Marian Wihak is an award winning multi-disciplinary designer-artist working in film, television, theatre and visual art. She has won 4 Awards for Best Production Design, and has been nominated numerous times, including a 2020 Canadian Screen Award Nomination Best Production Design for her work on STAND!
Marian is passionate about amplifying Circular Design and Sustainability within the film industry sitting on numerous committees and panels to this end, and embracing those strategies within her work as a Production Designer.
In 2023, OUR BIG PUNJABI FAMILY, which she designed, won Best International Series at SERIESFEST; selected features include Shane Belcourt's small-town basketball hero story WARRIOR STRONG, Lori Evans Taylor's psychological thriller BED REST, Agam Darshi's celebrated dramedy DONKEYHEAD (Array for Netflix January 2022), and Amy Jo Johnson's black comedy TAMMY'S ALWAYS DYING starring Felicity Huffman. Also, STAND! a musical set set within the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike directed by Rob Adetuyi; and LOVE-JACKED, a romantic comedy shot in Toronto and Cape Town.
Marian has frequently collaborated with multi-award winning Director Larry Weinstein on unique music-centric projects including DREAMING OF A JEWISH CHRISTMAS, SEPTEMBER SONGS: THE MUSIC OF KURT WEILL (Gemini Award for Best Production Design), and twice worked with Oscar nominated director Agnieszka Holland.
Marian excels at designing a diverse and varied range of productions from period to contemporary, edgy to lyrical, from feature films to shorts. She has worked across Canada as well as in New York, Poland and South Africa. Born and raised in the vast Western plains of Saskatchewan, and originally trained in theatre design, Marian has traveled extensively, including having studied painting and art history in Florence. Always in search of new inspiration and challenges, in 2010 she returned to graduate school in order to integrate her visual art practice with her design practice, earning an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design.
ABOUT MARIAN
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
STAND!
NOMINEE - CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 2020
THE GOOD WITCH's WONDER
NOMINEE- DGC BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 2014
LEISURE SOCIETY
NOMINEE - DORA THEATRE AWARDS OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN 2005
HEYDAY!
NOMINEE - GEMINI BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 2006
PIT PONY
WINNER - GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 1998
SEPTEMBER SONGS: THE MUSIC OF KURT WEIL
WINNER - GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 1997
GROUNDLING MARSH
WINNER - GOLD MEDAL PRODUCTION DESIGN, NEW YORK TELEVISION FESTIVAL 1994
THE SQAUMISH FIVE
NOMINEE - GEMINI BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 1989
WAR BRIDES
WINNER - BIJOUX AWARD FOR BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 1981
AFFILIATED AWARDS & NOMINATIONS (designed by Marian)
LOVE JACKED
WINNER - BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE, PAN AFRICA FILM FESTIVAL 2018
DREAMING OF A JEWISH CHRISTMAS
WINNER - CANADIAN SCREEN AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION BY LARRY WEINSTEIN 2019
WINNER - CZECH CRYSTAL, BEST MUSIC DANCE DOCUMENTARY - GOLDEN PRAGUE INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION FESTIVAL 2018
NOMINEE - 46th INTERNATIONAL EMMY BEST ARTS PROGRAM
MILGAARD
WINNER - GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST TV FILM 1999