Born-and-bred Winnipegger, former folk fest head sells Manitoba to the movie world

Winnipeg Free Press

16 hours ago

There was a moment, during Killer Mike's set at last year's Winnipeg Folk Festival, when Lynne Skromeda's brain kicked into problem-solving mode.
A weather delay paused the American rapper's much-anticipated set for nearly an hour, and Skromeda started running scenarios in her mind. Is this going to be a big deal? How big a deal? What are we going to do? Are we going to need to evacuate?
'Then all of a sudden there was that wash over me,' she says. 'This isn't my responsibility anymore. I just get to be here. I just get to enjoy it.'
One can understand the reflex, though. For 11 years, Skromeda, 51, was the executive director of the festival, which meant it was her responsibility.
These days, her responsibilities look different. We're sitting in her spacious office at Manitoba Film & Music where, since August 2023, Skromeda has been CEO and the province's film commissioner — a dream gig for a woman who began her career in film and spent a decade working in music. 'Both my backgrounds and both my loves,' she says.
Skromeda had begun thinking about her next move after more than a decade at folk fest, but when a head hunter contacted her about the MFM role, she felt conflicted.
'I also love the folk fest, right?' she says. 'I've been going since I was six years old. It's one of the most important things in the world to me. I couldn't imagine what would happen to not be there, and what would I do if I wasn't there?'
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Ten Winnipeg Folk Festival lineup posters
hangs on Skromeda's wall.
Ten Winnipeg Folk Festival lineup posters
hangs on Skromeda's wall.
The 2024 festival was the first time she got to see what that looked like.
'Last year was hard — on a number of fronts. Like, you're feeling kind of conflicted, because there's part of you that feels so responsible, feels sort of guilty for leaving it behind, even though I know it's in good hands now — but I also felt compelled to be there,' she says.
'My friends had to take me out for breakfast on the Sunday morning, because they're like, 'you know, you don't have to be there at 8 a.m. anymore.''
But in the rain, waiting to see if Killer Mike's show could go on, she realized she could let go — as much as anyone can let go of a festival that is part of their DNA and the DNA of the city they champion.
On the wall in her office behind her are 10 folk fest lineup posters — the 10 festivals she worked on — arranged in a grid in a frame. 'That was my going-away present,' she says. A shorthand, of sorts, for her body of work.
'I wasn't actively looking. I can categorically tell you that,' says Skromeda, who was selected for the top job at MFM after a Canada-wide search. 'There's part of me that's like, I would probably be (at the folk festival) 10 years from now if it hadn't been for this opportunity.'
But Skromeda is not one to say no to an opportunity, especially if it's an opportunity to grow.
The film and television industry isn't the same as when she left in 2012. Streaming didn't exist as it does now, and Skromeda worked on the production side. There's lots that's new.
But Skromeda also represents stability after a period of quick turnover at the top of MFM following the 2019 retirement of Carole Vivier, who had been CEO for nearly 30 years. Vivier died in March.
'Carol was so supportive of me from the moment she knew I was interested in the job,' Skromeda says. 'She was just really, really kind from the get-go, which I really appreciated, because she was such a force. She did so much for this industry, and cared so much, and really helped establish this industry in a meaningful way.'
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Lynne Skromeda, CEO of Manitoba Film & Music, is the former executive director of the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
Lynne Skromeda, CEO of Manitoba Film & Music, is the former executive director of the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
Though she's been in the role for less than two years, she's had to navigate significant challenges. When she started the job in August 2023, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists were on strike, halting production here.
Then, in May, something strange and unprecedented happened: U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that he wanted to impose a 100 per cent tariff on movies produced outside the U.S., sparking worry and confusion in the local film industry.
Skromeda says the announcement put into focus just how many people MFM works with across the industry, at educational institutions, unions, producers, crews, and on and on.
'One of our producers texted me from a Jets game to say, have you seen this tweet? And then the next morning, it was just an explosion. The city, the unions, the producers are going, 'what is going on? What's happening? What are you guys doing?' And I'm like, 'I don't know, I've never been through this before, either,'' she says with a laugh.
'Having that level of responsibility is kind of terrifying at some points, but then somebody's got to take charge.'
Skromeda knows how to steer a ship through a storm. She may not have had to make sense of a president's baffling will-he-won't-he tariffs before, but she has had to figure out what to do with thousands of fans when a raging thunderstorm forces the marquee headliner off the stage for the night after three songs, as what happened with Wilco at the 2015 folk festival.
When Skromeda stepped into the executive director role at folk fest after 13 years working in the film and television industry, it, too, was full of learning curves.
'I went through some real ups and downs during that period of time as well. I started at a time when there was a big anniversary, it was super exciting, and then there was the aftermath of a big anniversary and rebuilding and refocusing and all that stuff,' she says.
'Then we were really on the up and up, and then, boom, we get hit by a pandemic.'
Chris Frayer, who has been the artistic director of the festival since 2004, describes Skromeda as funny, smart and a people person.
'We made a really good team, because Lynne is really, really driven by making connections in the community — she always has time for people,' Frayer says. He emails later to say working with Skromeda is like working with Leslie Knope, Amy Poehler's character from Parks and Recreation — 'her high energy and commitment to municipal affairs is unwavering!' — and yes, that tracks.
Frayer believes her skill set is perfect for her new role, but also represents something bigger, too.
'I think it speaks volumes about cultivating our own people into strong leaders in Manitoba instead of always trying to look east to what people can do,' he says. 'It also encourages people who live here that they can lead organizations, and also have a long-term career in Manitoba and get what they get what they need, no matter how ambitious they are.'
As CEO and film commissioner at MFM, Skromeda's job, in part, is to sell people on Manitoba. But it's also about selling Manitoba on Manitoba.
'That's squarely in our sights in terms of communicating to the community, how, you know, it might be annoying sometimes that you've got these big white trucks on your front street, but it's creating jobs,' she says.
'It's creating economic activity. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent in Manitoba on this, and it's putting us on the map in a really cool way, too.'
It's an exciting time. Last August, MFM announced Manitoba was on track to reach a record-breaking $434.9 million in film and television production in 2024.
Stars such as Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd, Mark Hamill, Kyle MacLachlan, David Krumholtz and January Jones were all in town on various shoots last year. New sound stages, including Big Sky Studios and Jette Studios, have opened in recent years.
'I've always thought that young people need a reason to feel like they can stay here,' she says. 'I used to use that argument all the time at the folk fest — like, the folk fest is something that people get excited about, and they're like 'this is why I'm proud to be here.'
'We're doing the same thing on the film side. These big movies are being shot here, and we can be proud of our community.'
A born-and-bred Winnipegger, Skromeda grew up in Windsor Park. 'My mom still lives in the house I grew up in,' she says.
As a student at Windsor Park Collegiate, she was heavily involved in activities and clubs. 'I was always a doer,' she says. She ended up graduating from high school with an extra year's worth of credits.
While some creative-career seeds were planted — making her own commercial at Mini University was particularly formative — she ended up graduating from the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.
Though 'not wildly excited about it at the time,' she says getting her business degree was one of the best things she could have done. She may not have been in front of the camera as she may have envisioned, but a business degree allowed her to get behind it.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Skromeda's travel lanyards hang next to the
whiteboard in her office.
Skromeda's travel lanyards hang next to the
whiteboard in her office.
Skromeda travelled in Europe and Australia for three years after graduation. Travelling changed her perspective on Manitoba.
'I wanted nothing more than to go when I left,' she says. 'But then when I came back, I had so much appreciation for being here.'
Upon her return, she took a temp job at a bio-pharmaceutical firm, which ended up being another life lesson.
'It showed me that 40 hours a week is still too much time to be doing something that you're not super excited or passionate about,' she says.
And thus began Skromeda's career in film and television. She was hired as a production assistant on the reality show Pioneer Quest — 'that was my very first gig, in 1999' — and worked her way up at the Winnipeg- and Toronto-based Frantic Films, ultimately becoming president of production.
While she was building a career, she was also building a life. Among those closest to her are like-minded people who believe in Winnipeg and who have ascended to leadership positions at many of the city's cultural institutions.
'It's when you close your eyes and you're like, 'how did I get this life?' I've managed to surround myself with all these people who are great and do wonderful things. A lot of them I've known for a super long time, too, so we've kind of had this evolution together.
'It's been a real testament to the community and to the opportunities here to see all these different people I've known in my life be able to excel in their careers and get into these leadership positions.'
That includes her longtime partner, Jason Smith. Smith is president of the Sea Bears, Winnipeg's pro basketball team, as well as an event and music industry vet who, via his Smith Events, has led such large-scale events such as the Junos, the Grey Cup and the Winnipeg Jets Whiteout Parties — and who, as it happens, worked at MFM for five years on the music side.
The pair met on a Manitoba government trade mission to Los Angeles in 2001. They were seeing different people at the time, but stayed in touch. She sent him a congratulatory note when he started his job at MFM, they were both single, and the rest, as they say, is history.
They are aligned on many things, Skromeda says.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Skromeda's started her career in film and is ecstatic to be back in the movie business.
Skromeda's started her career in film and is ecstatic to be back in the movie business.
'I think you have to have a certain tenacity, a certain resilience to you, a certain ability to change with the times and to grow and to also want what's best for your community, right?' she says.
She has that in common with her closest friends, too, whom she describes as hard-core Manitobans, all here by choice.
Kate Fenske, CEO of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, is among those pals. They've been close for more than a decade, bonding over their love of music, the city and kayaking.
'Her capacity to really just take on more, whether it's volunteering for certain organizations, to be available for conversations, to attend this event, but then also go kayaking, and then also come over and help do something,' Fenske says.
'She's always making herself available for others. She's really committed to the community and wants to help wherever she can.'
Fenske has been witness to Skromeda's professional growth, but also her personal growth.
'When you see her out in person, she is so present. She loves chatting with people. She wants to hear about other people's stories. She wants to get involved. But I think she has finally learned, maybe, that the little Energizer Bunny does need to recharge sometimes.'
One thing about Skromeda, she's going to get her 10,000 steps in.
Every day. Rain or shine. Winter or summer. Sickness or health. She's on a streak she's kept alive since Dec. 26, 2016, and she's got the FitBit data to prove it. She's already at 7,800 when we meet mid-afternoon.
She does laps around her kitchen while playing the suite of New York Times online games (her preferred order is Wordle, Connections, Strands, Spelling Bee.) 'I feel like it's a way of waking up my brain, but it's also a little treat to myself at the beginning of the day.'
She walks to and from work when she can. She walks while she does her calls or listens to audio books. She's in a choir now, so she's been listening to the music.
Her brain is full — of goals for MFM, for the city, for herself.
Away from the office whiteboard that's marked up with strategic plans, Skromeda finds a different pace exploring the waterways of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario in her kayak.
'You just get into this rhythm. It's the repetitive motion, and you're breathing, and you're outside, and you're in nature, and it's just beautiful,' she says.
'It's like, this is what it's all about, right? This is what we work towards.'
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Jen ZorattiColumnist
Jen Zoratti is a columnist and feature writer working in the Arts & Life department, as well as the author of the weekly newsletter NEXT. A National Newspaper Award finalist for arts and entertainment writing, Jen is a graduate of the Creative Communications program at RRC Polytech and was a music writer before joining the Free Press in 2013. Read more about Jen.
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