Luseland’s own Adrian Halter wins awards
By Joan Janzen
This story is based on an article that first appeared in the University of Regina’s Degrees magazine.
The dreams of a young man who grew up in the town of Luseland have come true. Luseland’s own Adrian Halter is now an award-winning filmmaker, and the director of a six-episode documentary series, entitled Flat Out Food.
Adrian produced the series, along with Jenn Sharp. The series is based on Jenn’s book “Flat Out Delicious: Your Definitive Guide to Saskatchewan’s Food Artisans”. Throughout the series they visit a grain farmer, cattle ranchers and beekeepers from all over the province. Each episode ends with a delicious meal created using the highlighted ingredient.
Adrian’s achievement won the Ruth Shaw Award at Yorkton’s International Film Festival. As a kid, he said he spent a lot of time with his imagination. His young uncles encouraged his stories, and his dad played a huge role in encouraging his artistic side. Young Adrian created a story, but there was one problem; he needed a camera.
At the age of 11, he started his own lawn mowing service, and by the time he was 14 had earned enough money to buy his first video camera. Adrian, now a popular director and producer at HalterMedia, still keeps that camera on a shelf.
He used that camcorder to make his first documentary while on a two week class trip to Europe. Money was in short supply, but that didn’t discourage young Adrian from pursuing his dreams. He mowed lawns, worked in a chicken barn, bagged groceries, delivered newspapers and participated in class fundraisers, all of which made his trip to Europe possible. Adrian said his first documentary “sealed my career right there and then”.
After high school, he attended the University of Regina, and went on into film school during his second year. It was there that he met his future wife, Becky. Mark Wihak, one of his professors at the U of R, said, “He’s built his own business from the ground up, and every year you can see it grow. That requires a lot of hard work, attention to detail and ambition. He is a really nice guy and easy to get along with.”
Adrian graduated with his BFA in Film Production in 2010 and incorporated his production company, HalterMedia the following year. It was his talent, drive and persistence that led to Adrian’s success. Although he had always thought he would eventually move to Toronto, plans changed after he and his wife had their three children in 2014, 2017 and 2020.
“Suddenly making it big in Toronto was no longer a priority. What became more important to me was being able to be a good dad and a good husband,” Adrian said. During this time he lent his talents to a number of organizations and served two years as vice-president on the board of SaskCulture and ran youth video workshops.
While working on commercial content for the Canadian Western Agribition, he connected with Jenn Sharp. They started brainstorming on how to turn her book into a TV series, and never looked back.
Jenn said Adrian “not only has a creative eye, but he’s also an avid home-cook and gardener who’s been watching food documentaries for years. He’s always striving to put out the best quality work possible and it shows.” Everyone involved was pleased to see the program recognized by the Yorktown Film Festival.
“I made the right decision to build my career at home,” Adrian said. Viewers of Flat Out Food couldn’t agree more, and the folks in his hometown of Luseland are cheering him on all the way.
Award winning filmmaker Adrian Halter grew up in Luseland.
PHOTO FROM DEGREES MAGAZINE
