Anne Marie Gélinas, Producer
“I want to make films that teach me something, that I can learn from”
Anne-Marie Gélinas founded EMAfilms in 2008 to produce independent films, documentaries and web-based media projects. She favours powerful and touching stories that target international audiences. 2012 sees the release of two of her most recent productions: « A Bottle in the Gaza Sea », a France/Canada/Israel co-production which comes out in theatres March 23rd 2012 and has already received a number of awards and mentions (see EMA’s «News» section), and the highly anticipated « Mars & Avril » is set to be released in the Fall of 2012. Anne-Marie also recently completed work as Line Producer for Kim Nguyen’s critically acclaimed « REBELLE », produced by Item7, which is scheduled to debut at the esteemed film festival Berlinale 2012 (see EMA’s «News» section).
Prior to the establishment of EMA, Anne-Marie was president and Director-General of Productions Jeux d’Ombres, which she co-founded in 1990 after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts from the Concordia University’ reputed Communications program. She has also completed an Advanced Graduate Diploma in Management of Cultural Organizations from HEC Montreal. Gélinas participates regularly in the negotiation of a number of collective agreements for the Association des producteurs de film et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ) and holds a seat on the Board of Directors of Women in Film and Television – Montreal (WIFTM). Anne-Marie has been a member of Cinéma Parallèle since 1996 and in 1997 and 2007, she headed the organization of the events surrounding the institution’s 30th and 40th anniversaries.
This year Anne-Marie teamed up with new partners, Benoît Beaulieu and Martin Villeneuve to undertake a variety of ambitious projects including a number of fantasy & thriller genre films in 3D, as well as new co-productions with Belgium, the UK and India (see EMA’s « Projects in Development » section).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Marie_Gelinas
Martin Villeneuve, screenwriter, director and producer
Martin Villeneuve studied film at Concordia University and graphic design at Université du Québec à Montréal. In 2002, he received a grant from the Sid Lee Agency for the quality of his portfolio. For the next three years, he worked as an artistic director with the agency, especially for Cirque du Soleil. In this capacity, he helped create advertising campaigns for shows like Zumanity, KÀ and Corteo. A freelancer since 2005, he directed the TV advertising for the Cirque du Soleil shows DELIRIUM and Saltimbanco, as well as the web site for the MGM Mirage’s City Center real-estate project in Las Vegas. As an author, Martin Villeneuve has written and created both volumes of the graphic novels Mars & Avril (Sid Lee & la Pastèque, 2006), as well as the comic book La voix du tonnerre (Les 400 coups, 2004), which received enthusiastic acclaim and won many awards. He just completed his first feature film as writer-director-producer, Mars & Avril. The film, starring Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Ahmarani and Robert Lepage, will be distributed in Canada by Alliance Vivafilm and is set to be released in Fall 2012.
Benoît Beaulieu, cinematographer and producer
Benoît Beaulieu is a cinematographer who has worked on over two-dozen projects, ranging from short and feature length fiction films to documentaries and music videos. Benoît is also a producer, having completed more than 40 music videos and short films in this function, most notably for Chromeo, Stars and Pat Metheny. During his formative years he honed his skills in both lighting and as a director of photography, acquiring first-hand knowledge in all aspects of his craft. While the synergy between the director and himself is paramount, Beaulieu brings his own vision to every project; a cinematic narration that complements the film. He is a firm believer that the subtle handling of colour, texture, contrast and frame has a powerful psychological impact on the spectator. With his most recent work on Mars & Avril by Martin Villeneuve and Imaginaerium by Stobe Harju (both set to be released in 2012), it is clear that Beaulieu is a cinematographer to watch out for.
Ken Proulx, Associate Producer
Ken Proulx is a Montreal based producer/Actor, currently working as Junior Producer at EMA films under the guidance of Anne-Marie Gélinas.
In 2007 Ken founded Ciudad Films, which produced many short films and corporate videos in the Montreal area. Most Notably , “My Claudia”(2008, 10 min Short), which played at the Toronto Comedy Shorts Festival among others. In 2008, Ken starred in and was Associate Producer of Geoff Uloth and Evergon Arts “Among Friends”, which played at many festivals across north America, including the Montreal World Film Festival and Fantasia.
In 2009 Ken co-created the tv-series “Bush League” (In Development), that was accepted into the National screen Institutes Television program, selected from hundreds of projects from across Canada.
From 2006-2010 Ken also worked as Production Coordinator at Instinct Films, and Intuitive Pictures for Internatinal Producer Ina Fichman. At Instinct/Intuitive, Ken worked closely with Ina Fichman throughout the development and production stages of many quality International documentaries and feature films, such as; Mall ‘R’Us (Directed by Helene Klowdawsky), Mabul (Director: Guy Nattiv), Short and Male (Director: Howard Goldberg).
Ken is originally from Gatineau QC, and holds a Bachelor’s of Commerce from the University of Ottawa. Ken is proud to make his home in Montreal and Quebec, and would like to continue to work and Produce quality content in this beautiful city.