About the filmmakers
Jake Chirico | Director
With every passing year Jake Chirico has found himself falling further into a symbiotic relationship with filmmaking. It has become an integral part of his life as film and image making has become the vessel by which he experiences the world: a constant process of recording and reflecting, assembling and learning. His foundation of practical and theoretical knowledge was laid at Sheridan College and York University while his skills continually shape through daily professional and personal work. His first short doc about a horde of insects that annually blanket the downtown core of his hometown, North Bay, Ontario, premiered at Hot Docs in 2010. He has since been working in Toronto as a videographer for the provincial government and as a freelance cinematographer and editor. He’s had an internship with Peter Mettler and is developing various documentary and fiction works. Recently, Jake’s work has led him to shoot both in Lesotho and Cambodia on separate occasions, where he has been helping to create constructive dialogue about the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the horror of child trafficking and the sex trade through video. These experiences have helped him form a new understanding of Canadian culture that will be an integral part of future projects.
Kelli Kieley | Producer
Kelli Kieley has been working in the film industry in various capacities since graduating from University in the mid-90s in Newfoundland. Returning to Canada in 1998 after two years of travel in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Kelli studied film at York as a Master’s student, and then returned to film production, working at Alliance Atlantis and Corus entertainment in post-production. She graduated from the Independent Television Producer’s Program at Centennial College and quickly began producing television commercials and creating public service announcements for non-profit organizations. Her passion is documentary and in 2009 she assistant produced A Mind Like Mine with her mentor, filmmaker Karen O’Donnell. An active community member in the Junction area of Toronto, Kelli is on the board of the documentary collective The Money Project, created the Thoughtful Moms collective, a group examining the impacts of capitalism on parenting through meetings and creating personal documentaries. She has directed several animation and live action commercials that have been broadcast on CBC, CTV and OMNI. She is directing a short documentary “Popsicle Icebergs” with the NFB.
kamm/era media group is a Toronto-based production company that has been producing commercials, public service announcements and socially conscious short-form animation and live action content for television since 2005. Based in Toronto, the company is expanding into producing one-off documentaries, series and multi-media projects that enlighten and inspire engagement and social change. Founder Kelli Kieley strives to collaborate with like-minded, talented filmmakers to create meaningful, memorable, well-crafted productions.
James Gen Meers | Producer
James is a Toronto-based entrepreneur and producer. With a Master's degree in International Development Studies and a previous life as a Senior Policy Advisor with the Ontario Government, James is now experimenting with the creative medium of film to uncork discourse and awareness on socio-political issues. His company, Camden Media Productions, specializes in social documentaries and other new media. James is also a producer with TEDx Toronto and a curator with two well-known salon talk series in Toronto, Salon Camden and Salon Voltaire.
Andrew Cromey | Editor
Andrew Cromey graduated from York University's film and video program, specializing in video editing and broadcast standards. He has undertaken a number of post-production roles along the way_, such as post supervisor, editor, assistant editor and motion graphics editor. Andrew takes a very organic approach to editing, letting the imaginative forces at work in a story or theme guide the cinematic approach. While abiding the classical side to his film education, he also invents freely when necessary, bringing graphic compositing, visual effects and genre-bending to a project, pushing the story's essence and character development in new ways. His most recent credits include the OMNI TV show The Secret Recipes of the Maharajas, a travelogue series showcasing the cultural and culinary landmarks across India; he also edited and designed the original motion graphics forThe Last Travel Show, a pending TV pilot on global climate change; as well as videographer and editor on In Their Footsteps, a docu-webseries, on the lives of war-affected youth in Northern Uganda. In 2011, Andrew Cromey founded Siren Films, a post-production and design firm for online, advertising and documentary digital media. Andrew has the privilege to be constantly working with an inspired and inventive group of filmmakers and artists creating this documentary on public space and graffiti.
