CineFocus Canada (http://cinefocus.com) is a content creation company with 30 years experience producing prime time television documentaries and series, educational videos for government, health, labour, social justice, and environmental groups and interactive productions on multiple platforms. CineFocus' impressive body of broadcast programs has been pre-licensed to Canadian broadcasters and sold around the world. CineFocus' client based videos include national, provincial and municipal labour, health, community and environmental organizations including UFCW Canada, the Alliance for Healthier Communities (formally the AOHC), the Workers Health and Safety Centre and Toronto Community Housing.In addition to their television documentaries, CineFocus has gained valuable expertise telling compelling stories in a short video format. The company created 28 one-minute video profiles of celebrated Canadians commissioned by Global Television for their Northern Lights series and over a dozen two-minute videos for Paul Kane Interactive, CineFocus’ interactive documentary on DVD and museum exhibit located at the Royal Ontario Museum. CineFocus Canada now produces a multi-platform initiative Green Heroes for TVO. The project encompasses a series of television documentaries and short Internet video profiles that is currently distributed internationally by LGI Media and by McIntyre Media In Canada.Many of CineFocus' commissioned videos and television documentaries are produced in French as well as English. Joan, as a creative producer, director, writer and editor, has been instrumental in the creation of CineFocus' broadcast and client based work.

As Executive Producer, in the Advanced Film Program, I led second year film students in the production of short documentaries and dramatic films through all phases of production from scriptwriting and research to marketing and public screenings. At the Lakeshore Campus, I introduced 1st and 4th years students in the Film and Media Production degree program to established professionals in the industry.

Created multiple videos and stories, profiling Ontario community health centres and promoting the determinants of health. Projects ranged from PSA campaigns and media training and outreach to productions featuring community health initiatives that address issues relating to the environment, equity, diversity, housing, across the province, more recently the Transformative Change Award.

Green Heroes was built on the momentum created by the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” and the emerging social media and online platforms, to inspire people to move from concern to action with positive, shareable stories about people who took on an environmental challenge and achieved success.To do this, Green Heroes tapped into the fan-base of 45 eco-crusaders, from racecar driver to Nobel Prize winner, to reach a diverse audience and connect them to action items in a number of ways. Featured heroes include Jane Goodall, Jamie Kennedy, Sarah Harmer, Alexandra and Celine Cousteau, Edward Burtynsky, Rob Stewart, Farley Mowat, Robert Bateman, David Suzuki, Daniel Lanois, Emily Hunter, Vandana Shiva, Gord Downie, and many more.Viewers of the TV shows (broadcast on TVO and streamed on Amazon Prime) could learn more about the characters they met via short, shareable video profiles on-line at our web channel GreenHeroes.tv. The Green Heroes Academy mobile app encouraged viewers to take on missions inspired by the TV and web shows to challenge their friends with 150 green-acts relating to consumption, transportation, and food production using an HTML platform that interfaced with Facebook.Crowd sourced and social media contests, participation at live events, and community outreach and education through partners like Green Living and Conservation Ontario, helped create a critical mass of people who engaged with the environment beyond merely watching stories about inspiring Green Heroes.

The Imagination Catalyst is OCAD University’s hub for entrepreneurship and commercialization. Their mission is to support and develop entrepreneurial talent among OCAD University faculty, students and alumni, as well as creative entrepreneurs across the GTA. Our goal is to help launch new companies and products that contribute to the prosperity of our community. - See more at: http://www.ocadu.ca/research/imagination-catalyst.htm#sthash.ubZAbO2p.dpuf

Researched and field produced profiles for TVO’s literary series Imprint, hosted by Daniel Richler.