Farpoint Films announced today that new CBC Gem original unscripted series, Finding Diamonds (6x15), will launch tomorrow - Saturday, March 23, also National Puppy Day - on CBC Gem. All six episodes will be available to stream on-demand.
(WINNIPEG, MB) SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 - Farpoint Films announced the start of production on an Indigenous Feature Film, Aberdeen. Filming has started and continues for the next month in Winnipeg and outlying areas.
Aberdeen, written and directed by Ryan Cooper (named one of Playback’s Ten to Watch in2021) and Eva Thomas (Shelved), is a drama set in Treaty One Territory in modern-day downtown Winnipeg. It centers on the indomitable Aberdeen, an Indigenous climate change refugee that has been forced from her home due to flooding and must adjust to big city life along with overcoming intergenerational cycle of trauma that has been tearing her family apart for 5 generations.
“This script is so personal and precious to me and it was important to be surrounded by creative artists I trust to bring this film to life,” said Ryan Cooper. “This is not only my story, really, it’s everyone’s.”
Aberdeen is produced by Kyle Bornais (The Swearing Jar), Ryan Cooper (Alter Boys) and Kathleen Easton (Almost Unsolved).
“Ryan’s powerful storytelling continues to impress on a daily basis and it’s a privilege to be on this journey with him and Eva,” said Farpoint’s Kyle Bornais. “This is a story that needs to be seen not only in Canada, but around the world.”
“I’m excited & privileged to be a part of helping Ryan & Eva bring to the big screen such a personal story & one that is tremendously important to the community & larger audience as a whole,” added Kathleen Easton.
Aberdeen stars Gail Maurice (Bones of Crows), Billy Merasty (Acting Good), Liam Stewart-Kanigan (Orphan: First Kill), Ryan Black (Dance Me Outside), and Jennifer Podemski (Reservation Dogs).
Aberdeen is part of the first-look producing deal between Farpoint Films and Ryan Cooper’s Back to Space Productions.
ABOUT RYAN COOPER
Ryan Cooper is a graduate of the National Screen Institute's CBC New Indigenous Voices program. The NSI Indigidocs Program is where he had the opportunity to produce an award-winning short documentary that went on to be programmed in festivals all around the globe.The film, When The Children Left, can now be found on CBC Gem. Ryan also created two web series, one titled, Daybreak People, that aired on Bell MTS Fibe TV1, and the imagineNative/APTN pitch winning series iNdigiThreads. Ryan is producing two TELEFILM TALENT TO WATCH projects. Ryan was also named as one of Playback’s Ten to Watch for 2021 and was a Participate in the 2021 WarnerMedia Discovery/Canadian Academy writers program.
ABOUT EVA THOMAS
Eva Thomas is a director, writer and producer. She recently directed episodes for CBC's Still Standing and wrote for CTV's comedy series Shelved, CBC Gem's Zarqa, the CTV/APTN series Acting Good and the upcoming Crave/APTN series Don’t Even. Eva completed the BIPOC TV & FILM Showrunners' Bootcamp and the Women in the Director's Chair Career Advancement Module. She was also part of the Indigenous Producer Delegation at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. As an Associate Producer, Eva contributed to the feature film Night Raiders directed by Danis Goulet. Eva wrote and directed the short film, Redlights, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and is currently developing a feature film script based on it, supported by Telefilm and the Indigenous Screen Office. Most recently, she served as Executive Producer for Kaniehtiio Horn’s feature film directorial debut Seeds.
Farpoint Films announced today the start of production on a new series, I Died…And Came Back. Filming has started and continues through the rest of the year in Canada and the United States. The 13-episode series will premiere on Super Channel in 2024.
(WINNIPEG, MB) August 31, 2023 – Farpoint Films announced today their latest feature film, Wintertide, directed by John Barnard, has been picked up for distribution in the United States by Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment Company.
Wintertide is arriving in the U.S. after playing to great critical acclaim in film festivals around the world – now it's America's turn to be scared and thrilled by this film.
Written by Barnard and Carrie-May Siggins, Wintertide is about an isolated northern city battling a plague of depression that transforms its victims into zombie-like automatons, when a woman discovers the key to immunity lies within her dreams.
“After the great reception and acclaim The Swearing Jar received, we are excited to partner once again with the great team at Gravitas Ventures in bringing Wintertide to the U.S.,” said Farpoint president and co-founder, Kyle Bornais. “They have the track record and integrity that audiences trust and we can't wait for them to share Wintertide.”
This is the second feature film directed by Barnard, who previously wrote and directed the award-winning, Menorca (Whistler Film Fest 2016), and the music documentary, Bachman (Hot Docs 2018), on legendary singer/songwriter Randy Bachman.
Wintertide stars newcomer Niamh Carolan (Elephant Sheets), an Irish immigrant to Canada in her first feature film. Rounding out the cast are Solange Sookram (Tales From The Loop) and Jesse Nobess (The Perfect Match).
As well, Wintertide has also been picked up for distribution in India by VR Films and Studios, Ltd.
Wintertide is produced by Kyle Bornais (From The Vine), Tony Wosk (The Swearing Jar) and John Barnard of Farpoint Films with the participation of Manitoba Film & Music and Super Channel.
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(WINNIPEG, MB) AUGUST 23, 2023 - Farpoint Films announced today the start of production on a new 13-episode series, Fishing For History. Filming starts this week and runs through the rest of the year in Manitoba, Canada and the United States. The show will premiere on Super Channel in 2024.
Magnet fishing is basically fishing, but instead of lures, high-powered magnets are used and cast off in waterways around the world. The results can include such small items as coins and keys – but can be as monumental as historical guns, swords, grenades and so much more.
Each episode will see a different waterway explored from the Mississippi, MacKenzie, Potemac, the Rio Grande and more. But fishing with magnets isn’t as easy as you’d think – you need experienced fishermen who know how to reel in a big catch, and that’s where our adventurous hosts come in.
Mike Lenton and Justin Gerbrandt are commercial fishermen based in Gimli, Manitoba that starred for three years on the hit Cottage Life network show, Ice Vikings. Mike and Justin know a thing or two about big hauls and that’s why they’re the perfect hosts for Fishing for History.
“We’ve spent three ice cold winters on the frozen Lake Winnipeg with Justin and Mike and know they have the intestinal fortitude to persevere to reel in the big catch,” said Farpoint producer, Scott R. Leary. “While we don’t know yet what they’ll find with their magnets, we know audiences will be instantly hooked by their dynamic chemistry.”
Fishing For History is directed by Cam Bennett (Ice Vikings) and will feature underwater photography from Dave Gaudet (The Medicine Line).
Fishing For History is part of Farpoint’s exclusive deal with Super Channel to provide 150 hours of scripted and non-scripted shows over the next year, and will premiere in 2024.
(WINNIPEG, MB) JULY 24, 2023 - Farpoint Films announced today the start of production on a new paranormal investigation 14-episode series, Ghosts Off Grid. Filming will take place throughout Manitoba and western Canada from now until early 2024.
Johnny Wiebe and Jordyn Penner, also known as the Paranormies on their wildly successful YouTube channel, are going deeper off the grid into unexplored territory to document hauntings and the unexplained that most wouldn’t dare to investigate.
(WINNIPEG, MB) JANUARY 17, 2023 - Farpoint Films and Super Channel announced today they have signed an exclusive deal which will see Farpoint produce 150 hours of both unscripted and scripted television for Super Channel over the next year with an option to extend for 2 more years at 150 hours per year.
Farpoint Films announced today the WORLD PREMIERE of the financial documentary, Seeking Fire, on Super Channel: November 1 (Streaming & On Demand) and November 27 on Super Channel Fuse in Canada.
The documentary, from filmmakers Ian Bawa and Quan Luong and distributed by Farpoint Distribution, explores people's relationship with money and how financial independence can fuel passions.
Bawa and Luong traveled across the world meeting with people that are financially free as well as exploring their own personal relationship with money.
“The making of this project exceeded our wildest expectations as we were able to speak with people, now friends, all over the world and find out how they navigate their finances,” said co-director, Quan Luong. “It quickly became clear that we were not alone with our financial questions and can't wait to share it,” added co-director, Ian Bawa.
“With this documentary, Ian and Quan are opening up the conversation on how to make money work for the younger generation and we know audiences will reap the rewards if they invest their time in Seeking Fire,” said producer Chris Charney.
Ian Bawa is an award-winning filmmaker whose previous projects, including Tapeworm and Imitations, have screened around the world. His short narrative film, Strong Son, screened at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival and the 2021 Aspen Shortfest.
Quan Luong is a Vietnamese filmmaker working in Winnipeg as a cinematographer & colourist on TV shows, documentaries and commercials. His short film, Container, was screened at the 2021 Venice Shorts Film Festival, Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival and the Montreal Independent Film Festival.
Farpoint Films announced today a multi-year first look producing deal with filmmaker Ryan Cooper’s Back to Space Productions.
Under the terms of deal, Farpoint will have a first look at all of Cooper’s new shows with the two companies already working together on many projects including Alter Boys - written and directed by Jonathan Lawrence and produced by Cooper for CBC Gem and going to camera later this month.
WINNIPEG (April 26, 2022) - Farpoint Films announced the hiring of Pamela Landgraff C.P.A. as the new Director of Finance.
Pamela joins the accounting department and takes over the position from Ross Ikeda who has been with Farpoint since 2006 and is retiring at the end of April.
“Pamela is an excellent addition to the Farpoint team,” said President and Co-Founder, Kyle Bornais. “She is coming in at a time of growth and changes both within the industry and the Farpoint group of Companies and I know she’ll help us reach new levels.”
Pamela will head up the accounting department for both Farpoint Films and Farpoint Distribution with a team of accountants working under her and will report directly to Farpoint President Kyle Bornais.
“I’m excited to join Farpoint Films in this new chapter of my career,” said Landgraff. “I’ve always had an interest film and television industry and can’t think of a better company to be a part of.”
Pamela spent the past 17 years at MNP working on the private enterprise team, which consists of small to large owner-managed businesses in a variety of industries. She received her Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) in 2005 from the University of Manitoba.
Ross Ikeda leaves the industry just shy of 30 years of extensive experience providing management accounting to over 200 small and medium sized film and television productions. His career began as an accounting clerk on the Gemini award winning The Diviners and then progressed quickly. Ross is an avid and successful fisherman and the whole Farpoint team wishes him many years of happiness on the lake in his next chapter.
(WINNIPEG, MB) AUGUST 10, 2021 – Farpoint Films announced today they have acquired the rights to the documentary, Seeking Fire, from filmmakers Ian Bawa and Quan Luong. The documentary, produced by Farpoint's Chris Charney and executive produced by Kyle Bornais, has been picked up by Super Channel and will be distributed by Farpoint Distribution.
Seeking Fire is a featured documentary about people's relationship with money and how financial independence can fuel passion. Bawa and Luong will travel the country meeting with people that are financially free as well as exploring their own personal relationship with money.
“The timing of this documentary couldn't be better because there seems to be more and more people that learn about money first, then focus on their passion,” said Farpoint Films Executive Producer, Kyle Bornais. “Ian and Quan are the right people to tell this story and I expect to learn from it myself.”
“As a filmmaker, you learn very quickly that you can't always rely on your passions to pay the bills,” said co-director, Ian Bawa. “We're hoping this documentary will inspire not only other people, but ourselves, on how to have a better relationship with money,” added co-director, Quan Luong.
Ian Bawa is an award-winning filmmaker whose previous projects, including Tapeworm and Imitations, have screened around the world. His short narrative film, Strong Son, screened at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival and the 2021 Aspen Shortfest.
Quan Luong is a Vietnamese filmmaker working in Winnipeg as a cinematographer & colourist on TV shows, documentaries and commercials. His recent short film, Container, will be screened at the 2021 Venice Shorts Film Festival, Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival and the Montreal Independent Film Festival.
Ian and Quan has previously collaborated on various personal projects and a few short documentaries for the CBC. Their last documentary on ballet dancer Rachael McLaren is part of CBC Arts: Exhibitionists, streaming on CBC Gem.
(WINNIPEG, MB) May 27, 2021 – Farpoint Distribution announced today that they have picked up a new true crime series, Shoot To Kill, from Chris Pownall and his US-based production company, Shot In The Dark Productions.
Farpoint Films is co-producing with Shot In The Dark Productions 26, one-hour episodes of the true crime series for the True Crime Network (TCN) in the US. Cruise Ship Killers from Farpoint Films is currently airing on TCN.
Shoot To Kill is a true crime series that explores murder committed using the world's deadliest weapons: guns.
“We are very excited to bring this project from Chris Pownall to Farpoint Distribution,” said Farpoint Films executive producer, Kyle Bornais. “We feel this compelling show will appeal to viewers of true crime and the science behind it.”
Each episode presents one story of murder by way of the gun. These stories are presented using gripping interviews, dramatic re-enactments and archival footage. Gun experts, psychologists and former law enforcement officers tell these stories and help the view understand the psychology behind the crime.
Actual police crime scene and interrogation footage provide further insight into the murders, and forensic experts explain the particular gun used in each shooting and the science behind matching bullets found at the crime scene with that gun.
Every episode explains the forensics that were used to convict the killer(s) as well as dig into their psychological profile.
(WINNIPEG, MB) NOVEMBER 10, 2020 – Farpoint Films announced today the start of production on the second season of ICE VIKINGS. The docu-series will once again be filmed solely in Manitoba with local cast and crew.
Viasat World has green-lit the second season ahead of the 2020/2021 winter fishing season. Eight episodes will be produced with partner Viasat and negotiations continue to have the second season distributed by Beyond Distribution.
“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Viasat and keep telling the story of the adventurous women and men that make a living commercially fishing on Lake Winnipeg in the dead of a Manitoba winter,” said Chris Charney of Farpoint Films.
The first season of Ice Vikings took viewers inside Lake Winnipeg’s commercial ice fishing industry, with a motley group of fishermen and women. In season two, Trevor Kristjanson continues to go big unveiling his rebranding and investing more in his company, Chris connects with a piece of his viking history on the lake, Mike and Justin reveal a new secret weapon, Richard and Mike are looking to set more nets this season to get a bigger score, and Gene and Candace start the season with a bang as both have now recovered from off-season surgery and are eager to get back on the ice.
On the heels of the start of production on season two, Blue Ant Media has picked up seasons 1 and 2 from Canadian distributor, Breakthrough Entertainment. The first season has already been airing in New Zealand on Choice TV.
Ice Vikings is produced by Scott R. Leary and Chris Charney, executive produced by Kyle Bornais and Rob Hardy, with Cheryl Binning consulting.
Ice Vikings will adhere to the Covid 19 Health and Safety protocols in place in Manitoba. Ice Vikings is made possible with the support of Manitoba Film & Music and their support of the Manitoba Film and TV Production Industry.
Series follows crews fishing on the frozen, unforgiving Lake Winnipeg
(WINNIPEG, MB) OCTOBER 28, 2019 – Farpoint Films announced today the start of production on their new series, ICE VIKINGS. The docu-series will be filmed solely in Manitoba with local cast and crew. Eight episodes are being produced with partners Viasat World and the series will be distributed by Beyond Distribution.
Ice Vikings takes viewers inside a world never before seen on television: Lake Winnipeg’s commercial ice fishing industry, where descendants of Icelandic Vikings race against time and weather to bring their catch to shore before the ice gives way.
MAY 22, 2019 – Farpoint Films announced today the sale of its new show, The Day My Job Tried To Kill Me, to UK-based DCD Rights. The 13, one hour episodes will begin filming in Manitoba in July and be crewed by more than 30 film and television professionals from Winnipeg.
“We are excited to tell these real-life workplace stories with our partners from DCD Rights,” said Executive Producer at Farpoint Films, Kyle Bornais. “This series will give the viewer a better understanding of how these devastating incidents came to be and will use the talents of many in the Manitoba film and TV production industry to bring it to screens around the world.”
Each episode of The Day My Job Tried To Kill Me (13 x 60) will examine one instance where survivors detail the day that their workplace turned into a living hell. The show will go behind the headlines of some of the world's most infamous workplace disasters and talk to survivors and witnesses of how that moment changed their life forever.
Woven into these riveting cases will be the cold, hard facts of exactly what failed and what caused the unimaginable to happen. These deep dives into the science of the incident will give the audience a much needed breath from the human drama unfolding in front of them on the screen. It will also feature dramatic recreations blended with actual footage from the incident to give the audience a fully immersive experience.
DCD Rights is one of the UK’s leading independent television distribution companies. The Company has over 30 years of international experience in acquiring and distributing multi-genre, high quality programming and programme formats. With over 3,000 hours of programming to offer, the catalogue encompasses a diverse range of genres, from cutting edge factual, and high profile drama to the best music acts, entertainment, lifestyle, documentary, and films.
DCD Rights represents programmes on behalf of companies as diverse as BBC Studios, UKTV, TLC, US public groups such as Rainbow Networks (owners of AMC, IFC, WE tv and Sundance), as well as over 70 independent producers such as Tern, FirstLookTV, and The Open University.
APRIL 12, 2019 – Farpoint Films and Middle Child Films are pleased to announce that two of their recently produced, and made-in-Manitoba, films – Room For Rent and Sorry For Your Loss – received eight Canadian Comedy Awards nominations earlier today.
Room For Rent was nominated for Best Feature, Best Performance in a Feature (Mark Little and Mark McKinney), Best Writing in a Feature (Matthew Atkinson), and Best Direction in a Feature (Matthew Atkinson).
Sorry For Your Loss was nominated for Best Feature, Best Performance in a Feature (Bruce Greenwood), and Best Writing in a Feature (Collin Friesen).
The 19th annual Canadian Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony celebrating notable Canadian comedians for achievements in Live, TV, Film, Radio and Web comedy. The awards will be presented at a reception on Sunday, June 2, 2019.
“We're excited that both Room For Rent and Sorry For Your Loss are nominated for eight Canadian Comedy Awards,” said Kyle Bornais of Farpoint Films. “Each film is unique and funny and the talent in-front of the camera and behind it deserves to be recognized.”
Room For Rent is available on iTunes and Crave. Sorry For Your Loss is opening next month in theatres across Canada.
Room For Rent was produced by Kyle Bornais and Justin Rebelo, co-produced by Robert Scarborough, Scott Gfeller and Shawn Myrick, and executive-produced by Tony Wosk, Scott R. Leary, Jay Firestone, John Laing, Mark Gingras, and Mark Satterthwaite.
SFYL was produced by Kyle Bornais and Tony Wosk, and executive-produced by Scott R. Leary, Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz.
OCTOBER 9, 2018 – Farpoint Films announced today the sale of 52 hours of new, in-house created, unscripted television to both Rive Gauche Television and Kew Media Group. The programs - My Misdiagnosis, I Survived, and I Hostage – were filmed mostly in Manitoba and crewed by more than 30 film and television professionals in Winnipeg.
