being awarded the WIFT and DGC Emerging Television Director Award, Dawn has directed many of Canada's top drama series, including HEARTLAND, MURDOCH MYSTERIES, and DEGRASSI, which was nominated for a DGC Award for Best Family TV Series, and comedies SUNNYSIDE and KIM'S CONVENIENCE, also nominated for a Best Directing DGC Award. Dawn has directed numerous U.S. network productions, including SWITCHED AT BIRTH, REIGN, GREENLEAF, BEYOND, DYNASTY, THE GOOD DOCTOR, THE GIFTED, ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO, THE RESIDENT, WHY WOMEN KILL, and multiple episodes of NASHVILLE, RIVERDALE, EMPIRE, and LOCKE & KEY. She recently relocated to Los Angeles, where she completed an episode of HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER for Shondaland and ABC Studios.