The Seattle Times has reported that filmmaker and producer Dan Ireland passed away at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 57. The cause of death has not been revealed.

Ireland was born and raised in North Vancouver and moved to Seattle in the mid 1970s. He and friend Darryl Macdonald launched the Seattle International Film Festival in 1976 at the Moore Theatre, which they ran together.

Ireland also directed The Whole Wide World, Passionada, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, The Velocity of Gray, and Jolene.

In an interview with the Straight in 2011, Ireland recalled his childhood in North Van, saying he still thought of himself as a "local guy" even after living in the United States for more than 30 years.

"As a kid, I saw all the films I loved at places like the Strand and the Ridge," Ireland said at the time. "That's how everything started."

He worked at an usher at the Vogue Theatre and joked to the Straight about how much fun he had watching Thunderball about 175 times.

Ireland cast a young Renée Zellweger in The Whole Wide World and cast Jessica Chastain in her first movie role in Jolene, calling her a "gift from God".

He also worked with legendary British actor Joan Plowright, who starred in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. During a visit to Vancouver's Ridge Theatre in 2007, he told the audience that this film was made for $750,000 in Britain while he was there on a travel visa.

At the time, Ireland praised the former theatre's owner, Leonard Schein, for always supporting his filmmaking career.

During this 2007 visit to the city, Ireland revealed that he came from a family of schoolteachers.

"I was the freak who wanted to make movies," he joked. "Fortunately, my family gave me the latitude to realize my dreams."