‘The shop will be driven by service. The goal is to have a high degree of intimacy and involvement in every project.’

Those were the words of Sarah Ker-Hornell five years ago when a Playback news story announced the launch of commercial production company Angel Films on Oct. 21, 1996.

While Angel Films has grown since then, both the goal and the reality of service and intimacy remain intact. Staying true to her vision has meant that Ker-Hornell’s Angel Films continues to thrive today despite the tough, competitive production environment. (Her determination, creativity, business savvy and passion for her work have probably helped too.) Ker-Hornell is one of the only female entrepreneurs in the country to have launched a commercial production operation on her own and she has already been recognized for her efforts: she was nominated for the Royal Bank’s Entrepreneur of the Year (1998) and selected for Canadian Women’s Who’s Who (1999) and Canada’s Who’s Who (2000).

That success has come in large part because rather than trying to be all things to all people, Ker-Hornell has carved out a viable business based on her own passions and competencies. The result is a company that allows her to give her small roster of directors personal attention, which in turn allows them to do some of their best creative work. And that, in turn, brings Ker-Hornell joy.

Operating out of King St. West digs that Ker-Hornell had redesigned and refinished with light wood, metal and frosted glass, the atmosphere at Angel is that of openness and hominess. The three floors are connected by wooden staircases and at the back, glass doors lead to an enclosed patio/garden – a quiet place where staff or visiting directors can work or relax – which isn’t to say that there is a lot of relaxing going on at Angel Films. With a full-time staff of five and any number of freelancers, Ker-Hornell runs a busy operation.

Daughter of a Canadian Armed Forces Officer and Entrepreneurial mother, Ker-Hornell was raised across Canada. She was first exposed to the production biz while majoring in English at the University of Toronto.

Although it was still relatively unusual then for a woman to get into the commercial production industry, she started working as a freelance production assistant.

‘I would be at the school library and come back to the dorm and find a message waiting saying that I had to be at a studio the next day to drive a truck, sweep up cigarette butts or whatever. I desperately wanted to learn on the shoot floor and not the office.’

Next, she put aside a plan to go to McGill for a masters degree, deciding instead to stay in Toronto and work full-time as a production assistant at Schulz Productions (now closed). That meant mostly driving a truck and enduring practical jokes from her mostly male co-workers. ‘I was one of the first girl PAs. My goal has always been to work with some of the most powerful and intelligent people in the business – and I have.’

At Schultz, Ker-Hornell worked for Michael Schwartz, now head of competing production house Avion Films. ‘She’s come a long way from being the best truck driver I ever had,’ says Schwartz. ‘It’s great to see just how far she has gone.’

After working in many areas of the production and post-production business in Toronto, she tested the executive producer waters working in Vancouver. In less than a year after her move to Vancouver, Ker-Hornell was back in Toronto working as an executive producer at Partners’ Film Company, a position she held for four years, followed by a two-year contract at LTB Productions, before deciding to take flight on her own.

She admits that the first year of Angel Films was ‘scary,’ but says, ‘We all need a little adrenaline rush.

‘I started with an idea of a European or old-style American kind of company with a lot of communications and trust with directors – almost like a partnership flavour.

It takes more effort and energy, but it’s worth it. I followed my heart. Even though at the end of the day this is a business, and an exceptionally competitive one at that, I still try to carve out a niche for directors who want

more care.’

Angel rarely has more than 12 directors on the roster and each one, says Ker-Hornell is ‘totally unique,’ with varying styles and visions, except that they all ‘are incredibly intelligent and think outside of traditional boundaries. I am so drawn to brains.’

Through it all, she says that she couldn’t have grown Angel Films into the company that it is today without the support from the agency community. The way the agencies tell it, being enthusiastic about Angel comes easy.

‘First, Angel has an amazing roster of directors and the projects that have been put through the company and were handled with the utmost professionalism and ease,’ comments Franca Piacente, vp, director of broadcast, MacClaren McCann. ‘The outcome of the commercials were terrific. I know that (producer) Revital Grunberg has the highest praise for Angel. ‘Sarah is always great when we submit bids for directors’ reels. Sometimes, frankly, we get a lot of reels that shouldn’t be in the mix, but she’s good at coming back with great choices for directors.’

Matchmaking – that is, finding the right person for the right job – is one the aspects of her work that Ker-Hornell most enjoys. ‘It’s about managing spot careers and marketing them.

‘We’ll pass on a job if it’s not really a great fit for a director,’ she says. ‘I do written marketing reports for my Canadian guys and I keep a log of every reel that is shipped out and screened for all of them and inform all of them – those are things you can’t do at a big production house.

‘My directors count on me not to set them up in sticky situations and I don’t want agencies to come away feeling that the Angel experience wasn’t a good one. So I think my approach is smart, long-term business.’

Ker-Hornell says that if she really believes a particular director is right for a job, even if he is a new, up-and-comer, she will tenaciously go to bat for him with an agency. ‘Sometimes the agency will trust me to put forward someone I am building. I will know this director inside and out and I’ll say, ‘let him step up, give him a chance, give him that extra 20 minutes.’

‘It’s not appropriate to fight like that on everything, but when I do, nine times out of 10, he’ll get the job.’

Angel has also cultivated a terrific reputation with the freelance and supplier community, which enables Angel to access top freelancers in every category, despite the smaller size. ‘Producers know that a job will be thought through and well researched before it is even awarded. Our reputation means that competitive pricing with higher volume shops is a given. Everything is collaborative in this

business – and the shoot floor is where we all

sink or swim.’

Among the noteworthy campaigns that have come out of the Angel office are the much-talked-about Pedigree Potluck (Grey Canada) from comedy director Boris Damast, which won a London International Award and features an unsuspecting man mistaking dog food for people food. Damast also directed two stand-out campaigns for Dominion through Angel.

‘In the case of the (first) Dominion (Fresh obsessed) campaign I did with (producer) Andrea Kikot, Sarah opened the door, because she had very strong professional ties and good reputation with the agency, which was Palmer Jarvis Vancouver,’ says Damast.

‘Angel is a boutique and doesn’t have a huge number of directors. I think Sarah knows specifically the kinds of directors she wants and she has well thought-out ideas on how she wants to develop each director. She also has a very solid notion of how to balance the roster and not just become a broker of directors. The directors are handpicked and the balance among different director styles is very well-maintained.

‘I’ve worked with a lot of production companies,’ Damast continues, ‘and with Dominion and with Pedigree, I got a tremendous amount of support and backup from Angel, regardless of the complexities. I’ve never seen Sarah flinch when facing any challenge or hurdle.’

One project that posed many challenges was a shoot in Indonesia during the great fires and smoke that swept southern Asia. Director/cameraman Peter Nydrle went along with agency producer Shenny Jaffer (now freelance) and the JWT /Nabob teams. They went for one spot and came back with two, despite customs not releasing the film stock, the local army dogging the shoot and even taking film from the camera – along with many physical challenges relating to the locations being damaged by fires.

‘Needless to say, I spent a great deal of time on the phone 24/7 and flew down to L.A. to meet them at their connection to make sure that everyone and everything was safely home,’ says Ker-Hornell.

Says producer Jaffer: ‘A lot of times a

job changes, specs change, there are miscommunications and new challenges come up. With Sarah, you always know you are in the right hands and she will go above and beyond what is required. She is incredibly meticulous and with her promise comes a guarantee that she will make

stuff happen.’

And that effort and attention to detail pays off. ‘My directors want to have good work on their reels,’ says Ker-Hornell. ‘We hold our own at awards shows, in Canada and overseas. For my U.S. directors, if they are going to come up here, it has to be wonderful creative that they really want to do and that will help them go back to the U.S. with a something solid for their reel.’

Among the directors who have notable spots on their reel thanks to Angel, is James Hyslop, director of Walmart’s Adele, where a woman talks about being diagnosed with cancer, and the National Breast Cancer Fund’s Shower. ‘I have been signed to Angel for more than two years for a simple reason. Sarah has integrity, honesty and passion for this business,’ says Hyslop.

‘She also never loses sight of the fact that she is building careers, not getting jobs. She looks at each job not only on the merits of the boards, but on whether it makes sense as part of a career. Sarah is also not afraid of going out on a limb for the job or one of her directors.

‘One of the other reasons I have re-signed with Angel is that the directors on the roster are well represented in the marketplace. There are not 200 directors who she hasn’t met, rather only a few of us that receive personal attention.’

Others in the industry have had equally positive experiences with Angel.

‘Sarah is very professional and very straightforward and above-board, and I’ve never doubted that she really knows production,’ says U.S.producer Tony Basile. ‘She has always kept the doors wide open for us, a U.S. company, to go up there and shoot in Toronto. From Tony Kaye to Peter Nydrle to Breck Eisner, everyone has had

a good experience working with her. She’s a

consummate professional.’

Jane Broadfoot of Third Floor Editing has known Ker-Hornell for 15 years, and has been working with Angel ever since it opened shop.

‘In such a fast-paced world, Sarah always takes care of her people,’ says Broadfoot. ‘She doesn’t shaft anybody, she doesn’t put a reel forward knowing the job is not right for the director or the job. She doesn’t put people in awkward positions. Sarah is probably one of the most professional people, from quoting stage to the end of the job. She leaves no stone unturned, does her homework, runs an incredibly tight shop, has an incredible reputation and is up-front and honest – and I would say that even if she wasn’t my friend.’

When it comes to staffing, Ker-Hornell says because Angel is a smaller operation, she hires people who have a large skill set and can take on a variety of tasks as required, including doing extensive research for new projects.

‘We have a real team atmosphere, all working toward the one goal of putting the best commercial work out there,’ says Jasmina Emmanuel, Angel Films staff co-ordinator. ‘That means that there is a really positive atmosphere in the office.’

Erica Woods, sales rep and staff co-ordinator agrees. ‘It’s a great place to work because Sarah creates a really good family environment.’

Despite her enthusiasm and passion for her business, Ker-Hornell acknowledges that today’s market is tough.

But, she adds, ‘All adversity is opportunity. If you stay true to yourself and your corporate character remains solid, then I think your business model can be sustained. I’m not trying to be all things to all people and my recipe for staying smaller and investing back into the business means I can navigate storms. Making it about relationships, production excellence, and sticking to my vision has paid off and keeps me passionate about this business.’

Five years later, that vision – and that passion – continues to show.

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