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IMDbPro

Dawn Wilkinson(I)

  • Director
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Dawn Wilkinson
BET+ "Block Party" Behind-the-Scenes. Directed by Dawn Wilkinson
Play demo reel5:08
BET+ "Block Party" Behind-the-Scenes
1 Video
19 Photos
Dawn Wilkinson is an award-winning director and screenwriter born in Montreal and raised in Toronto. She is an alumni of the 'Norman Jewison' Canadian Film Centre and a graduate of the University of Toronto.

Wilkinson combined comedy, fantasy and scathing social satire in her visually stylized short film Instant Dread (1998) which had its broadcast premier on CBC's Canadian Reflections.

Like her mentor 'Norman Jewison' (she was his apprentice on The Hurricane (1999)) Dawn Wilkinson is an actor's director who knows how to get the best performances out of her cast. Her short drama Girls Who Say Yes (2000) showcased the complicated emotional journey between two young women whose friendship ends in a menage a trois. Girls Who Say Yes (2000) had its premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2000.

In 2005 Dawn wrote, produced, and directed her first feature film Devotion (2005) which stars 'Jasmine Richards' Camp Rock (2008). Devotion (2005) is a coming of age story about eleven year old Alice Hope who struggles to deal with her mother's death and her father's alcoholism. The fictional film is based on her personal experiences growing up biracial in small town Ontario. Wilkinson explored the universal human themes of her specific ethnic experience by making visible the perspective and emotional journey of her characters. (Her mother is from Jewish Montreal and her father was born in Barbados, West Indies).

Devotion (2005) went on to win the the Star! Audience Award at Toronto's Reel World Film Festival in 2005 and Best Feature at the San Francisco Black Film Festival's Urban Kidz Program in 2005.

Dawn grew up watching films by 'Steven Spielberg' and shares his vision that movies can be entertaining and enlightening. Wilkinson's feature film script "Love Child" won Best Screenplay at the African American Women in Cinema Film Festival.

Dawn went on to direct the short films "Instant Dread", "Dandelions", "Wilderness", and "Girls Who Say Yes." Dawn was awarded the WIFT and DGC Emerging Television Director Award, and she directed many of Canada's top drama series including "Heartland", "Murdoch Mysteries", and "Degrassi", which she was nominated for a DGC award for Best Family TV Series, in addition to comedies "Sunnyside", and "Kim's Convenience" in which Dawn was nominated for a Best Directing DGC Award.

In addition to being a member of the Directors Guild of Canada, and the Writers Guild of Canada, Dawn became a member of the Directors Guild of America and has went on to directed a number of hit television series. Some of the shows she has directed include: Empire (2015), How to Get Away with Murder (2014), All American (2018), All American: Homecoming (2022), Locke & Key (2020), Nashville (2012), Dynasty (2017),Greenleaf (2016), Riverdale (2017), Power Book II: Ghost (2020) and the Starz series Step Up: High Water (2018) (Season 3) in which Dawn served as executive producer and director for numerous episodes.

Dawn received rave reviews for Hallmark's TV movie A Nashville Christmas Carol (2020) was filmed during the height of the global pandemic. In 2022 Dawn Wilkinson directed the BET+ Original film Block Party (2022) the first ever Juneteenth Family Comedy. The film is the first of its kind to have a theatrical, streaming, and linear release in the same month of its release.
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    • Agent info
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  • Awards
    • 6 wins & 3 nominations

Photos19

Dawn Wilkinson directing Actor Terrence Green in "Step Up."
Dawn Wilkinson directing Actor Rome Flynn in her "How to Get Away with Murder" episode.
Dawn Wilkinson directing Actor Ne-Yo in her episode of "Step Up."
Dawn Wilkinson
Dawn Wilkinson
Dawn Wilkinson getting her shot right in her "Step Up" episode.
Dawn Wilkinson directing Tricia Helfer in "Step Up."
Dawn Wilkinson directing Actors Ne-Yo and Marc Inniss in "Step Up."
Dawn Wilkinson directing Ne-Yo in "Step Up."
Dawn Wilkinson directing a scene in "Step Up."
Dawn Wilkinson
Dawn Wilkinson

Known for

Margaret Avery, John Amos, Golden Brooks, Luenell, Faizon Love, Merle Dandridge, Charlyne Yi, and Antoinette Robertson in Block Party (2022)
Block Party
5.0
  • Director
  • 2022
Kate Hudson and Octavia Spencer in Truth Be Told (2019)
Truth Be Told
7.1
TV Series
  • Director
Viola Davis in How to Get Away with Murder (2014)
How to Get Away with Murder
8.1
TV Series
  • Director
Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson in Empire (2015)
Empire
7.4
TV Series
  • Director

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

  • Orphan Black: Echoes
    • Director
    • In Production
    • TV Series
    • 2023
  • Mary J. Blige, Shane Johnson, Method Man, Naturi Naughton, and Michael Rainey Jr. in Power Book II: Ghost (2020)
    Power Book II: Ghost
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2023
  • Jabari Banks in Bel-Air (2022)
    Bel-Air
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2023
  • Taye Diggs, Chelsea Tavares, Greta Onieogou, Cody Christian, Samantha Logan, Hunter Clowdus, Daniel Ezra, Bre-Z, and Michael Evans Behling in All American (2018)
    All American
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2018–2023
  • Step Up: High Water (2018)
    Step Up: High Water
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Tony Hale, Seth Carr, Emmy DeOliveira, Marta Kessler, and Mystic Inscho in The Mysterious Benedict Society (2021)
    The Mysterious Benedict Society
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Margaret Avery, John Amos, Golden Brooks, Luenell, Faizon Love, Merle Dandridge, Charlyne Yi, and Antoinette Robertson in Block Party (2022)
    Block Party
    • Director
    • 2022
  • Rhoyle Ivy King, GeffriMaya, Kelly Jenrette, Peyton 'Alex' Smith, Mitchell Edwards, Sylvester Powell, and Camille Hyde in All American: Homecoming (2022)
    All American: Homecoming
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Kate Hudson and Octavia Spencer in Truth Be Told (2019)
    Truth Be Told
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2021
  • Kix Brooks, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans, Wes Brown, Jessy Schram, and RaeLynn in A Nashville Christmas Carol (2020)
    A Nashville Christmas Carol
    • Director (directed by)
    • TV Movie
    • 2020
  • Viola Davis in How to Get Away with Murder (2014)
    How to Get Away with Murder
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson in Empire (2015)
    Empire
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2019–2020
  • Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, and Jackson Robert Scott in Locke & Key (2020)
    Locke & Key
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2020
  • Matt Czuchry, Bruce Greenwood, Emily VanCamp, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Manish Dayal, and Anuja Joshi in The Resident (2018)
    The Resident
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Allison Tolman in Why Women Kill (2019)
    Why Women Kill
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Nathan Parsons, Amber Midthunder, Michael Trevino, Heather Hemmens, Tyler Blackburn, Jeanine Mason, Michael Vlamis, and Lily Cowles in Roswell, New Mexico (2019)
    Roswell, New Mexico
    • Director (directed by)
    • TV Series
    • 2019

Producer

  • Step Up: High Water (2018)
    Step Up: High Water
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Margaret Avery, John Amos, Golden Brooks, Luenell, Faizon Love, Merle Dandridge, Charlyne Yi, and Antoinette Robertson in Block Party (2022)
    Block Party
    • executive producer
    • 2022
  • Looking for Dawn
    • producer
    • Short
    • 2011
  • Turnings
    • executive producer
    • Short
    • 2010
  • Devotion (2005)
    Devotion
    • producer
    • 2005
  • Instant Dread (1998)
    Instant Dread
    • producer
    • Short
    • 1998

Writer

  • Looking for Dawn
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 2011
  • Devotion (2005)
    Devotion
    • Writer
    • 2005
  • Instant Dread (1998)
    Instant Dread
    • writer
    • Short
    • 1998

Videos1

BET+ "Block Party" Behind-the-Scenes
Demo Reel 5:08
BET+ "Block Party" Behind-the-Scenes

Personal details

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  • Official site
    • Dawn Wilkinson Website
  • Spouses
      Jacen FinchSeptember 9, 2018 - present
  • Other works
    Directed music video for Mr. Roam, "System".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Shadowing Director Eleanore Lindo on Degrassi: The Next Generation

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