Shaftesbury Films
Encyclopedia
Shaftesbury Films is a Canadian
film and television production company founded by Christina Jennings
and is based in Toronto
, Ontario
. Founded in 1987, Shaftesbury is a leading creator and producer of original content for television and multiple platforms, with programming available in more than 120 countries worldwide. Recent productions include Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures
for HBO Canada
based on the Giller-prize winning book by Dr. Vincent Lam
; two seasons of The Listener
for CTV
and Fox International Channels
; and four seasons of Murdoch Mysteries
for Citytv
and UKTV
’s Alibi. Shaftesbury also produces a variety of award-winning programming, including the global hit series Life with Derek
and the movie follow-up to the series, Vacation with Derek
. Shaftesbury’s newest series, Good Dog
, is a half-hour comedy created, written and directed by Ken Finkleman
(The Newsroom
) that premiered on HBO Canada in 2011 and is launching at MIPCOM 2010.
Shaftesbury’s divisions include Shaftesbury Factual, which is focused on non-fiction storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres; Smokebomb Entertainment, the company’s digital media division responsible for the development and production of original online series and companion web experiences for Shaftesbury’s slate of properties; and Shaftesbury Sales Company, which manages international sales and distribution for the company’s content.
Cinema films have included:
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
film and television production company founded by Christina Jennings
Christina Jennings
Christina Jennings is a chairman and Co-CEO of Shaftesbury Films. She has won both a Genie and a Gemini Award, among other nominations.-External links:*...
and is based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. Founded in 1987, Shaftesbury is a leading creator and producer of original content for television and multiple platforms, with programming available in more than 120 countries worldwide. Recent productions include Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures is a short story collection by Vincent Lam, published in 2006. The book, inspired by Lam's own experiences in medical school and as a professional physician, is a volume of interconnected short stories about the lives and relationships of Fitzgerald, Ming, Chen and...
for HBO Canada
HBO Canada
HBO Canada is a Canadian television channel, which airs programming sourced from the HBO subscription service in the United States. HBO Canada is not available as a standalone channel, but as one channel within the TMN and Movie Central multiplexes....
based on the Giller-prize winning book by Dr. Vincent Lam
Vincent Lam
Vincent Lam is a Canadian writer and medical doctor.Born in London, Ontario and raised in Ottawa, his parents came to Canada from the Chinese expatriate community in Vietnam. He attended St. Pius X High School and did his medical training at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1999...
; two seasons of The Listener
The Listener
The Listener was a weekly magazine established by the BBC in January 1929 which ceased publication in 1991. The entire digitised catalogue was made available online to libraries, educational and research institutions in 2011....
for CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
and Fox International Channels
Fox International Channels
Fox International Channels is a subsidiary of the Fox Entertainment Group, which is a part of Rupert Murdoch's global media conglomerate News Corporation...
; and four seasons of Murdoch Mysteries
Murdoch Mysteries
Murdoch Mysteries is a Canadian drama television series that airs on Citytv, featuring Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto, Ontario in the 1890s. The television series is based on the Detective Murdoch series of novels by Maureen Jennings. The fifth season was...
for Citytv
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
and UKTV
UKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
’s Alibi. Shaftesbury also produces a variety of award-winning programming, including the global hit series Life with Derek
Life with Derek
Life with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005 and ran for four seasons ending on March 25, 2009. The series starred Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat as the...
and the movie follow-up to the series, Vacation with Derek
Vacation with Derek
Vacation with Derek is a 2010 Canadian television movie based on the TV series Life with Derek. The TV movie follows the McDonald-Venturi family as the children are forced to spend part of their summer vacation with their grandmother at her lodge...
. Shaftesbury’s newest series, Good Dog
Good Dog
Good Dog is a Canadian television comedy-drama series which runs on HBO Canada. The show follows the life of character George, a role that Ken Finkleman is reprising from The Newsroom.-Characters:...
, is a half-hour comedy created, written and directed by Ken Finkleman
Ken Finkleman
Ken Finkleman is a Canadian television and film writer, producer and actor.In Canada, Finkleman is best known as the writer, creator and producer of the CBC Television series The Newsroom, in which he starred as television news producer George Findlay...
(The Newsroom
The Newsroom
The Newsroom is a Canadian television comedy-drama series which ran on CBC Television in the 1996-97, 2003–04 and 2004-05 seasons. A two-hour television movie, Escape from the Newsroom, was broadcast in 2002....
) that premiered on HBO Canada in 2011 and is launching at MIPCOM 2010.
Shaftesbury’s divisions include Shaftesbury Factual, which is focused on non-fiction storytelling across a broad spectrum of genres; Smokebomb Entertainment, the company’s digital media division responsible for the development and production of original online series and companion web experiences for Shaftesbury’s slate of properties; and Shaftesbury Sales Company, which manages international sales and distribution for the company’s content.
Television
The company's television series projects have included:- 11 Cameras11 Cameras11 Cameras is a short-lived CBC Television half-hour drama series that showed its characters through webcams. The show aired in the summers of 2006 and 2007. CBC ordered 22 episodes in total, and did not renew the show, although it lives on in South America and can be seen in other parts of the world...
- Aaron StoneAaron StoneAaron Stone is a live-action, single-camera adventure series created by Bruce Kalish. Originally broadcast with the launch of Disney XD on February 13, 2009...
- The Atwood StoriesThe Atwood StoriesThe Atwood Stories was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on W in 2003. A short-run dramatic anthology series produced by Shaftesbury Films, the series dramatized six short stories by Margaret Atwood....
- Bloodletting & Miraculous CuresBloodletting & Miraculous CuresBloodletting & Miraculous Cures is a short story collection by Vincent Lam, published in 2006. The book, inspired by Lam's own experiences in medical school and as a professional physician, is a volume of interconnected short stories about the lives and relationships of Fitzgerald, Ming, Chen and...
- Dark OracleDark OracleDark Oracle is a Canadian produced TV series that premiered in 2004 on the popular Canadian channel YTV. It was created by Jana Sinyor , and co-developed by Heather Conkie...
- The Jane ShowThe Jane ShowThe Jane Show is a Canadian television sitcom produced by Shaftesbury Films that was shown on Global from 2006 to 2007. The series stars Teresa Pavlinek as Jane Black, an aspiring novelist who takes a corporate job after her life undergoes a major upheaval....
- Life with DerekLife with DerekLife with Derek is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on Family and VRAK.TV in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005 and ran for four seasons ending on March 25, 2009. The series starred Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat as the...
- The ListenerThe Listener (TV series)The Listener is a Canadian science fiction drama set in Toronto about a young paramedic named Toby Logan with the ability to listen to people's minds. The series premiered on Fox International Channels beginning with the Arabic-speaking area of northern Africa and south-western Asia on March 1, 2009...
- Murdoch MysteriesMurdoch MysteriesMurdoch Mysteries is a Canadian drama television series that airs on Citytv, featuring Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto, Ontario in the 1890s. The television series is based on the Detective Murdoch series of novels by Maureen Jennings. The fifth season was...
- Overruled!Overruled!Overruled! is a Canadian children's television sitcom about high school kids with problems, which are taken to Teen Court, hosted by Judge Tara; the series airs on Family Channel in Canada and Disney Channel in the United Kingdom. It premiered on July 10, 2009 in the United Kingdom and September...
- ReGenesisReGenesisReGenesis is a Canadian television program produced by The Movie Network and Movie Central in conjunction with Shaftesbury Films. The series, which ran for four seasons, revolves around the scientists of NorBAC , a fictional organization with a lab based in Toronto...
- The Shields StoriesThe Shields StoriesThe Shields Stories was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on W in 2004. A short-run dramatic anthology series produced by Shaftesbury Films, the series dramatized six short stories by Carol Shields....
Film
Television films produced by Shaftesbury have included:- External Affairs, an adaptation of Timothy FindleyTimothy FindleyTimothy Irving Frederick Findley, OC, O.Ont was a Canadian novelist and playwright. He was also informally known by the nickname Tiff or Tiffy, an acronym of his initials.-Biography:...
's play The Stillborn Lover - Michael IgnatieffMichael IgnatieffMichael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
's novel Scar Tissue - Hemingway vs. Callaghan, an adaptation of Morley CallaghanMorley CallaghanMorley Callaghan, was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, TV and radio personality.-Biography:...
's That Summer in Paris - Torso, a dramatization of the murder trial of Evelyn DickEvelyn DickThe murder trials of Evelyn Dick remain the most sensationalized events in Canadian crime history.Dick was born in Beamsville, Ontario. She was arrested for murder after local children in Hamilton, Ontario found the torso of her missing estranged husband, John Dick...
- TerryTerry (film)Terry is a biopic of Canadian amputee athlete Terry Fox, dramatizing his national Marathon of Hope run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. The film, produced by Shaftesbury Films, aired as a television movie on CTV in 2005...
, a biopic of Terry FoxTerry FoxTerrance Stanley "Terry" Fox , was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research... - six Joanne KilbournJoanne KilbournJoanne Kilbourn is a fictional Canadian detective, who appears in mystery novels by Gail Bowen.In Deadly Appearances, the first Kilbourn novel, she is a political strategist and advisor to Andy Boychuk, a politician who is murdered just hours after being elected Leader of the Opposition in the...
mysteries, based on the novels by Gail BowenGail BowenGail Dianne Bowen, née Bartholomew is a Canadian playwright and writer of mystery novels.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Bowen was educated at the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and the University of Saskatchewan... - Eight Days To LiveEight Days To LiveEight Days To Live is a 2006 TV film produced by CTV about a mother who organizes a search and rescue for her son who drives off the road in the Northern Fraser Valley of British Columbia.-Cast:*Dustin Milligan as Joe Spring*Tegan Moss as Becca Spring...
- In God's CountryIn God's Country"In God's Country" was a difficult song for the band to record, which they put down to not being trained musicians, and they do not speak overly highly of it. During The Joshua Tree sessions, they knew it was not going be one of their best songs but they needed more up-tempo songs...
- Mount Pleasant
- The Good Times Are Killing Me
- SkyrunnersSkyrunnersSkyrunners is a American-Canadian television film that premiered on Disney XD on November 27, 2009. It is the first and so far the only original film that premiered on network.-Plot:...
Cinema films have included:
- Swann, based on the novel by Carol ShieldsCarol ShieldsCarol Ann Shields, CC, OM, FRSC, MA was an American-born Canadian author. She is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in Canada.-Biography:Shields was born in Oak Park, Illinois...
, - ConquestConquest (1998 film)Conquest is a 1998 British-Canadian romantic comedy film set in the dying prairie town of Conquest, Saskatchewan, most of whose remaining residents are in their 70s and depressed...
- Painted AngelsPainted AngelsPainted Angels is a film by Jon Sanders starring Brenda Fricker, Kelly McGillis, Meret Becker, Bronagh Gallagher, Lisa Jakub and Anna Mottram....
- CamillaCamilla (film)Camilla is a 1994 film directed by Deepa Mehta and Jessica Tandy's last movie appearance.-Critical reception:Several reviewers wrote that Tandy's performance was the best aspect of the film...
- Long Life, Happiness & ProsperityLong Life, Happiness & ProsperityLong Life, Happiness and Prosperity is a 2002 English language film starring Sandra Oh.-Synopsis:Twelve-year-old Mindy Ho tries Taoist magic to fix her single mother's financial situation and seemingly hopeless romantic prospects. Mindy's misdirected charms appear to cause an aging security guard...