To say actress, writer and filmmaker Hannah Cheesman and producer and writer Mackenzie Donaldson have been on a hot streak since meeting and co-founding Aberrant Pictures in 2013 would be an understatement.
The pair met that year on the set of Whatever, Linda, a web series co-created by Cheesman and Canadian actor/writer Julian De Zotti and produced by Toronto’s Secret Location and Touchpoint Films. Donaldson, a co-producer on Orphan Black, served as the series’ executive producer, while Cheesman wrote and starred.
The two struck up an immediate friendship, buoyed by the success Linda would quickly achieve, its first 10-episode season earning a Screenie nomination and awards at web fests including the U.K.’s Raindance, Miami and Vancouver. In the midst of the Linda frenzy – chronicled in part by The Globe and Mail via a column penned by the duo – they formed a production company.
The goal, says Donaldson, was to create a home for projects close to their hearts – no matter how out-of-the-box the idea (hence the name: aberrant).
“The monetary goals for the company are in five and 10-year plans – right now it’s to be a home for our goals and dreams,” she explains.
Testing the waters of their budding partnership, Cheesman and Donaldson created the award-winning short Cheese. The five-minute comedy screened at festivals including Cannes in 2014, secured distribution in Japan, will air on the CBC this September and has won awards including the Bite Best Comedy Award at the 2015 NSI Online Short Film Festival. The pair are also co-executive producing Boxing, a BravoFACT short screening at TIFF this year.
Kevin Saffer, executive producer and founder of Toronto-based Touchpoint, says multi-faceted talent like that already demonstrated by the duo is tough to find.
“They are both driven individuals that have the talent to back it up,” says Saffer, who has signed on to executive produce two more projects with the pair. “I think they’re only just beginning their journey, when you talk about filmmakers they are the poster children.”
Their fan base expanded even further this spring when they won one of three prizes in the AMP Accelerator pitch contest at the 2015 Banff World Media Festival. Presented by Shaftesbury and its digital division Smokebomb Entertainment, the contest offered content creators the chance for a development deal for a branded digital series powered by fan feedback. Aberrant took home the prize, meaning Cheesman and Donaldson have a five-episode development deal with Smokebomb and help seeking brand partners to produce a 36-episode season.
Cheesman said that process was a whirlwind for the pair and gave them the opportunity to test their partnership.
“In Banff it was a real test in trusting each other because we only had about two hours to practice the pitch,” she says. “We had to know that we would catch each other’s blind spots. If you’re in concert with one another, you do the work that needs to be done in as short a timeline as possible.”
“They are doers, not people who just talk about doing things,” Jay Bennett, VP of digital and creative director at Smokebomb, says. “Their [pitch] concept was very contemporary and niche. Although those sound like buzzwords, those are things we are trying to get with digital content. They understand television and digital, and how to tell a story for different platforms. A lot of people still pitch us TV shows for YouTube, and that’s not how it works, you need projects for each platform.”
It’s a strategy Aberrant apparently has no trouble heeding. The company’s web and shorts projects are now being extended to a low-budget feature with The Definites. The $75,000 drama shot in Miami earlier this year and will conclude in Toronto this winter. It is being financed privately.
And The Globe and Mail gig led to more than just exposure for Linda. It garnered the attention of author Susan Swan, who contacted them to help produce a feature version of her book The Western Light. Cheesman and Donaldson have reached out to their friend, fellow producer Lauren Grant of Clique Pictures, to help them develop the novel into a feature.
Cheesman and Donaldson attribute the momentum they have seen over the past two years back to the success of Linda, which became a calling card, and Cheese hitting the festival circuit around the same time.
“And then there’s luck, which is the ineffable thing,” says Cheesman. “And being two young women, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say people are interested and affording different points of views the chance to take the stage these days. That’s a lucky thing.”
After a year of accolades, Cheesman and Donaldson say the next twelve months will likely be quieter, as the pair goes underground to work on pipeline projects.
“It’s an interesting moment for the two of us, because I feel like we’re on a precipice looking over the edge, and it will be interesting to look back at this moment in a couple years’ time,” says Cheesman.
på grund af denne vidunderlige læsning !!! Jeg kunne bestemt virkelig godt lide hver eneste lille smule af det, og jeg
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and help others like you aided me.
Hi, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Opera, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, excellent blog!
také jsem si vás poznamenal, abych se podíval na nové věci na vašem blogu.|Hej! Vadilo by vám, kdybych sdílel váš blog s mým facebookem.
råb ud og sig, at jeg virkelig nyder at læse gennem dine blogindlæg.
This is very interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!
grupo do facebook? Há muitas pessoas que eu acho que iriam realmente
Conhecem algum método para ajudar a evitar que o conteúdo seja roubado? Agradecia imenso.
Esta página tem definitivamente toda a informação que eu queria sobre este assunto e não sabia a quem perguntar. Este é o meu primeiro comentário aqui, então eu só queria dar um rápido
Můžete mi doporučit nějaké další blogy / webové stránky / fóra, které se zabývají stejnými tématy?
Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed! Very useful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such info a lot. I was seeking this certain information for a very long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Tak skal du have!|Olá, creio que este é um excelente blogue. Tropecei nele;
Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the web the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
) Znovu ho navštívím, protože jsem si ho poznamenal. Peníze a svoboda je nejlepší způsob, jak se změnit, ať jste bohatí a
Kan du anbefale andre blogs / websteder / fora, der beskæftiger sig med de samme emner?
enten oprettet mig selv eller outsourcet, men det ser ud til
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this excellent blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this site with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
Znáte nějaké metody, které by pomohly omezit krádeže obsahu? Rozhodně bych ocenil
at web, except I know I am getting familiarity all the time by reading thes pleasant posts.|Fantastic post. I will also be handling some of these problems.|Hello, I think this is a great blog. I happened onto it;) I have bookmarked it and will check it out again. The best way to change is via wealth and independence. May you prosper and never stop mentoring others.|I was overjoyed to find this website. I must express my gratitude for your time because this was an amazing read! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I’ve bookmarked your blog so I can check out fresh content in the future.|Hi there! If I shared your blog with my Facebook group, would that be okay? I believe there are a lot of people who would truly value your article.|منشور رائع. سأتعامل مع بعض هذه|
ocenili váš obsah. Dejte mi prosím vědět.
Díky moc!|Hej, jeg synes, dette er en fremragende blog. Jeg snublede over det;
skupině? Je tu spousta lidí, o kterých si myslím, že by se opravdu
Díky moc!|Hej, jeg synes, dette er en fremragende blog. Jeg snublede over det;
) سأعيد زيارتها مرة أخرى لأنني قمت بوضع علامة كتاب عليها. المال والحرية هي أفضل طريقة للتغيير، أتمنى أن تكون غنيًا و
har også bogmærket dig for at se på nye ting på din blog Hej! Har du noget imod, hvis jeg deler din blog med min facebook
) سأعيد زيارتها مرة أخرى لأنني قمت بوضع علامة كتاب عليها. المال والحرية هي أفضل طريقة للتغيير، أتمنى أن تكون غنيًا و
díky tomuto nádhernému čtení! Rozhodně se mi líbil každý kousek z toho a já
Frank says the pursuit of a nicer house in a better school district and a better suit for a job interview are also relative needs.
Download and install MetaMask extension with this beginner guide. Securely set up MetaMask for Ethereum and Web3 applications.
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Many thanks!
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
Great article.
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.
If you want to get whatsapp Bulk sender For Free , Join our telegram Channel to get 1 year free license. in our channel there has many more premium tools for completely free.
I was recommended this website by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty. You’re amazing! Thanks!
Link exchange is nothing else however it is just placing the othher person’s weblog link on your page at appropriate
place annd other person will also do similar in favor of you. https://Menbehealth.wordpress.com
e dizer que gosto muito de ler os vossos blogues.
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
The goal is to assure that no worker experiences any health or functional impairment.
Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite
reason appeared to be on the web the easiest thing to bee aaare of.
I say to you, I cerftainly get irked while people think about worries that
they just do not know about. You managed tto hit the nail upon thhe top and also defined out the whole thing wiithout having side effect ,
people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get
more. Thanks https://Demo6.om-associates.in/employer/proficient-in-academic-writing/
Most of the time, individuals do not not consider hiring a lawyer, however once you rent them, you possibly can discover how they can make your life better.
Genuinely when someone doesn’t understand afterward its up to other visitors that they will assist, so here itoccurs.
|Tato stránka má rozhodně všechny informace, které jsem o tomto tématu chtěl a nevěděl jsem, koho se zeptat.|Dobrý den! Tohle je můj 1. komentář tady, takže jsem chtěl jen dát rychlý
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!
Introducing to you the most prestigious online entertainment address today. Visit now to experience now!
Your style is so unique compared to many other people. Thank you for publishing when you have the opportunity,Guess I will just make this bookmarked.2