4Teen Stories
Format: 1 x 1 Hour HD
Broadcaster: CTV
Status: Currently in production for CTV. Scheduled to air in 2010.
4Teen Stories explores the effects of the media on teenage girls.
Merit Motion Pictures
Merit
Motion
Pictures
248 Princess Street
Winnipeg, MB
R3B 1M2
Canada
Phone:
+001 (204) 775-4092
Fax:
+001 (204) 783-2311
- 4Teen Stories
- Skeptics
- Information Overload
- One Ocean
- TuTu MUCH
- The Secret World of Shoplifting
- The Truth About Liars
- Ballet High
- Ballet Girls
- 40 Years of One Night Stands: The Story of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
- Recreating Eden: Seasons 1-5
- Asking Different Questions: Women and Science
- Drug Deals: The Brave New World of Prescription Drugs
- Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero
- Mayor of Odessa
- The Pill
- Sabrina's Law
- The Science of The Senses
- SMUDGE - A Half Hour Christmas Special
Skeptics
Genre: Documentary / Culture
Format: 1 x 1 hour HD
Broadcaster: CBC Doc Zone
Status: In pre-production and available for Acquistion in Winter 2011
Skeptics takes a hard look at the psycho-social and philosophical roots of conspiracy theories, at who tends to believe in them and why. Directed by Andy Blicq (The Truth About Liars, The Truth About Shoplifting) for CBC’s Doc Zone
Behind the Scenes
Executive Producer(s): Merit Jensen Carr
Director(s): Andrew Blicq
Information Overload
Genre: Documentary / Technology / Current Affairs
Format: 1 x 1 Hour HD
Broadcaster: CBC Doc Zone
Status: In post-production and available for Acquisition in Autumn 2010
Information Overload takes a penetrating look at how modern communications technology is changing the way we live, sometimes for the better and more often than we’d like to admit, for the worse. Directed by Andy Blicq (The Truth About Liars, The Truth About Shoplifting) for CBC’s Doc Zone.
One Ocean
Genre: Nature Documentary / Social Documentary
Format: 4 x 60 minute documentary series HD format
Broadcaster: CBC's The Nature of Things
Status: Airing weekly on CBC on Thursdays at 8:00 ET
One Ocean is an ambitious, provocative and stunning four-part documentary series that portrays the ocean more completely than ever before, revealing its awesome beauty and extraordinary power. The series explores how the planet*s ocean, which covers 70% of the planet, holds the very key to all life within its silent and shadowy depths. In each breathtaking episode we bring to life a vast, interconnected ecosystem: from the diversity and significance of microscopic plankton, to the sleek power of the Ocean's top predators. One Ocean joins expeditions of discovery that take us to tropical coasts, to the deep, churning sea, and to meet strange and mysterious marine life that most of us will never get to see.
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Website: http://oneocean.cbc.ca/
TuTu MUCH
Genre: Dance Documentary / Family Documentary
Format: 72 minute theatrical feature
Broadcaster: Cineplex Odeon
Status: Played theatrically nationwide in January 2010
Through the eyes of 9 young girls from around the world, TuTuMUCH is the behind-the-scenes story of what it takes to become a dancer. These girls have been given the chance of a lifetime, a four week long summer audition to get into a professional ballet school. Which girl will prove to be the dancer they are looking for? Who will have the passion, the drive and the endurance to make it? And will she and her family be ready to make the sacrifices?
TuTuMUCH gives us all a rare look at 9 remarkable girls and a summer that no one will ever forget.
The Secret World of Shoplifting
Genre: Science, Social, Culture
Format: 1 x 1 hour documentary (HD)
Broadcaster: CBC - Doc Zone
Status: First aired on CBC's Doc Zone on December 3 2009
Every single day in North America, there are more than 600,000 shoplifting incidents. Eighty percent of us have stolen at least once in our lives. One out of every 10 of us shoplifts often. And now, organized crime has discovered that it’s a low risk way to turn a handsome profit. The truth is... stealing from stores is a big part of our consumer culture. And it’s a crime you pay for every time you step up to the cash register.
The Secret World of Shoplifting examines the rise in retail crime and how the consumers’ quest for the lowest discount price fuels the market for stolen merchandise. Featuring surprising security camera footage, the latest crime-fighting technology and interviews from both sides of the law, The Secret World of Shoplifting investigates why people steal, who is doing the stealing, what others are doing to fight it, and how retail crime affects us all.
Behind the Scenes
Executive Producer(s): Merit Jensen Carr
Director(s): Andy Blicq
The Truth About Liars
Genre: Science, Social, Culture
Format: 1 x 60 minute documentary (HD)
Broadcaster: CBC - The Doc Zone
International Distributor:
3401 St. Antoine Street
Westmount, Quebec
H3Z 1X1 Canada
Tel: 514-931-6180
Fax: 514-939-2034
Status: Aired on CBC's Doc Zone in February 2009.
The truth is… we are all liars.
Scientists say that by the age of four we have all learned to lie. We lie to protect ourselves and others, and to get what we want and need. Most of us fib in one of every four conversations that last more than ten minutes. The Truth About Liars reveals the only “truth” we know about lying… everyone does it, and we can’t easily detect it. Featuring the latest science, psychology, and technology, this entertaining documentary tells us how lying is a part of our everyday lives and is integral to our survival.
Ballet High
Genre: Family Documentary
Format: 1 x 90 feature documentary (HD)
Broadcaster: BRAVO!
Ballet High is a unique window into the world of a group of typical teenagers leading far-from-typical teenage lives. This is the story of the graduating class of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division and over the last seven years, it's been non-stop plies, jetés, pas de deuxs and pirouettes for these teens. But the stakes are high. After spending $150,000 on tuition and living most of their teenage years away from their families, they have this final year to prove that they have what it takes to become a professional dancer. Co-produced with the International Emmy Award-winning company, vonnie VON HELMOLT film and directed by Elise Swerhone.
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**DVD copies of Ballet High are now available for purchase for the price of $29.95 plus shipping and taxes**
If you would like to pay by cheque or money order, are a public or educational institution, or are ordering from outside of Canada, please email us.
PLEASE ALLOW 4 - 6 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY Canada: Non-Manitoba Residents. Includes Shipping/Handling and GST Includes Shipping/Handling and GST & PST International Small Packet Air
International Small Packet Air
Ballet Girls
Genre: Family Documentary
Format: 3 x 1 hour Colour DV Cam 16:9
Broadcaster: BRAVO! (Canada)
International Distributor:
Filmoption International Inc.
3401 St. Antoine Street
Westmount, Quebec
H3Z 1X1 Canada
Tel: 514-931-6180
Fax: 514-939-2034
Email
Awards: • 2007 Gemini Award Nominee – Best Children’s or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series
Status: Seeking International Sales
A prima ballerina is born from a sophisticated fusion ... and to make it they've got to have it all before they've even had their first date.
This 3 x one-hour documentary series goes behind the scenes, from the open audition room where girls plié and pirouette for coveted spots within the RWB Summer School, to the drama and painstaking realities of actually living the dream. The series culminates with a triumphant performance for one aspiring ballerina as Clara in the company's annual production of The Nutcracker.
DVD sets of Ballet Girls are currently available for purchase. Each set consists of the three episodes and costs $29.95 plus shipping/handling and taxes. If you would like to place an order, please email us
40 Years of One Night Stands: The Story of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Genre: Arts/Culture Documentary
Format: Feature length version and 1 x 1 hour version
Broadcaster: Bravo! Canada & Knowledge Network
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet set the ballet world on prairie fire. From Flin Flon to Moscow, it wowed audiences and critics alike with its youth, vitality and innovation. The impossible dream of two determined immigrants grew into what is now the RWB family, surviving flood, financial collapse, and a devastating fire, to become one of the world’s premier dance companies.
Their fascinating and often unknown story is now about to be told. Through the diverse voices of former RWB company members 40 Years of One Night Stands recounts the birth and first four decades of this history-making company. Included is rarely seen footage of Evelyn Hart and David Peregrine’s gold medal performance of Belong in Varna, as well as excerpts from CBC’s deeply moving 1973 broadcast of the RWB’s original production of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe.
40 Years of One Night Stands is produced by the Winnipeg-based company, Merit Motion Pictures and Inside Out Productions, directed by Peabody Award Winner, Jeff McKay, and narrated by the Tony Award Winner, Brent Carver.
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**DVD copies of the feature length version of 40 Years are now available for the price of $29.95 plus shipping and taxes**
If you would like to pay by cheque or money order, are a public or educational institution, or are ordering from outside of Canada, please email us.
Canada: Non-Manitoba Residents. Includes Shipping/Handling and GST Includes Shipping/Handling and GST & PST International Small Packet Air
International Small Packet Air *PLEASE ALLOW APPROX. 3 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY
Recreating Eden: Seasons 1-5
Genre: Lifestyle / Environmental / Gardening / Travel/ Documentary Series
Format: 65 x 1/2 hour series (with last 26 on HD)
Broadcaster: Vision TV, Knowledge Network, HGTV - Canada (Seasons 1 & 2), the National Geographic Channel-Canada (Seasons 1 & 2), Du Côté De Chez Vous (France), Sitcom S.P.A (Italy), Canal+ (Poland), UKTV (United Kingdom)
Visit IMDb page Visit TV.com page
International Distributor:
Filmoption International Inc.
3401 St. Antoine Street
Westmount, Quebec
H3Z 1X1 Canada
Tel: 514-931-6180
Fax: 514-939-2034
Email
Awards: • 2007 Gemini Award – Best Writing in an Information Program or Series (Episode 34 – Gardens in the Sky)
• 2007 Gemini Award Nominee – Best Lifestyle Series (Recreating Eden – Season IV)
• 2007 Gemini Award Nominee – Best Direction in a Lifestyle Series (Episode 4051 – Lost Pears)
• 2007 Golden Sheaf Award – Best Lifestyle Program (Episode 51 - Lost Pears)
• 2006 Blizzard Award - Cinematography Overall: Non-Fiction (Episode 26 - Touched by Luck)
• 2005 Golden Sheaf Award – Best Documentary Series
• 2004 Gemini Award - Best Direction in a Lifestyle/Practical Information Program or Series
• 2004 Gemini Award Nominee - Best Lifestyle/General Interest Series
• 2004 WorldFest Houston Awards - Silver Remi - Best Leisure and Recreation - Film & Video Production
Status: Currently seeking international sales
"Recreating Eden is the most extraordinary thing. A sumptuous gardening/biography program, it is not just about spectacular gardens around the world. It is also about the lives of the owners".
– John Doyle, Globe and Mail
Recreating Eden is an international lifestyle/environmental gardening series featuring the men and women behind some of the world's most extraordinary gardens. Recreating Eden celebrates people from all walks of life who, by transforming their own small part of the planet, help enrich the world.
From the great terraced temple gardens in Haifa Israel - to the lush garden retreats in the Italian hillsides - to the private country gardens only we are allowed to see; each unique episode of Recreating Eden features an individual gardener who takes the viewer on a tour of his or her unique garden paradise as well as on an intimate journey into their personal lives.
DVD sets of Seasons One, Two, and Three are currently available for purchase. Each set consists of 13 episodes and costs $39.99 plus shipping/handling and taxes. If you would like to place an order, please email us.
Produced by Merit Motion Pictures Inc. for Eden Entertainment in association with HGTV, Vision TV, Knowledge Network and Lank Beach Productions with the participation of The Canadian Television Fund, created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Cable Company; the CTF Licence Fee Program; Manitoba Film and Sound; The Government of Manitoba-Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit Program; The Government of Canada – Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program.
Website: http://www.recreatingeden.com
Asking Different Questions: Women and Science
Genre: Science / Women Documentary
Format: 51 minutes documentary Colour
Broadcaster: The Discovery Channel
Status: Aired on the Discovery Channel. Currently seeking sales.
In Canada and around the world a new scientific revolution is taking place, propelled by a new breed of feminist scientists. Challenging the traditional practices of science, these women offer a new approach to the study of nature and our place in it. This film documents how the increasing participation of women is transforming the fabric of science and technology. It also examines the ways in which science has been applied, often to the detriment of women and the environment.
Featured scientists include: Ursula Franklin, Physicist and Crystallographer; Rosalind Cairncross, Chemical Engineer and Environmental Consultant; Karen Messing, Occupational Health Scientist and Ergonomist; Peggy Tripp-Knowles, Forest Geneticist and Rina McKillop, Engineer.
Produced by Merit Motion Pictures for Artemis Films and co-produced with Studio D at the National Film Board of Canada for The Discovery Channel. With the assistance of the Government of Quebec (Programme de credits d’impot), Industry Canada, The Cable Production Fund, CFCF 12, The Canadian Film Development Corporation, The Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund and Rogers Telefund.
Drug Deals: The Brave New World of Prescription Drugs
Genre: Science / Medicine Documentary
Format: 1 x 50 minute Colour
Broadcaster: CBC The Nature of Things
Awards: Platinum Remi Award Winner - Public Health - Film & Video Production 2004 WorldFest Houston
Best Documentary - 2003 Blizzard Awards
Status: Currently seeking sales outside of Canada
“… an engrossing investigation of a dangerous partnership…”
-The Toronto Globe & Mail
Vanessa Young was 15 years old when she died suddenly from cardiac failure. Four days later, a prescription drug that she was taking was removed from the market. Did the drug have a potentially fatal side effect? If so, why was it being sold?
While the prescription drug industry strives to develop life-saving medicines, it is also a lucrative business with billions of dollars of revenue at stake. This gripping documentary asks whether corporate pressure is causing new drugs to be released before they are adequately tested. Probing each phase of clinical research, approvals, safety monitoring and marketing, Drug Deals investigates the potentially far-reaching influence of drug companies.
Drug Deals features interviews with FDA scientists, drug regulators, researchers and doctors who candidly reveal their experiences and problems within the system.
Behind the Scenes
Executive Producer(s): Merit Jensen Carr and Joe MacDonald
Producer(s): Erna Buffie, Elise Swerhone
Director(s): Erna Buffie
Writer(s): David McGunigal
Art Director(s): Sherri Starkell, Jennifer Machnee, Dianne Nimik, Adam Richner
Composer(s): Victor Davies
Director of Photography: Jim Aquila csc, Charles Konowal csc, Ali Kazimi
Narrator(s): Ann Marie MacDonald
Produced by Merit Motion Pictures and the National Film Board of Canada for broadcast on CBC’s “The Nature of Things”, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry, Telefilm Canada’s Equity Investment Program, Manitoba Film & Sound, the Independent Production Fund – Videon Program, the Government of Manitoba – Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit and the Government of Canada Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program.
Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero
Genre: Documentary
Format: 1 x 50 minutes Colour
Broadcaster: TVOntario & ZDF/ARTE (Germany)
Status: Aired on TVO and ZDF/ARTE in 2004. Currently seeking sales outside of Canada
Haunts of the Black Masseur is an Edgeland Films Production, executive produced by Merit Jensen Carr and produced & directed by the Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Jeff McKay.
For the millions of swimmers worldwide, this film explores all that swimming has meant for so many – the splendor, the bravery, the adventure and the sensuality of the aquatic experience.
This is a film of submersive passion; from the ancient Greeks to the great swimmers and divers of the twentieth century, water has inspired a devotion beyond athletics, a virtual cult of immersion. This hour long documentary takes its inspiration from Charles Sprawson’s landmark book, Haunts of the Black Masseur – the Swimmer as Hero, and the viewer is invited to accompany Sprawson as we explore such famous swimming haunts as Turkey’s Hellespont, The Tiber, the English Channel and many other magnificent locales across Europe and the United States. Throughout the hour we will meet some of the top marathon swimmers in the world such as Lynne Cox, David Yudovin and Alison Streeter as well as famed personalities, such as photographer Linda Troeller, who share their passion for and obsession with what most of us take for granted: water.
Executive produced by Merit Jensen Carr, a co-production between Edgeland Films and ZDF/ARTE for broadcast on ZDF/ARTE in Europe and TV Ontario, The Saskatchewan Communications Network, Knowledge Network and The Independent Film Channel in Canada. Haunts is produced with the participation of the Canada Television Fund License Fee Program, Manitoba Film and Sound, Manitoba Arts Council, CFCF Television, The Government of Manitoba – Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit Program, and the Government of Canada-Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program.
Mayor of Odessa
Genre: Drama
Format: 16mm 30 min. Colour
Broadcaster: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Awards: Gemini nominee, Blizzard award for best short drama
Status: Available for acquisition.
Behind the Scenes
Executive Producer(s): Elise Swerhone, Merit Jensen Carr
Producer(s): Elise Swerhone, Merit Jensen Carr
Director(s): Elise Swerhone
Writer(s): Nancy Botkin
Editor(s): Bob Lower
Composer(s): Pierre Guerin
Director of Photography: Charles Lavack
Produced by Riverain Productions with assistance from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry, Telefilm Canada’s Equity Investment Program, Manitoba Film & Sound, Rogers Telefund and the Government of Manitoba – Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit and the Government of Canada Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program.
The Pill
Genre: Science / Medicine Documentary
Format: 44 min 38 sec documentary Colour
Awards: Finalist - 1999 Time Inc Health Freddie Awards - Women's Health
Bronze plaque - 1999 Columbus Film Festival
Nominated for a 1999 Gemini - Best Science Program
Status: Aired on CBC's The Nature of Things. Currently seeking sales.
The birth control pill has been described as the most powerful, most widely used drug ever developed in history. Conceived as a solution to the population explosion, it was a touchstone for the sexual liberation of the 60s. But to what extent was medical science willing to risk lives? Released without adequate testing, the high-dose Pill caused serious side effects and, in some cases, death. When the US government convened hearings to review the drug’s safety, the new women’s health movement claimed its first major victory – patient package inserts warning about the drug’s side effects.
This fascinating documentary offers a look at the hidden history of the oral contraceptive that changed the world and features interviews with Gloria Steinem and author Barbara Seaman, who wrote The Doctor's Case Against the Pill in 1969.
Produced for the National Film Board of Canada for broadcast on CBC’s “The Nature of Things”.
Sabrina's Law
Genre: Documentary
Format: 1 x 60 minute Documentary HD format
Broadcaster: Global Currents
Distributor: The National Film Board of Canada
Status: Aired on Global Currents in November 2007
Sabrina’s Law follows the heroic and international news-breaking story of two parents: Mike & Sara Shannon who persuaded the province of Ontario to enact the first legislation in the world to protect all children with deadly food allergies and have dedicated their lives to promoting similar legislation in other communities around the world. This powerful documentary includes interviews with Robert Kennedy JR who discusses his own struggle to protect his son and to bring similar legislation to the U.S.A.
Co-produced with Lank/Beach Productions, Merit Motion Pictures, CanWest MediaWorks and the National Film Board of Canada.
The Science of The Senses
Genre: Documentary
Format: 4 x 60 minute documentary series HD Format
Broadcaster: CBC's The Nature of Things
International Distribution:
Phone: (416) 766-6588
Educational Sales:
Phone: 1-866-999-3072
IMDb Page - Hearing IMDb Page - Touch
If you were asked to live without a sense which one would it be?
The biological, neurological, and physical processes that allow us to perceive the world will be the exciting territory of The Science of the Senses - a 4 x 1 hour in depth exploration of the most recent scientific discoveries on the five senses.
Co-produced with the international award-winning CBC series The Nature of Things
SMUDGE - A Half Hour Christmas Special
Genre: Drama / Family
Format: 1 x 30:00 Colour
Broadcaster: Turner Network Television - USA
Awards: 1998 Humanitas Prize - Writing and Directing
Silver Hugo Award Winner - 1998 Chicago International TV Competition
Nominated for a 1998 International Emmy
Status: Aired on Turner Network Television. Currently seeking sales.
“One of the most touching new (Christmas) specials”
- Starweek Magazine