Kenneth Hirsch: Executive Producer
Prior to founding PMA Productions Inc., Kenneth spent ten years at the National Film Board of Canada. Some of his credits as producer of documentaries include the Gemini award nominated Shylock (1999), directed by Pierre Lasry; the three-part television series War at Sea I and II (1995) and Web of War (1995), directed by Brian McKenna; and Berlin-festival selected Anatomy of Desire (1995), directed by Jean-Francois Monette and Outbreak: Anatomy of a Plague (2010), directed by Jefferson Lewis. As PMA’s executive producer, Kenneth handles relationships between financial and creative partners and works closely with key creatives to oversee production quality for all of PMA’s projects. Kenneth also co-directed Extraordinary Canadians Episode 4: Rudy Wiebe on Big Bear, and directed Extraordinary Canadians Episode 12: John Ralston Saul on Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin. He is a graduate of Harvard University.
Violaine Lemaitre: Administrator and Production/Postproduction coordinator
Involved in all matters of administration and accounting at PMA, Violaine oversees not only cash flow and physical company needs but also unions and funds relationships, logistical matters and all French language files. She is also the PMA production and post-production coordinator, managing administrative and budgetary aspects, resolving daily production or post-production issues and assisting the producer and key creative partners on a logistical level. She also worked closely with the producer of Day Before Yesterday – Sarah Beckett – on running the production, assisting her in pre-production, on set and in post-production. Since completing a Masters Degree in Communications from la Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris), Violaine has immersed herself in the world of arts and culture. After working in literature, contemporary “gastronomic” arts and classical music she now uses her managerial and coordination skills for film and television production.
Lauren Jane Heller: Creative Development, New Media and Associate Producer
Lauren Jane is a freelance writer and filmmaker from Cape Town, South Africa, now based in Montreal. With a background in Dance, Theatre and English Literature, she turned her attention to film in 2008 after completing a Graduate Diploma in Communications Studies at Concordia University. After shooting her first solo film, I Don’t Believe It, in Israel and Palestine in 2008, she joined the team at PMA Productions Inc. Assigned to all things creative, her time at PMA is split between Associate Production, Creative Development and New Media Production. She has also assistant directed for various Extraordinary Canadians shoots including Rudy Wiebe on Big Bear and John Ralston Saul on Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin. Outside of PMA she is currently developing a family adventure travel show and writing a travel memoir.
Claudia Semaan: Assistant to the Producer
Claudia joined PMA to assist the producer in the development of his business. While serving as his right hand, she also assists in production and post-production coordination. After graduating from Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, her journey has so far lead her from working with veteran visionaries at an A-list VFX house, to applying her well-versed talent in the art of screenwriting as a freelancing content developer, writer, and analyst. She is now also assisting an Emmy-winning writer based in L.A. Claudia is a proud advocate of locally produced projects, such as the short Quebecois folk epic Trotteur (2010), for which she contributed as script reviser, editor and researcher. It is presently picking up steam throughout the festival circuit (2011 Festival de Cannes, TIFF, LA Short Fest, International Film Festival in Clermont-Ferrand). She is currently in the final stages of developing her first co-produced comedy feature with her UK-based partner.