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Gary Yates

Gary Yates

Director, writer and producer · Montréal, Québec, Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gary Yates (born in Montreal, Canada) is a film director from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Yates has worked on Canadian television since the early 1990s and recently completed a number of feature films starring actor Kevin Pollack, including Niagara Motel (2005) and Seven Times Lucky (2004), which was nominated for five Genie Awards. Gary Yates is a film director, screenwriter and producer from Montreal. His films have garnered worldwide critical acclaim, and have premiered at some of the world's most prestigious film festivals including Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam, Karlovy-Vary, Shanghai, New York and Toronto. Yates has won many international awards, for both directing and screenwriting, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award® Nomination for Best Short Film, for his surrealist comedy Without Rockets. Yates' debut feature, Seven Times Lucky (2004) which he wrote, produced and directed, premiered to rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004, and won six Blizzard Awards, including Best Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor for lead Kevin Pollak. The film was nominated for five Genie Awards, and was awarded the top prizes at the Method Fest in Los Angeles, winning Best Film and Best Screenplay. According to the Daily Variety film review at Sundance: The grifter movie reaches a level of unprecedented enjoyment and excitement in Seven Times Lucky, an absolute knockout of a feature debut. Yates' award-winning heist picture, High Life (2009), starring Timothy Olyphant, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, was nominated for Best Feature Film and won the Best Film Editing Award at the Director's Guild Awards. High Life also won the Best Film Award at the Calgary International film Festival. Maclean's Magazine raved: Buoyantly entertaining from start to finish, Yates has lifted the material off the stage and turned it into a kinetic visual drama with sparks of druggy delirium. A Canadian answer to the Coen Brothers with a Tarantino kick. Description above from the Wikipedia article Gary Yates (director), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

From
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
30 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Down 24% in 30 days

What are Gary Yates' films like?

Across their 29 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy15 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 65th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 55th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 8th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 23rd percentile
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
52%
Self
19%
Society
12%
Survival
9%
Morality
7%
Ideas
2%
Romantic love17 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds13 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity9 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth6 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition6 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception4 titles, browse their movies with this themeMarriage2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 29 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 25 · Serious 3 · Dark 1

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 26 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 20 · Charged 8 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 25 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 21 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 24 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 27 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 29 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful
23
Warm
16
Romantic
17
Joyful
10
Tense
7
Other
9

How their films linger

Feel-good25 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful18 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCozy5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy24
  • Bittersweet4
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Gary Yates' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 29 of their 30 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hallmark+ (22).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Gary Yates' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

34 credits, 30 with a MovieCove page.

  • 'Twas the Night Before Christmas(2022)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • 'Tis the Season to be Merry(2021)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • One Perfect Wedding(2021)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Christmas by Starlight(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Christmas Bow(2020)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • On the 12th Date of Christmas(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Sweet Autumn(2020)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Our Christmas Love Song(2019)

    Director · Associate Producer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Merry & Bright(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • My One & Only(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Easter Under Wraps(2019)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • One Winter Proposal(2019)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • A Christmas in Tennessee(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Once Upon a Christmas Miracle(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Under the Autumn Moon(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Pearl in Paradise(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • One Winter Weekend(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films

  • Snowed-Inn Christmas(2017)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • A Dream of Christmas(2016)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Wedding Bells(2016)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • Last Chance for Christmas(2015)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • When Sparks Fly(2014)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • The Christmas Heart(2012)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • A Bride for Christmas(2012)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Lucky Christmas(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Shadow Island Mysteries: The Last Christmas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Smoke Screen(2010)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • Shadow Island Mysteries: Wedding for One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Taken in Broad Daylight(2009)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • High Life(2009)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Eye of the Beast(2007)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Maneater(2007)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Niagara Motel (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • 7 Times Lucky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Producer · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 34 titles from 2004 to 2022.

Highest rated

Snowed-Inn Christmas (2017)

Midcredits 84th

Most popular right now

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (2022)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing33 of 34: 26 only directing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score61stWriting6 of 34: 1 only writing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score61stProducing4 of 34: 0 only producing, 4 with another role

34 titles, 7 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

2000s6 · crew2010s21 · crew2020s7 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Gary Yates' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 30; across their 29 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 61st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

61stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Approval · how many liked their films

59thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Reach · how many have seen their films

63rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Midcredits score across 30 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th17
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th4

Shape of the crowd

20 of their 30 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser20
  • Mixed9

Most divisive · director

When Sparks Fly (2014)

69th percentile spread · 39% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

Snowed-Inn Christmas (2017)

Midcredits 84th · 78% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 62/100 and the pacing 48/100 in their films, across 29 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Gary Yates work with?

People who share at least 2 of Gary Yates' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Paul Suderman shares the most, 13.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

  • Anthony Fankhauser13 titles    See newest 12 of 13 shared titles with Anthony Fankhauser
  • Eric Scott Woods13 titles    See newest 12 of 13 shared titles with Eric Scott Woods
  • Stan Spry13 titles    See newest 12 of 13 shared titles with Stan Spry
  • Devan Towers6 titles    See all 6 shared titles with Devan Towers