Adam Cook

Adam Cook is a film critic, curator, and scholar.

Outside of the academy, his experience as a writer and film programmer spans over a decade. Within the academy, Cook’s research seeks to find connective tissue between reductive strands of theory and a revitalized aesthetics centered on formalism. Previously, he completed his SSHRC-funded MA at York University on heightened embodiment as a formal system in the films of Tsai Ming-liang. Cook has been adapting the resulting work into videographic pieces including a recent video essay, A Cinema of Bodily Sense, published in [in]Transition (10.2 2023). During his undergraduate studies at UBC in his hometown, Cook received the inaugural Mark Harris Memorial Scholarship in Film Studies award.

Currently, he is a member of the programming collective K-Fab which presents screenings and retrospectives at Paradise Theatre in Toronto and also serves on Cinema Politica’s Screening Committee. Cook has curated retrospective programmes for Doclisboa, TIFF Cinematheque, Northwest Film Forum, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, and Vancity Theatre. He has taught workshops and classes on film and criticism for the Ever Scholar program at Queen’s and TIFF’s Reel Comfort program. Cook’s bylines as a critic and journalist include The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, VICE, Film Comment, Sight & Sound, Cinema Scope, Filmmaker Magazine, Little White Lies, and Cineaste among other outlets. An early employee of MUBI in its formative years, Cook held the title of Content Manager between 2010 and 2015.

His favourite film is Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. His favourite filmmaker is John Ford.