Tag Archives: Bristow Global Media

Content Catalyst Fund makes triple hire and reveals first development slate

From a media release:

Content Catalyst Fund (CCF) — the development and funding company that focuses on content developed, delivered and designed by women, about women — has announced three new hires to support both its growing portfolio of in-development projects and its rapidly expanding network of partnerships.

In order to realise these premium projects at speed, CCF has appointed a trio of unscripted specialists: Vibika Bianchi, Maria Farano and Heather Findlay as executive producers. CCF, which entered into a non-scripted co-production joint venture with international producer, distributor and channel operator Blu Ant Media in late February, has also announced its first slate of female-generated unscripted projects for the global marketplace.

Vibika is a respected curator, format creator and executive producer, who has delivered countless hours of top-tier unscripted content for the likes of HGTV, Food Network, Discovery and CBC. In addition to guiding the creation of lifestyle hits Property Brothers and Love it or List It, she has overseen local adaptations of some of the world’s most successful formats, including Undercover Boss, Come Dine With Me, How to Look Good Naked and Jamie Oliver’s Pressure Cooker. Her genre experience spans food programming (Chuck & Danny’s Road Trip), docusoap (Cupcake Girls), premium reality (Hockey Wives), scripted (Davinci’s Inquest) and true crime (Murder She Solved). Vibika’s CV includes SVP roles at Our House Media and Entertainment One, as well as nearly 11-years at Corus Entertainment, where she led the commissioning strategy for several channels including W Network, OWN Canada and CMT. 

Storyteller, executive producer and creative executive Maria Farano has 20 years of experience in developing and producing unscripted content for the global market. She brings with her a wealth of experience gained from producing critically acclaimed and commercially successful content for, among others, HGTV, History, W Network, SLICE, OWN, Discovery, ABC Spark and CMT. Farano’s career highlights include serving as Corus Entertainment’s director of original unscripted programming, during which time she developed a string of successful formats, including The Bachelorette Canada/The Bachelor Canada, Game of Homes, To Catch a Killer, Undercover Boss Canada, The Real Housewives of Toronto, Tornado Hunters and My Mom’s A Medium.

Creative executive and producer Heather Findlay, has a proven track record in developing strong concepts into ratings-generating content. Over the past 20 years, Findlay has played a key role in the development and production of hundreds of hours of content for Discovery, CBC, W Network, T&E, CMT, HGTV, Travel Channel, Science Channel and Food Network. Her genre experience also spans factual, kids and food programming, with credits including Canada’s Worst Driver, Chuck and Danny’s Road Trip, The Great Canadian Baking Show and Keeping Canada Alive.

CCF founder Julie Bristow said: “This powerhouse trio of unscripted executives brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, both domestic and international, to the CCF team. In addition to being inspirational leaders with razor-sharp creative instincts, all three are exceptional in that they have experience of both the buying and selling side of the business. With Vibika, Maria and Heather on board, CCF is in the best possible shape as it begins to give voice to the best female stories and storytellers.”

To coincide with the announcement of its new creative team, CCF has also unveiled its first slate of in-development projects, which span true-crime, ‘occu-doc’ and comedy.

Highlights include Darkness in Daylight, developed in collaboration with producer/actor Folklaur Chevrier, which revists the brutal murder of nine-year-old Christine Jessop in 1984. After 36 years without justice and a wrongful conviction, a killer has finally been identified — but the Jessop family is still a long way away from closure. Home Made with Kara Beckmann is a renovation series featuring savvy real estate investor, builder and designer Kara Beckmann, who’s not afraid to take risks as she flips properties for profit. Also in development is factual comedy I Have Nothing, on which CCF is collaborating with creators Carolyn Taylor (Baroness Von Sketch) and Zack Russel. The show follows Carolyn’s quixotic quest to choreograph a figure-skating routine inspired by her (unhealthy) obsession with the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

About CCF
Content Catalyst Fund is a mission-driven, for-profit business dedicated to catalysing the creation of commercially viable content for an underserved global market by powering female creators and investing in their ideas. CCF partners with female creators and producers to advance their projects from inception through to full monetisation of content. The company invests strategic, business and creative power in the best ideas, with the aim of ensuring that they are realised in the shortest possible time frame.

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Season 3 of T+E’s Haunted Hospitals returns

From a media release:

T+E’s hit original series Haunted Hospitals (13×60’) returns for a third season with chilling stories of paranormal activity inside hospitals, asylums and long-term care homes. Featuring expert insight from paranormal investigators Morgan Knudsen, Christopher Brewer and Richard Estep, the new installment sees doctors and nurses stalked by tormented spirits; patients unlocking portals to other dimensions; and demonic entities lurking in corridors. These encounters are part of a paranormal pattern experienced by medical professionals and patients across Canada and around the globe. The documentary series takes viewers down spooky paths leading to unexpected twists, with shocking and hair-raising otherworldly encounters at every turn. Personal testimonies keep the storytelling authentic with a first-person production approach immersing audiences in fear. The world broadcast premiere of Haunted Hospitals airs Wednesday, March 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT exclusively on T+E in Canada, during the channel’s nationwide free preview event running until May 2 across more than 8 million Canadian households.

The first two episodes of Haunted Hospitals, Season 3 include:

Episode 1 – Dance of Death, The Feeder, Swept Away
March 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
The series opener shows viewers Marlon Brandon, a nurse who begins experiencing the ghost of a young man who died while fighting for social justice that has returned to the hospital seeking closure. A near death experience for Emily Walsh, a patient, opens her up to the unknown dangers of a ghastly creature and Stephanie Ferreira, a pregnant woman, falls ill only to encounter the spirits of an anguished mother and the otherworldly cries of a baby in distress at the hospital.

Episode 2 – Soul Taker, The Iron Lung, Water Problems
March 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
In this episode, a personal support worker, Paige Mitchell, is on the night shift tending to an elderly patient when she is stalked by an energy-sucking entity. Christina Anderson, a nurse in a Catholic hospital, encounters the tormented soul of a nun and Kenny Irish is terrorized and chased through an abandoned psychiatric hospital while on a service call.

Haunted Hospitals is produced by BGM Inc. Robin Bicknell is the Series Producer. Bruno Dubé, Marlo Miazga, Sean Connoly and Corinna Lehr serve as Executive Producers. Robin Bicknell and Patrick Hepburn are Directors. Sara Soligo is the Story/Post Producer and Juan Montalvo is the Director of Photography.

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Preview: T+E’s Paranormal Night Shift tells tales of job site bumps in the night

I can always count on the fine folks at Blue Ant Media to come through with spooky new Halloween programming. Following on the heels of Hotel Paranormal, Scariest Night of My Life and Paranormal Survivor is a brand-new Canadian original.

Paranormal Night Shift, bowing Saturday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on T+E, tracks down tales of folks working late at night when they have otherworldly experiences. Produced by Bristow Global Media, the first of 13 upcoming instalments introduces viewers to Tim, a late-night radio DJ and producer working in the American Midwest. It was only his first night when Tim experiences weird things like giggles, thumps on the studio door, footsteps above him and visions of a child in the shadows. Then things get really scary.

Then it’s Heather’s turn. Heather, who was the former owner of The Looking Glass in Toronto, had heard the rumours the property was haunted but dismissed them. Heather picked up on a strange vibe almost right away and was in the building just after 2 a.m. when the heating and cooling system started knocking. Footsteps followed and Heather investigated. What greeted her drove Heather out of the business.

Featuring first-hand accounts, paranormal expert interviews and dramatic recreations, my only complaint isn’t the shaky camera work, fake security camera footage or jump-scare audio cuts on Paranormal Night Shift. Those are part of the haunted documentary genre, so I expect them. No, it’s the narrator’s faux whisper. Every time he spoke, I was pulled out of the story. It’s a shame the producers didn’t just have him speak normally because it really is distracting.

Paranormal Night Shift airs as part of T+E’s Creep Week lineup, that includes fellow new series My Paranormal Nightmare: Be Very Afraid and Paranormal Captured, along with marathons of Paranormal Caught on Camera, Haunted Hospitals and Hotel Paranormal.

Paranormal Night Shift airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on T+E.

Image courtesy of Blue Ant Media.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Preview: History recognizes Remembrance Day with superior 100 Days to Victory

I’m a bit of a history buff, particularly when it comes to the First and Second World Wars. I’ve watched dozens of documentaries, miniseries and films, and have visited sites of battles in France. I thought I knew almost everything. Not even close.

Airing on Remembrance Day on History, 100 Days to Victory unveiled two hours of material I’d read scant details about. Produced by Bristow Global Media and Electric Media in association with Corus Entertainment’s History and narrated by Peter Outerbridge, 100 Days to Victory—broadcast Sunday, Nov. 11, at 9 and 10 p.m. ET/PT on the specialty channel—tracks the final 100 days in the First World War. The program is a stunning achievement in television, combining words from historians and recreations of crucial battles to tell the story of Canada’s important role in the conflagration.

The opening minutes set the scene. It’s early 1918 on the Western Front and German forces are making a final push to crush the Allies and win the war. French Marshal Ferdinand Foch and British Field Marshal Douglas Haig, desperate for a victory, turn to Canadian General Arthur Currie and Australian General John Monash for advice. Between them, the pair devises a brash and ingenious plan to rout the enemy using a combination of forces in a whole new way.

Along the journey, the producers introduce the background of each of the four military leaders; where they came from, their military backgrounds and personalities. And, using actual letters and diary entries written by military leaders and everyday soldiers in the trenches, the program provides a well-rounded description of what was happening and going through everyone’s minds. Historians like Dr. Tim Cook of the Canadian War Museum, Prof. Elaine McFarland, Patrick Watt and Mat McLachlan offer a detailed play-by-play of each battlefield move.

In the second instalment, Allied forces smash through Germany’s impregnable Hindenburg Line—a five-trench, fortified, 600-kilometre horror bristling with barbed wire, machine guns and booby traps—with daring Canadian Corps advances planned by Currie.

Remembrance Day, for me, is a time of reflection. And, by watching programs like 100 Days to Victory, I’m able to put myself in the shoes of Canadians who fought to defend this country and salute them.

100 Days to Victory airs Sunday, Nov. 11, at 9 and 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.

Images courtesy of Corus Entertainment.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Blue Ant Media unveils biggest-ever slate of new original programming for its Canadian channels

From a media release:

Blue Ant Media, an international content producer, distributor and channel operator, announced today its new, original production slate to air across its channels in Canada, including Cottage Life, Makeful and T+E. The company’s largest-ever commissioning order includes two new series to premiere on Makeful, including a second season of Crazy Beautiful Weddings and Blown Away, a brand new glass-blowing competition series, co-produced with Netflix. For T+E, there’s a trio of paranormal series including My Worst Nightmare, Haunted Hospitals and Paranormal 911 as well as Intervention Canada, the fifth season of the critically acclaimed hit docu-series, in partnership with U.S.-based A+E Networks. New Cottage Life programming includes the brand new series, The Weather Files, a second season of Lakefront Luxury, the ninth season of Hope For Wildlife and the previously announced Great Canadian Cottages docu-series with Scottish design stars Colin and Justin.

Blue Ant Media’s original programming slate includes:

Blown Away (10×30’; HD) is a co-production with Netflix that sees a group of talented and creative artisans from all over North America compete over the course of the series in the highly skilled art of glass blowing. In each episode the glass blowers create beautiful works of art, which are assessed by a panel of expert judges. One artisan is eliminated each week until a winner is announced in the final episode. Blown Away is a co-production between Blue Ant Media and Netflix and was created by and will be produced by marblemedia. The series will premiere exclusively in Canada on Makeful in Spring 2019.

Crazy Beautiful Weddings, Season 2 (10×30’; HD) The second season of Crazy Beautiful Weddings follows indie wedding planner Lynzie Kent as she continues to create jaw-dropping celebrations that are inspired by the unique love stories of her clients. Each episode sees Lynzie and her team design and craft atypical wedding celebrations that feel like art installations or music festivals. The series is a co-production by Blue Ant Media and UP TV and is set to air on Makeful in Fall 2018. It will be available for international licensing by Blue Ant International.

Intervention Canada (10×60’; HD) is the fifth installment of the Canadian version of the hit, Emmy Award-winning A+E docu-series that gives an unflinching glimpse at the horrifying reality of the life of an addict and the gut-wrenching toll their addiction takes on family and friends. With the help of professional interventionists, each one-hour episode culminates in a dramatic real-life intervention where someone must make a life-or-death decision: continue their descent to rock bottom alone, or accept the offer of a clear path to recovery in one of Canada’s top addiction facilities. Blue Ant Media is partnering on the format with A+E Networks. Toronto’s Open Door Co and Insight Productions, which produced the previous four seasons, will also produce the fifth season. Intervention Canada will premiere in Canada on T+E in March 2019.

My Worst Nightmare (10×60’; HD) explores harrowing recurring nightmares and brings them to life in vivid detail. With cinematic nightmare dramatizations, captivating true accounts and distinct expert analysis from dream interpreters and psychoanalysts, each episode attempts to decode the meaning and mystery behind the dream and provide insight into these intrusive nightmares. My Worst Nightmare is produced by Pixcom for Blue Ant Media and will premiere on T+E in spring 2019. The series is available for international licensing by Blue Ant International.

Haunted Hospitals (10×60’; HD) tells the chilling stories of paranormal activity inside hospitals, nursing homes and morgues. In each episode, doctors, nurses and patients give first-hand accounts of deceased patients who come back from the grave, doctors who insist on tending to their patients, even in death, and spirits who stalk corridors to warn of impending danger. As the personal stories unfold, the mysteries behind the troubled souls and hauntings are brought to life. Haunted Hospitals is produced by Bristow Global Media for Blue Ant Media and will premiere on T+E in fall 2018.

Paranormal 911 (13×60’; HD) is a gripping, docu-drama series with harrowing first-person accounts that thrusts viewers into the terrifying encounters of victims and emergency responders who lived through terrifying paranormal encounters. Paranormal 911 is produced by Bristow Global Media for Blue Ant Media and is set to premiere on T+E in spring 2019.

Lakefront Luxury, Season 2 (10×30’; HD) continues with even more stunning views, gorgeous waterfronts and serene sunsets. With unlimited budgets and endless wish lists, each episode takes viewers on a tour of three opulent properties with potential buyers, as they weigh their options and ultimately decide which home is the one for them. Lakefront Luxury is produced by Architect Films for Blue Ant Media and will premiere on Cottage Life in spring 2019. The series is available for international licensing by Blue Ant International.

Hope for Wildlife, Season 9 (10×60’; HD) is back with an impressive season of episodes that follow fan-favourite nature advocate Hope Swinimer and her team as they rescue animals at her Halifax-based wildlife refuge and release them back into the wild. In this season, viewers will meet a whole new generation of volunteers, a new, on-site vet team and an exciting new partnership with an expert rescue crew. Produced by Arcadia Content for Blue Ant Media, the series will premiere on Cottage Life in Spring 2019. The series is available for international licensing by Blue Ant International.

The Weather Files (8×60’; HD) is a new documentary series that shines a spotlight on extreme weather patterns. The series travels across North America chronicling severe weather phenomena and features riveting first-person testimony and original video backed by leading scientific insight to give viewers an in-depth look at the unpredictability and danger that extreme and mysterious weather brings. The Weather Files is produced by Blue Ant Media and set to air on the Cottage Life channel in August 2018. The series is distributed internationally by Blue Ant International.

Previously announced, Great Canadian Cottages (8×30’; HD) brings renowned design duo Colin and Justin back to the channel with a documentary series that explores unique Canadian cottage architecture. Produced by Architect Films, the series will delve into the fascinating stories of Canadians who live in extraordinary cottages and cabins built in the Canadian wilderness. Great Canadian Cottages is set to premiere exclusively this fall on the Cottage Life channel. The series is available for international licensing by Blue Ant International.

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