London, Eng.-based director Chris Bould loves working in Canada. He first visited this country two years ago when actor Stephen McHattie recommended him as a guest director on Emily of New Moon, and he is currently in Halifax shooting his fifth episode of Lexx for Salter Street Films.

Bould, who is nominated for best direction in a dramatic series for an episode of Emily, is so eager to do more work in Canada that he will be applying for landed immigrant status, making him eligible to join Canadian productions rather than just coproductions.

‘What I found working with the cast and crew of both Emily and Lexx is that they have a very similar sensibility to the English,’ says Bould. ‘What I mean by that is they have a love of irony and banter, which I really enjoy. And they have a love of the film industry which is not tainted by cynicism – there is a youthfulness about it which I love.’

Bould started his career in England as a comedy director, working on the highly successful improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway? In 1994, he directed a documentary for a&e called The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing and We Dance. Bould later shifted his focus to drama with the acclaimed 1995 children’s film My Name Is Joe, an English/Irish/German coproduction shot in Germany.

Joining an established tv series like Lexx has provided Bould with a surprising amount of creative flexibility. ‘With Lexx, I got a bit more freedom than otherwise because I worked on it for awhile and became part of the fraternity of the show,’ he says. Over the course of the shoot, Bould collaborated with executive producer Paul Donovan, who gave him the opportunity to contribute to the scripting process.

It is unlikely that Bould will relocate to Canada full-time, but he is currently discussing possible projects with producers in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

Louise Cameron