OPTIC NERVE FILMS

Optic Nerve Films is a company passionate about making high quality, ambitious and important film and TV projects that engage and inspire audiences to effect change on some of the most pressing issues of our time, especially those related to: the environment, Indigenous sovereignty, social justice, animal welfare and public health. 

The company’s documentary credits include:

  • Part of the Pack, a feature documentary that explores our relationship to “the wild” through three stories where people have developed a unique relationship to wolves. Directed by wildfire photographer/journalist Isabelle Groc and cinematographer, Mike McKinlay, the film premiered at The Calgary International Films Festival, won Best Documentary at the Chilliwack Independent Film Festival and was nominated for five Leo Awards including Best Feature Length Documentary;

  • Haida Modern, a feature documentary about the life, work and activism of one of Canada’s greatest living artists — legendary Haida carver, Robert Davidson. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Charles Wilkinson, the film was an official selection at Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and won Best Canadian Film at the Festival International du Film sur l'Art, Best Feature Length Documentary at the Leo Awards, and Most Popular Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival;

  • After the Sirens, a one-hour broadcast documentary for CBC Television about the epidemic of PTSD amongst paramedics. Written and directed by Kevin Eastwood, the film was awarded The Mindset Award for Best Mental Health reporting at the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) annual conference, and was nominated for Best Documentary by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the Yorkton Film Festival and the Leo Awards;

  • Vancouver: No Fixed Address, which examines the housing affordability crisis facing cities around the world by examining the conflict in one specific city, where diverse residents fight to preserve homes as living spaces instead of global financial commodities. A hit at the Hot Docs Film Festival, the film enjoyed a successful five-week theatrical run at theatres in Vancouver and Toronto;

  • Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, a feature documentary about the diverse inhabitants of Haida Gwaii, a remote archipelago off the Northwest coast of Canada, directed by Charles Wilkinson (winner of the top prize at Hot Docs as well as the Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary at the DGC Awards);

  • The Death Debate, which tells the story of the people behind the landmark Supreme Court of Canada case on physician assisted-dying. Written and directed by Kevin Eastwood, the film received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Direction and was nominated for Best Social/Political Documentary at Golden Sheaf Awards at the Yorkton Film Festival;

  • Oil Sands Karaoke, about five oil sands workers all striving to make a better life for themselves in one of the most controversial places on Earth: Alberta’s tar sands. Winner: Best Documentary (Science/Nature) and Best Director (Non-Fiction) at the Yorkton Golden Sheaf Awards;

  • Do You Really Want to Know?, about three families who have been confronted with the decision of whether or not to be tested for Huntington’s disease. Directed by Oscar-winner John Zaritsky and winner of Best Documentary (Science/Medical) and Best Director (Non-Fiction) at the Golden Sheaf Awards;

  • Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson, a theatrical feature documentary about one of the most controversial, radical and legendary figures in the environmental movement: Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd founder, Paul Watson. Directed by Trish Dolman, the film won Best Documentary at the Projecting Change Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at the Reykjavik International Film Festival.

On the scripted side, Optic Nerve produced Preggoland, a feature comedy directed by Jacob Tierney and starring Sonja Bennett, James Caan and Danny Trejo. The film premiered as a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival where it received rave reviews and went on to win Most Popular Canadian Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Best in Show at the Fargo Film Festival, and the Audience Award for Best Film at the Omaha Film Festival.

In addition to its documentary and feature films, Optic Nerve has also produced a wide array of shorter form content for clients such as Arts + Crafts, Knowledge Network, the David Suzuki Foundation and the BC Civil Liberties Association. Such projects include the Leo-nominated music video for Post-War Blues by Dan Mangan starring Don McKellar; the Gemini Award-nominated short documentary Douglas Coupland: Pop Artist and PSA campaigns on such topics as ending solitary confinement and physician-assisted dying.