MARK LEIREN-YOUNG – Director/Writer
“Canada’s Go-To Guy for Dolphins, Whales and Trees” (The National Post) wrote, directed and
produced the doc style feature film, The Green Chain, which was nominated for the WGC Award
for best screenplay and received the El Prat de Llobregat Award at the 15th annual FICMA
Environmental Film Festival in Barcelona. He received the EarthVision Award for excellence in
environmental filmmaking from PBS in San Diego for writing, producing and starring in
Greenpieces: The World’s First Eco-Comedy. His documentary credits include writing the
premiere episode of Grand Illusions, a popular history TV series about the history of magic and
The Life and Times of Brian Orser.
He is the author of three books about environmental issues — The Green Chain: Nothing
is Ever Clear-Cut (a collection of interviews about the future of our forests) and This Crazy Time:
Living Our Environmental Challenge written with/about controversial environmentalist,
Tzeporah Berman and published by Knopf, and the recently published bestseller The Killer
Whale Who Changed The World about the first killer whale ever captured and displayed in
captivity, Moby Doll. Previously, Mark wrote/directed/produced a CBC Ideas radio
documentary about Moby Doll which won a Jack Webster Award for “Best Radio Documentary”
and a feature ariticle about Moby Doll for The Walrus. He is currently working on a feature
documentary version of The Killer Whale Who Changed The World.
LAURA VANDERVOORT – Narrator
Laura Vandervoort is a versatile actress who not only crosses over genres, but also changes
from character to character flawlessly embracing the essence of every role she plays. From
being listed in Maxim’s Top 100 hottest women two years in a row, to spearheading a national
PETA campaign, to starring in a hit studio film alongside Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane,
Laura’s career is full of momentum. Best known for her roles on the television shows
“Smallville” “Bitten” and “V,” she has built a loyal, international fan base of men and women of
all ages. Laura just wrapped filming the lead role of “Saw: Legacy”, the reboot of the iconic
franchise that will be released by Lionsgate on Oct 27, 2017.
Laura first began her career in background work on Canadian commercials and TV shows, then
landed her first speaking roles at the age of thirteen, for the children’s series “Goosebumps”
and “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” At nineteen, while attending York University, Laura landed
the lead on the CTV TV series “Instant Star,” a popular series that ran for four seasons.
In 2006, Laura shot her first feature film “The Lookout” starring Jeff Daniels, Joseph Gordon-
Levitt and Isla Fisher. Several TV appearances afterwards such as “CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation,” led Laura into the hands of The CW network. Landing the coveted role of
“Supergirl” on the hit The CW series “Smallville,”. Following “Smallville,” Laura booked the
sequel to the Jessica Alba/Paul Walker feature film “Into The Blue” titled “Into the Blue 2: The
Reef.” Following “The Reef,” the in-demand actress went directly into filming “The Jazzman,”
“Out of Control,” “Damage” and a miniseries that was the SyFy channel’s re-launch of Philip
José Farmer’s “Riverworld.” While shooting “Riverworld,” Laura also booked a series regular
spot for ABC’s sci-fi series “V”. After “V,” she booked and shot five feature films back to back:
the psychological thriller, “The Entitled”, followed by McG’s romantic comedy, “This Means
War” starring Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine, the lead in “Desperately Seeking Santa,”,
“Broken Trust,” and the hit side-splitting comedy, “Ted”. Laura starred in the 3-season Syfy
series “Bitten” where she played the only living female werewolf.
Laura also recently played the lead role of Anna in the Horror feature Saw:Legacy.
In addition, Laura has written a children’s book “Super Duper Deelia” which has now been
optioned into a live action TV series partnering with Shaftesbury Entertainment. Laura is
executive producer and creator of the series which will begin filming within the year.
TONY WOSK – Producer
Tony Wosk has been working in Canada’s film and television industry for over fifteen years. He
spent almost a decade in in feature film financing, production and distribution, before taking on
the role of Executive in Charge of Production at CBC Television. Shifting his focus to producing
in 2011, his Toronto based company Middle Child Films produced the award winning
environmental drama The Green Chain, The Samaritan starring Academy Award nominees
Samuel L. Jackson, Ruth Negga and Tom Wilkinson, and is currently in post-production on
comedy Sorry For Your Loss. He’s produced documentaries including Lost Heroes: The Untold
Story of Canadian Superheroes, and The Hundred-Year- Old Whale, as well as the Banff Rockie
Award winning lifestyle TV series The Illegal Eater. He has s also Executive Produced the
comedy Room For Rent, and the award winning horror feature Berkshire County.
ROB TEEHAN – Composer
Rob Teehan began his musical journey studying tuba and classical composition and at age 27, he became the youngest JUNO nominee (Canada’s Grammy equivalent) for “Classical Composition of the Year” in the history of that category. Rob has written and arranged for classical artists across North America and was Composer-in-Residence for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Sinfonia Toronto, and the Church of the Redeemer. Branching out from his classical training, Rob became known around Toronto for his ability to play bass lines on sousaphone in any genre, and toured Canada and Europe with a multitude of bands including Lemon Bucket Orkestra, the Heavyweights Brass Band, and Saidah Baba Talibah (alongside former Prince and current 3rdeyegirl guitarist Donna Grantis). Rob has recorded on close to 40 albums, often serving as producer or co-producer, and has earned four JUNO and nine Canadian Folk Music Award nominations.
After completing the Canadian Film Centre Slaight Music film scoring program, Rob moved to Los Angeles where he currently resides. He brings his eclectic background and well-travelled ear into his film scoring projects, which have included award-winning documentaries “The Babushkas of Chernobyl”, “The Sugar Bowl”, “Flor de la Mar”, and the Oscar-shortlisted “Frame 394”. For the feature film “The People Garden” he co-wrote and produced two Japanese pop songs; for the historical epic “Bitter Harvest” he spent three weeks traveling across Ukraine recording rare village folk musicians. Current projects include the documentaries “The Hundred-Year-Old Whale” and “Take Light”.
As assistant to four-time Emmy award-winning composer Sean Callery, Rob has contributed to many hit TV shows including “Jessica Jones”, “Homeland”, “Elementary”, “Designated Survivor”, “Bones” and “24: Legacy”.
RAYNE BENU – Cinematographer
Rayne Benu is a nationally published festival and theatre photographer and the producer of the Skaana.org podcast. After a series of adventures—including owning an interfaith art studio and being interviewed on national morning radio as one of Vancouver’s top psychics—Rayne was reborn in Mission BC and raised by filmmakers, orcas and psychics.
Performing and creating art in private and public spaces since childhood, her explorations include performance art, painting demonstrations, poetry and teaching art and meditation.
Rayne has a rich history creating digital and multimedia artworks, corporate design, interactive media and storytelling using code and symbolic languages, abstract/meditative painting and filmmaking (directing, editing, sound and video). She now lives on Vancouver Island, in the place where art, tech and spirit meet, and where she spends her free time filming local celebrities from J-Pod with her partner Mark. She also edits videos to support her kitten overlords Freja and Saga, who hitched a ride from Norway and have decided Vancouver Island is warmer.
CLIFF HOKANSON – Cinematographer
Cliff Hokanson is a cinematographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He has had a successful career as a camera/Steadicam operator in feature films and television, known for his quick execution and creative skills with camera movement. He is a passionate and self-motivated film industry professional with over 20 years of experience and a proven ability to produce tangible results at any budget. As technology has rapidly evolved, Cliff has stayed at the forefront of his field by continuously upgrading his experience and skills. This includes developing both a live video assist twin playback system (motion control) and a VR SYSTEM along with his own RED/EPIC 3-D camera platforms. As a cinematographer, Cliff has earned a wide range of film credits including feature and independent films, movie of the week, documentaries, commercials and countless music videos. Though Cliff lives and works primarily out of Vancouver, his projects have taken him to locations as far off as Russia, France, Egypt, Romania, and China.
BRENDAN WOOLLARD – Editor
Brendan Woollard is an editor, designer and director who is equally accomplished in documentary feature films and series, fiction feature films, music videos, and commercials. As an editor, Brendan’s doc credits include: Aim for the Roses (Hot Docs and Doxa, Gala opening film; 4 Leo Nominations); Eco-Pirate: The Paul Watson Story which was released theatrically by eOne; Breaking Ranks, which aired on Global Television; How a People Live, detailing the history of the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw peoples; Working People for Knowledge; and the Lynn Stopkewichdirected NFB series At Home.
His directing credits include: 13 episodes of True Pulp Murder for Global; 13 episodes of the TVtropolis series, Make or Break TV; and music videos for artists like Tangiers and Sunspot Jonze/Moka Only. Brendan also co-directed and edited the Knowledge series cArtographies.
Brendan has also edited a few fiction features including Preggoland, Charlotte’s Song, Foreverland (Leo Award Nominee for Best Editing), and 3 Days in Havana.
Some short film credits worth mentioning are the Genie Award-winning “Savage” (also Leo Award for Best Editing) and “Blue Skies” (Best Short Prize at Toronto International Film Festival). Brendan has also been the editor behind the music videos for such high profile artists as K-Os, Dan Mangan, Nelly Furtado, Celine Dion, Swollen Members, The Stars, The Dears, Default, Ambulance, and Great Big Sea among others.