BASYA SCHECHTER

Music Composer / Artist

LEAVING THE FOLD

Basya Schechter is the founder of the Neo-Hasidic, internationally touring world music band, Pharaoh's Daughter, which fuses influences from both Askenazi and Sephardic musical traditions, as well as Malian, Turkish, psychedelic rock and Persian styles. She has recorded five albums, with her most recent recording, "Haran," being released in Spring 2007. She is now working on a collection of songs written to the Yiddish poetry of Abraham Joshua Heschel, as well as a new Prayer Project and Song of Songs project.
Learn more:   http://www.pharaohsdaughter.com/index.html

BILL STONE

Writer / Director

WORK IN PROGRESS

With a Fine Arts Degree in film production from Concordia University, (Montreal), Bill has spent the last 20 years becoming one of the more ambidextrous filmmakers in Montreal. He’s been the DOP and/or editor on a number of documentaries (“Refuge, A Film about Darfur” - SRC, CBC 2008; “Men in Red Suits” - SRC 2006) and fiction fictions (“Song” awarded best Editor- Fantasia 2003; “Summer” - 2000). ‘Work in Progress’ is Bill’s directorial debut.

BRETT STORY

Writer / Director

LAND OF DESTINY

Brett Story is an independent documentary filmmaker based out of Montreal and Toronto, Canada. Her first film, Going Condo, followed the struggle of community activists as they battled the gentrification of one Montreal’s oldest working-class neighbourhoods. As well as holding a degree in Political Science from McGill University and a Master’s degree in Forced Migration Studies from the University of Oxford, Brett has worked extensively as a freelance journalist, writing and producing video for publications such as The Nation, The Montreal Mirror, and This Magazine. The director of numerous short non-fiction films, including the NFB co-produced experimental musical The Visible Will vs. The Invisible Wall, Brett has been the recipient of numerous prestigious grants and awards for her diverse work in the fields of scholarship, journalism, and film. She is currently working toward a PhD in social geography at the University of Toronto. LAND OF DESTINY is her first feature-length film.

CAMERON ESLER

Writer / Director - D.O.P

BURNING WATER  /  UNDERDOG PLAZA  /  BIGFOOT'S REFLECTION

Cameron Esler co-wrote and co-directed with Tadzio Richards the documentary film BURNING WATER. He directed The Bather (Bravo) which has won awards and been screened at festivals around the world. He edited the Gemini Award winning Live at the Rehearsal Hall. He shot and edited episodes of the Literature Alive documentary series (Bravo and Omni). Cameron shot and edited Between Midnight and the Rooster’s Crow (R.D.I/C.B.C Country Canada). It won Best Canadian mid-length Documentary at Hot Docs and the Audience Award at the RIDM. Recently, Cameron edited the feature length documentary Super Amigos (Documentary Channel), he was co-D.O.P on City Idol (documentary channel), and has just finished editing Tally Abecassis’s documentary Think Big.

CARL FREED

Film Editor

BIGFOOT'S REFLECTION  /  LEAVING THE FOLD  /  WORK IN PROGRESS

Carl Freed is a filmmaker working in Montreal. He has edited and/or co-directed over 50 hours of series and documentary television. Carl’s focus has been documentary-based programs, including the Gemini nominated and internationally acclaimed series, Mystery Hunters II. Most recently, Carl has focused on editing long-form documentary films, including the NFB feature Club Native, (premiered Hot Docs 2008) won Best Canadian Documentary Doxa Film Festival in Vancouver. As a filmmaker, Carl is currently working on Teen Spirits, a cinema-vérité documentary shot over a period of 5 years, following the lives of 3 teens in the alternative school system. Continuing his relationship with Bunbury Films, Carl's next project will be a documentary on the left-handed experience.

CHRISTIAN DESNOYERS

Writer / Director

CABANE À SUCRE

Software engineer by trade, artist and musician by choice. Over 20 years in high tech and 10 years as a graphic artist, animator and special effects for all media, including the film industry. My time at Dreamsgate Picture (a totally independent production company) meant doing a lot of everything, (animation, look development, compositing), deepening my insight and knowledge of the production process from start to finish. From a rotoscoping artist ending as the set and special effects supervisor, we completed our first independent feature film, which garnered many prize; De l’autre côté. Today founder and owner of my own software shop, I create web applications to manage large projects to ensure schedules are met. But this does not stop me from participating in more film productions, either as a script writer or in post-production.

ERIC SCOTT

Writer / Director

LEAVING THE FOLD

Eric Scott has been working in television and documentary film production since the early 1980s. Je me souviens was completed in 2001 and is a controversial documentary about anti-Semitism and extreme right wing nationalism in Quebec during the 1930s and early 1940s. In 2004, Scott completed The Other Zionists, a documentary about the women of Checkpoint Watch, an organization of Israeli women who defend the human rights of Palestinians crossing Israeli military checkpoints. After broadcasts in Canada and overseas on international TV5 network, the film was purchased and aired by RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the US DOC Channel and Spain’s Odesia network. LEAVING THE FOLD / QUITTER LE BERCAIL is his third film.

EVAN BELOFF

Writer / Director / Producer

ONCE A NAZI...  /  BIGFOOT'S REFLECTION  /  LEAVING THE FOLD  / BURNING WATER  /  UNDERDOG PLAZA

Evan Beloff has written, directed and produced several films including Too Colourful for the League (CBC, 1999), Schmelvis, Searching for the King’s Jewish Roots (Bravo, 2000), Irving Layton, A Red Carpet for the Sun (CBC, 2001), Women Warriors (CBC, Radio Canada, TV series/web site, 2002-04), Being Osama (CBC, 2004), Winter Wonderland: The Making of the Ice Hotel (Global, 2005), the Legend of Memphre (Space, 2005), ONCE A NAZI../ NAZI UN JOUR... (Canal D, 2006), BIFGOOT'S REFLECTION (Space, 2007) and LEAVING THE FOLD / QUITTER LE BERCAIL (Radio Canada, 2008). Presently, Beloff is presently working on the films HEAVY METAL REVISTED and UNDERDOG PLAZA.   Learn more:   http://www.onticmedia.com

GLENN BERMAN

Writer / Editor

BURNING WATER

Glenn Berman is a Montreal-based film editor and writer. From the Grammy Award-winning Peter Gabriel’s Secret World to the Oscar nominee Prisoner of Paradise, Glenn has collaborated on a diverse array of film projects. His work in feature films, television and documentaries spans three decades and has been recognized by multiple nominations. In 2005, Glenn received the Prix Jutra for best editor for Mémoires affectives.

JEAN-PIERRE ISAAC

Music Composer / Artist

BUNBURY FILMS DEMO REEL

It is from his musical laboratory, "NUMUZ", that Jean-Pierre Isaac Plays (guitar, keyboards, percussion), Sings (lead and backing vocals), Writes, Composes, Arranges, Programmes, Produces, not to mention his Musical Direction, Sound Recording, Mixing and Mastering. Born in Namur, Belgium. Member of: Musicians’ Guild, Socan, Sodrac, SPACQ, Artisti. Jury for: Musicaction (on several occasions)

With a head full of musical ideas and the talent to boot, he was quickly considered a real hit maker by various members of the entertainment and recording industries. This led him to collaborate with Luc Plamondon, Eddy Marnay, André Gagnon, Sony, Universal, BMG, Emi/Pathé, Mercury/Polygram, DKD/Aquarius, just to name a few. Many headliners from Quebec, such as Marie Carmen, Mario Pelchat, Mitsou, Cindy Daniel, Judith Bérard, Kathleen, Les BB, etc, perform his songs or have been produced by him.
Learn more: http://www.jeanpierreisaac.com

KIERAN CRILLY

Cinematographer / Writer / Director

BIGFOOT'S REFLECTION  /  LEAVING THE FOLD  /  UNDERDOG PLAZA  /  CABANE A SUCRE  /  POLICE FORCE

Since joining the reknowned Montreal comedy team Kidnapper Films, Kieran Crilly has produced over 25 short films and the company’s 2008 feature ‘WHO IS KK DOWNEY?’. 'KK' was a critical success, and screened in theatres across Canada. The film that Variety called “the real thing...a truly funny movie” was distributed in Canada and the US. In 2009 Kieran teamed with Montreal producer Frederic Bohbot of Bunbury Films to option and develop two features, ‘LA CABANE A SUCRE’ and ‘POLICE FORCE’ with the support of SODEC and Telefilm respectively. Crilly has also optioned the hit CBC radio series ‘THE AGE OF PERSUASION’ for development as a television series. A member of the Board of Directors of ELAN the English Language Arts Network, Kieran Crilly is focussed on creating high quality film, television, and online content with commercial and critical appeal. He lives and works in Montreal, Canada.

KYLE STANFIELD

Sound Editor

BURNING WATER  /  UNDERDOG PLAZA  /  LAND OF DESTINY

Kyle Stanfield studied filmmaking at Concordia and now does location sound and post sound design/mixing in Montreal. He has provided sound design for many Eyesteelfilm projects, including the multi award-winning Up the Yangtze, RIP: A Remix Manifesto, and dialogue-edited Last Train Home. Other awesome gigs include Geoff Klien's B-slasher Bikini Girls on Ice, and the cooking show Bitchin' Kitchen for Food Network.

MALCOLM CLARKE

Writer / Director / Producer

Bio coming soon.

MARIANO FRANCO

Film Editor

LAND OF DESTINY  /  UNDERDOG PLAZA

Mexican-born Mariano Franco has lived in Montreal since 1996. In 2002 he earned his B.A. in film production from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University. Since 2002 he has built up an impressive track record as editor on such films as Territoires by Mary Ellen Davis (2006), produced by Périphéria Productions, LAND OF DESTINY by Brett Story and the upcoming UNDERDOG PLAZA by Evan Belof, both produced by Bunbury films.

As a director and producer he has created the fiction shorts Entractes (2007) and Desolacion (2009).He also filmed and co-directed with Marie Belzil the documentary Tais-toi Jaloux (2006) and The Image Mill Revealed (2009), a film about the creative process leading to the monumental screening of Moulin à images (The Image Mill) by Robert Lepage and Ex Machina, produced by Les Productions du 8e art and the National Film Board of Canada.

TADZIO RICHARDS

Writer / Director

BURNING WATER

Tadzio Richards is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker. Based in Calgary, Tadzio’s feature article, Burning Water, (Maisonneuve magazine) is a key inspiration for the documentary film BURNING WATER, , which he co-wrote and directed with Cameron Esler. His article “Burning Water” won the 2008 National Magazine Gold Award for best Investigative Journalism and Silver for best Science and Technology article. For several years he’s worked as a field producer, writer, story editor, and researcher with Canadian Geographic Presents, (Discovery). Tadzio has worked on docs in Alaska, Siberia, the Arctic, and all across North America. Tadzio worked as field producer on ZDF’s Search for the Coast Wolf, (best German production 2007 NaturVision).

TRACY BIDDLE

Writer / Director

CABANE A SUCRE

I come from a family that strives in the entertainment industry. From a young age, I was exposed to the workings, both inner and outer, of the business. Because of this, I have over 20 years of acquired skills in Journalism, Communications, Writing, Singing, and Songwriting, Public Relations, Event Coordination, Film, Acting, Booking, Research, and of course, Music.

I don’t like to think inside the box, because I never lived in one. I am currently pursuing my passion for film as a screenwriter. I would like to show a fresh perspective from the viewpoint of someone who was raised as a Quebequer, but who had to struggle as a visible minority in a place I like to call “Chez nous”.