Our Team
IAN TOEWS csc
Director, Writer, Producer, DOP (Seasons 1-5)
Ian Toews has been making films and television series since 1996. His works are primarily concerned with the natural environment. He is the producer, director, and DOP of more than 100 television episodes, 7 short films, and 8 full-length documentaries, including the Gemini Award-winning series Landscape as Muse and the Canadian Screen Award-nominated theatrical feature and digital media project Bugs on the Menu. His productions have been nominated for 10 Gemini/Canadian Screen Awards (Etthén Heldeli: Caribou Eaters; Untamed Gourmet; Saskatchewan River Delta), including a 2024 CSA nomination for Ageless Gardens (Rob Stewart Award for Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series). The second season of his series Visionary Gardeners premiered in Canada on VisionTV in 2024.
Toews is a producer on the international co-production Soviet Bus Stops, a documentary feature that premiered to sell-out audiences at the Vancouver International Film Festival and has screened internationally at CPH:DOX, Docville, and Millennium Docs Against Gravity, among others. It was nominated for a 2024 Danish Academy Award (“The Robert Prisen”).
MARK BRADLEY
Producer, Writer, Picture Editor (Seasons 1-5)
Canadian Screen Award-nominated producer Mark Bradley has worked in the television industry for over 27 years. He has produced award-winning broadcast television series and one-off arts and nature documentaries for major Canadian broadcasters. Projects have included the Gemini Award-winning Landscape as Muse, Grasslands, The Nature of Inspiration, Great Minds of Design, and the Leo Award-winning series Visionary Gardeners. He has been nominated for five Leo Awards as producer and editor. His productions have been nominated for seven Canadian Screen Awards (Bugs on the Menu; Untamed Gourmet; Etthén Heldeli: Caribou Eaters), including a 2024 CSA nomination for Ageless Gardens Season 4 (Rob Stewart Award for Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series).
MARJORIE HARRIS
Writer (Seasons 4-5)
Marjorie Harris is one of Canada’s leading garden writers. She was the gardening columnist for Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail; makes speeches across the country; and was the Editor-at-Large of Gardening Life magazine. She has been an editor at Chatelaine and Maclean’s; has run a plant consulting business; and has written 15 gardening books. She currently lives in Toronto.
AMY WALKER
Co-Creator, Writer, Researcher (Seasons 4-5)
Amy Walker has been a long-time contributor to concept and story development at 291 Film Company. She has a professional background in software engineering with multiple years focused on implementing a large-scale government software project. She just recently completed a 9-year term as a home school educator to her son, in which she incorporated frequent travel into his curriculum. Her beliefs around respect for elder wisdom plus health and food security in urban communities continue to inform her work. She holds a BCS from the Engineering Department at the University of Melbourne.
DAVID SPRINGBETT
Co-Creator, Producer, Researcher (Season 1)
David brings decades of documentary experience (and gardening know-how!) to the series Ageless Gardens Season 1. David's company Asterisk produced the series Ways We Live: Exploring Community, Reinventing the World, and Finding the Future, followed by the award-winning The Man We Called Juan Carlos and Hell: A Survivor’s Guide.
CAROLYN THOMAS
Narrator (Seasons 1-5)
After surviving a heart attack in her 50s, Carolyn Thomas has spoken to thousands of women (and a few men!) at her "Heart-Smart Women" presentations. Her Heart Sisters blog has had over 17 million views from 190 countries, and her book "A Woman's Guide to Living with Heart Disease" was published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Carolyn lives in Victoria, BC where she gardens on her tiny but beautiful balcony, ably assisted by her young granddaughter.
AMANDA CAWLEY
Original Score (Seasons 1-4)
Theme Composer (Seasons 1-5)
Amanda Cawley is an award-winning orchestral composer known for crafting fantastical themes for film, TV, and video games. Her portfolio includes a variety of media including over 85 episodes of the globally distributed animated TV series Fireman Sam and 20 episodes of the documentary series Ageless Gardens, for which she received nominations for Best Original Music, Non-Fiction at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards and at the Canadian Screen Music Awards. She has been nominated for six Leo Awards in the categories of Best Musical Score in Documentary Series, and Best Musical Score in Short Drama, winning a Leo Award in 2022 for Visionary Gardeners Season 1. Amanda was recognized by the SOCAN Foundation with two Emerging Screen Composer Awards in 2022 for Best Original Score, Non-Fiction (Ageless Gardens) and Best Original Theme (Visionary Gardeners). She has a classical education in music from the University of Victoria, and a contemporary education in composition from Selkirk College. She holds a diploma in Contemporary Music and Technology as well as a Film and Game Scoring Certificate of Excellence from the Screen Composer Academy.
Jacqueline Perriam & Erik Abbink
Original Score (Season 5)
Jacqueline Perriam and Erik Abbink, a dynamic film composing duo, create musical scores for feature-length films that are broadcast and streamed across Europe and North America on networks such as Paramount+, Lifetime, UpTV, W Network, and the UK’s Channel 5. Their portfolio covers a diverse range of genres, from documentaries and romantic comedies, to Christmas films and thrillers. They have produced music for clients like Reel One Entertainment, Larry Levinson Productions, and 291 Film Company. Jacqueline and Erik were honoured to receive a Leo Award in 2022 for Best Musical Score in the Documentary Series for their work on Visionary Gardeners, Season 1.
DAVID J. TAYLOR
Audio Post Production, Sound Designer, Re-Recording Mixer (Seasons 1-4)
David j. Taylor is a highly respected record producer/mastering engineer and mixer. He's the 2007 Western Canadian Music Awards "Producer of the Year" award winner and multiple WCMA nominee with over 120 album credits. David is also dynamic audio post professional. He’s a Gemini Award nominated re-recording mixer and dialogue editor (Saskatchewan River Delta). He’s also worked as a music supervisor and foley recordist on Corner Gas, The Nature of Things, and Wild Life (2012 Academy Award "Best Animated Short Film" nominee).
CARY CIESIELSKI
Sound Design (Season 5)
Cary Ciesielski has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Video Production, and a Broadcast Certificate in Radio Production. He has won many awards and nominations as a producer, director, sound designer, composer, editor and sound recordist. Cary has been working with Twisted Pair since 1997, in which time he has co-created national documentary series with international sales, directed national and provincial television campaigns, created industry leading corporate, safety, and training videos, and designed world-class nature soundscapes.
JASON NIELSEN
Picture Editor (Seasons 1-2)
Jason Nielsen is a versatile and experienced visual storyteller who edits multi-genre MOWs, scripted series, and documentaries for international broadcast. Jason was honoured with a Gemini Award Nomination for Best Editing (Dramatic) in 2004 and is the recipient of various Directors Guild of Canada Awards. Jason is proud to have his work in the collections of The National Gallery of Canada and The National Archives in Ottawa.
JASON BRITSKI
Online Editor, Digital Compositing, Trailer Editor (Seasons 1-5)
Jason Britski is an independent filmmaker. His films and videos have been screened around the world at such film festivals as Toronto International, Rotterdam International, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Hamburg International Short, Revelation Perth International in Australia, Tampere International in Finland, and Cork International in Ireland. His work has screened in forty-three countries. Over the course of his career Jason has made numerous experimental films, documentary TV episodes for broadcast, and two feature length documentaries. He edited the 2020 Canadian Screen Award-nominated (Best Documentary Program) Etthén Heldeli: Caribou Eaters and the international co-production Soviet Bus Stops, which was nominated for a Danish Academy Award. Jason has worked in the industry as a producer, director, videographer, sound recordist, sound editor, but primarily as a picture editor.