Michelle Mason, Writer/Director
Michelle Mason is an award-winning independent documentary filmmaker from Vancouver, BC. Her first film, The Friendship Village is a tragic and inspiring documentary about our ability to transcend war. Through the moving story of a Vietnam veteran’s hawk-to-dove transformation, Mason weaves together a powerful film about the potential for reconciliation and redemption through one man’s journey to heal the wounds of war (www.cypress-park.ca). The Friendship Village has won six international awards.
Before becoming a filmmaker, Michelle worked in international television news production for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in London and Washington, D.C. She received a Masters Degree in International Journalism from London’s City University after writing a thesis on the decline of investigative journalism in Britain.
In 1998, Michelle left journalism to become an independent filmmaker, and moved to Berlin where she began work on The Friendship Village. She returned to her hometown Vancouver in 2000 and founded Cypress Park Productions, where she is currently at work on several documentary and dramatic films about stories of transformation.
Director’s Notes (English) - download pdf (68 kb)
Director’s Notes (translated into French) - download pdf (48 kb)
Director’s Bio and Film Synopsis (translated into French)
download pdf (64 kb)
Trish Dolman, Producer
Producer/Director Trish Dolman is the founder of Screen Siren Pictures Inc. and has been working in film and television in Canada for thirteen years. In 2001/2002 Trish produced the award-winning feature film Flower & Garnet, directed by Keith Behrman for CBC, TMN, Movie Central, Odeon Films and Alliance Atlantis. Flower & Garnet has screened at numerous international film festivals including Berlin (Panorama Special Section), Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Karlovy Vary, Pusan, and MOMA: Canadian Front.
She has produced and/or directed productions for the BBC, CBC, CTV, Global, TVO, Movie Central, TMN, W, The Biography Channel, the Discovery Channel, Vision TV, Knowledge Network, SCN, Odeon Films, Alliance Atlantis, Fireworks International and the National Film Board of Canada. Trish is also a documentary director. Her credits include: Ice Girls, a feature-length Canada-UK co-production for the BBC and CTV that was nominated for Best Sports Program at the Banff TV Festival and received 3 Leo awards; the BC Film / NFB "Picture This" documentary short Exit Kingsway and Paul Watson: Eco-Pirate, currently in development. Her television producing credits include: Britannia Beach for the NFB, TVO, SCN and the Knowledge Network, The Friendship Village for Vision and History (Executive Producer), Drawing Out the Demons: A film about the Artist Attila Richard Lukacs for Bravo! and TVO, Girl Racers (4x1 hour documentary series) for Global TV, The Biography Channel and Fireworks International, and The Score for CBC’s Opening Night. Trish is currently producing Luna, a Movie-of-the-Week for CTV.
In 2003, Trish was the youngest ever winner of the Woman of the Year award from Women in Film and Video Vancouver. She was also honored as Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin La Grand Dame 2003 Woman of Distinction.
Leah Mallen, Producer
Leah Mallen has been producing in the film and television industry for several years and joined Screen Siren Pictures in 2001. Leah’s most recent projects she produced were Breaking Ranks, a documentary co-production with the NFB for Global Television, Hammer & Tickle, A France-Canada co-production for the BBC, ZDF/ARTE and the Documentary Channel and The Score, a feature length play adaptation for CBC’s Opening Night which broadcast in fall 2005.
She has previously produced the films Exit Kingsway (2003), a short documentary directed by Trish Dolman for BC Film and the National Film Board of Canada, the short film The Space Between (2003), written and directed by Chad Lowe and starring Oscar © winner Hilary Swank which screened at the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, Tribeca, Palm Springs, and Cambridge Film Festivals. She was also the Producer for award winning, Genie-nominated short film Lonesome Joe (2002) directed by Mark Sawers for Canal+ and the Comedy Network, which screened at the Toronto, Cambridge and Vancouver Film Festivals and won the Audience Award and Best Short Film Award at the Temecula Film Festival. Her first short film with Mark Sawers, Genie-nominated Shoes Off! (1999), won Best Short Film at the International Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival, along with screening at the Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver Film Festivals, as well as many other international festivals, and has been sold to over 45 broadcasters all over the world. Leah is attached to produce The Jizz Bizz, a documentary for CTV, Paul Watson: Eco-Pirate, for CBC and the feature film Year of the Carnivore with writer/director Sook Yin Lee.
Leah attended the acclaimed Canadian Film Centre in 1999 as a Producer and studied Intensive Film and Directing at New York University. She earned an Honors Bachelor’s degree in English and History from the University of Toronto. Currently, Leah is an active member of the Academy of Canadian Television and Cinema and sits on the board of The Documentary Organization of Canada.
Tracey Friesen, Producer for the NFB
Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada has produced more than 11,000 films and other audiovisual works and won more than 4,500 awards - including 11 Oscars©. As Canada's public film producer, the NFB produces and distributes distinctive, culturally diverse, challenging and relevant audiovisual works that provide Canada and the world with a unique Canadian perspective. Named one of the top documentary organizations in the world by realscreen magazine, the NFB is equally renowned for its auteur animation – with this year marking the 65th anniversary of cutting-edge animated filmmaking from the National Film Board. To purchase NFB releases or for more information, visit www.nfb.ca or call 1-800-267-7710.
Mandy Leith, Editor
Through her love of film and its potential to inspire change, Mandy Leith has worked in film and TV for over 20 years, focusing on socio-political and environmental documentaries. She began her editing career with a prestigious apprenticeship at the BBC in London in 1984, and went on to work as a staff editor at the National Film Board after moving to Montreal in 1989. She has worked with independent film producers and broadcasters in Canada, the US and Britain.
Mandy currently lives in Victoria, B.C. where she works with the local independent film and television community as a producer, editor and teacher. Recent editing credits include award-winning documentaries The Friendship Village (2002 Cypress Park Productions), From Baghdad to Peace Country (2003 NFB), and Rainwolves (2004 Rainshadow Media Inc.) which won her a Leo nomination for Editing, The Man We Called Juan Carlos (2001 Asterisk Productions), Journey to Kappasseni (2001 Across Borders Media) and Still Life Giving (2002 Across Borders Media).
She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the successful non-profit society, OPEN CINEMA (www.opencinema.ca). With a mission to explore the use of film as a tool for community engagement, OPEN CINEMA screens thought-provoking documentaries at local restaurants and cafes, followed by discussion on the issues raised by the film with local specialists, activists, professionals and filmmakers.
As an active member of DOC-BC and the Victoria Film Producers’ Association (ViFPA) since 2000, Mandy is a passionate supporter of alternative media production, access and distribution.
Peter Allen
Peter Allen is one of Canada’s foremost composers of music for film and television, with over sixty feature films, short films and television programs to his credit. An active member of the Canadian Guild of Composers and of the Canadian Music Centre, Peter has had many pieces commissioned by the CBC and is also active in the jazz, rock and sacred music communities.
Because of his extensive experience in a wide variety of musical styles and settings, Peter has the ability and knowledge to create any kind of music or to combine styles together in new and interesting ways. Peter has an undergraduate degree in Music, Honours in Composition, from the University of Manitoba and pursued graduate studies in composition with Bruce Mather at McGill University. He also studied film scoring at UCLA, and was one of fourteen students chosen to participate in a special program, founded by Steven Spielberg at USC, for advanced study in film scoring, orchestration and conducting.
Peter lives in Vancouver, where his company Peter Allen Associates creates music for film and television in its state-of-the-art recording and playback facility. His credits include Tales from the Crypt; Deep Evil; Flower & Garnet; Thralls and 11:11.