A documentary on the prolific Vancouver Island artist E.J. Hughes is slated for a theatrical release in Victoria and other communities up-island.
The film, titled The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes, was produced, directed and edited by Vancouver filmmaker Jenn Strom, who has always been fascinated by making movies relating to making art.
“I love films about creativity and what happens inside an artist, how you live a creative life, what does it all look like,” Strom told Victoria Buzz.
Her film’s subject, Hughes, was born in North Vancouver in 1913, but was raised primarily in Nanaimo.
After going to art school in Vancouver and graduating during the Depression in 1933, he struggled financially and would eventually join the war effort in 1943 serving as one of Canada’s only official Second World War artists.
He would eventually move back to Vancouver Island and take up residence in Shawnigan lake before moving to Duncan for the latter days of his life. Hughes passed away in Duncan in 2007 at 93-years-old.
Strom says that she knew there would be an audience for a film on Hughes, his art, his life and his legacy, because of his strong BC roots and his love for depicting the province’s splendor.
“People really love his work because it’s about their home and it seemed like a great way to start conversations about BC that would unite people a bit in ‘love-of-place,’” said Strom.
“[The film] covers his life from childhood, through until his death. He had quite an interesting life.”
Strom says that Hughes was famously a very shy person and was often labelled a recluse because of it, but at the same time he had many fascinating experiences. She says this dichotomy is part of what makes him such a fascinating subject for a film biography.
One aspect of Strom’s film is that Hughes was never a rich man, nor was he really well-known in his prime, but that did not stop him from doing what he loved.
“E.J. Hughes worked in poverty—he graduated in the Depression, he tried a whole bunch of ways to make a living and really, really struggled financially for many decades,” Strom explained.
In his final few years, his paintings began to break records at auction and have since continued to do so.
Most recently, in November 2025, his painting Entrance to Howe Sound sold at auction for $4.8 million. This broke the record for the highest price ever paid for an artwork by a BC artist, and also became the fourth most expensive piece of Canadian artwork sold at auction.
Strom says that her favourite piece by Hughes is a painting called Taylor Bay (1952), which was inspired by the bay of the same name on Gabriola Island.
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes is coming to several independent theatres on Vancouver Island beginning this weekend.
First, the film will be shown at The Vic Theatre from March 28th to April 1st.
After The Vic Theatre screenings are over, there will also be screenings at Star Cinema in Sidney, Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt, Duncan Cinemas, the Shawnigan Lake Museum and Campbell River Cinemas.
The dates for these cinemas have yet to be finalized but should be available soon. Keep an eye on your closest Vancouver Island cinema to find out when it will be showing.
“I really worked hard to make it a great theatrical experience,” said Strom. “It’s 4K, its surround sound, it’s a nice big theatre.”
“E.J. Hughes is known for the extremely meticulous detail of his drawings and paintings… For me, the chance to put them up on the big screen and film some of the paintings with nice macro lenses and put it up on a screen to show all that detail, was a whole new way to experience his art.”
Following the film’s theatrical release on Vancouver Island, it will be available to stream for free via the Knowledge Network. Even though it will be available for free soon, Strom insists that The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes is a must-see in theatres if possible.
Check out a preview of the film below:
