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Michael Chechik has been an independent producer and director of television since 1975. He is currently producing several one hour documentaries about the grizzly bears of Northern Canada and serves as an executive producer of the documentary series Jade Fever for Discovery and Wild Bear Rescue for Animal Planet. Previously, Michael executive produced six seasons of the popular documentary series Ice Pilots NWT for History; three seasons of the CBC flagship drama series Arctic Air; and Primeval: New World, the North American spin-off of the UK hit drama series Primeval, for Space; as well as five seasons of the acclaimed wildlife series Champions of the Wild. Michael was also one of the executive producers on Defying Gravity, a 13-part drama set in space and produced with Fox Television Studios for ABC, CTV, Space, BBC, and ProSieben. Michael’s four-hour miniseries Dragon Boys, a CBC drama about Asian criminal gangs, was the recipient of two Gemini Awards: Best Dramatic Mini-Series and Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series. His work also includes the popular 65-episode syndicated teen drama Edgemont that ran for five seasons on CBC, aired on ABC Family Channel and Starz Encore in the US, Channel 5 in the UK and many networks worldwide. He executive produced the children’s television series The Odyssey, which broadcasted in over 60 countries and was the recipient of numerous awards, including an International Emmy Award nomination and a Gemini Award for Best Youth Program in Canada.

Gabriela Schonbach is a Partner and Executive Producer at Omnifilm Entertainment, where she oversees factual development and production as well as co-manages drama and distribution. Gabriela has experience producing factual, comedy and drama series. She is currently executive producing the seventh season of Jade Fever for Discovery Canada, as well as the one-hour documentary Dinosaur Cold Case for CBC’s The Nature of Things and Smithsonian Channel. She executive produced six seasons of the hit factual series Ice Pilots NWT for History Canada, now available on Netflix and in over 60 countries worldwide, and three seasons of Wild Bear Rescue for Animal Planet Canada and US. She was an EP on three seasons of the CBC drama Arctic Air, featuring Adam Beach, and on Primeval: New World, a 13 x 60 sci-fi drama series for SPACE, SyFy, UKTV and ProSieben. Gabriela has produced, written and/or directed many hours of broadcast programming including Stuntdawgs, a Gemini Award-winning action/factual series for Movie Central and The Movie Network; Alice, I Think, a prime-time comedy series for CTV and The Comedy Network and Namaste, a groundbreaking yoga series for Discovery Health. She began her career working in photojournalism in Washington, D.C. after graduating with a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Brian Hamilton has executive produced more than 60 television projects in both scripted and non-scripted genres, representing over 350 hours of broadcast programming since he joined Omnifilm Entertainment in 1994. Brian is responsible for Omnifilm’s scripted programming slate including kids & family live-action content. In the kids & family genre, Brian is currently an Executive Producer on Season 2 of Gabby Duran & the Unsittables, which is currently the top rated show on Disney Channel. Additionally in the live-action kids space in 2018/2019, Brian executive produced Season 1 of Fast Layne for Disney Channel, 2 seasons of MECH-X4 for Disney XD, and feature film Kim Possible also for Disney Channel. Recent primetime scripted series which Brian executive produced include: The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco for Britbox, ITV, CITY-TV and Netflix, Primeval: New World for Space, ProSeiben and UKTV; CBC’s Arctic Air; Defying Gravity, for CTV, BBC, ProSeiben, and ABC, Robson Arms for CTV and Make Some Noise for CBC, which won the Gemini for Best Youth Non-Fiction series, as well as the Shaw Rocket Prize and the Japan Prize for Youth Programming. Brian is the founding Chair of the Pacific Screenwriting Program, and a past Chair of the BC Branch of the Canadian Media Production Association. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of CMPA’s National Board. Brian holds a First Class Honours Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and received his television training from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Amanda Giannakos is driving Omnifilm’s evolution into digital media, with a particular focus on developing its premium yoga lifestyle brand Namaste TV. With her background in marketing, production, and law, Amanda is uniquely suited to both the business and creative aspects of her role in crafting partnerships with emerging digital talent and platforms. Amanda also oversees the design and management of brand assets, as well as all marketing and publicity initiatives. Amanda received her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia, and lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Brendan joined Omnifilm Post in 2012, bringing more than 20 years of audio and video post production management experience to his role as Director of Post Production. Between creating Post workflows, managing projects, tech support, and R&D, he enjoys diving deep into the 4K and beyond Post abyss. Brendan ensures great experiences for clients and employees, delivered with a smile.

Cathy Schoch is responsible for administrating and coordinating all financing and legal documentation for Omnifilm’s slate of projects, past and present, from optioning to distribution and exploitation. She is the point of contact for broadcasters, distributors and funders to close financing for all Omnifilm projects. Cathy also handles closing talent agreements, liaising with unions as well as all corporate and affiliate legal affairs. Cathy came to Omnifilm in 2011 after having worked in the Vancouver animation community for more than 20 years as an artist, producer, and production executive on more than 25 animated film and television programs. After an additional two years as an independent consultant and three years at Telefilm Canada as an investment analyst for feature films, Cathy has joined the Production and Business Affairs department at Omnifilm.

Ciara has over 15 years of experience across every area of unscripted television production. Having started with Ireland’s public service broadcaster, in kids’ television, she cut her producer chops in London, specialising in unscripted casting and location production. She’s worked on a number of international, award-winning formats, such as Gogglebox, Dancing With the Stars and First Dates. Before leaving Ireland in 2019, she had her first showrunner credit, managing a follow-doc series. But her real passion is development; in particular lightly formatted feel-good shows.

David Gullason is a show runner, producer, and executive producer with over 20 years of experience in television. His projects with Omnifilm include creating and running six seasons of Ice Pilots NWT (History), two seasons of Pyros (Discovery Canada), one season of Stuntdawgs (Movie Network) and, currently, the seventh season of Jade Fever (Discovery Canada) and third season of Wild Bear Rescue (Animal Planet). All were either nominated for or won Canadian Screen Awards or Gemini Awards. David also created and produced System Crash (Access/Smithsonian). David’s other TV projects were mostly with Alliance Atlantis FACT and Great North Pacific, including four seasons of Storm Warning (Discovery US), Cinema Secrets (AMC), Icebound (History/S4C), Blind Hope (Discovery Health US), Space Medicine (Discovery Health US), and Wild at Heart (Knowledge).

Eli Sullivan is responsible for all corporate and production finances, accounting and taxes, as well as operations and HR. He has been involved in such hit series as Ice Pilots NWT for History and CBC’s flagship drama series Arctic Air. A CPA and CMA with 17 years of entertainment industry experience, Eli was a corporate controller for Network Entertainment prior to joining Omnifilm.

Elizabeth’s role encompasses many areas of responsibility, including creative development, overseeing current productions, talent scouting and company promotion. Much of her focus is on identifying potential producing partners and buyers abroad, particularly in the UK where she retains strong relationships. In development, Elizabeth sees projects through from initial conception, pulls together the strongest and most suitable talent, and works closely with talent to nurture the material and pitch to its full potential. During production, she is a key part of managing and reviewing each creative stage and other core production aspects. As a Media Arts graduate of Royal Holloway University of London, Elizabeth was given her break by acclaimed UK producer Claire Lewis, researching on development projects and the award winning Up series for ITV documentaries. Elizabeth then progressed to freelancing for various companies, including the BBC and Channel 4, where she held roles such as Researcher, Script Editor and Assistant Production Coordinator. Shows she has worked on prior to Omnifilm include BAFTA Award winning series, In the Flesh, Run and Jimmy McGovern’s Accused.

Nicole Shizuka Oguchi brings more than two decades of experience to the Omnifilm team, having fulfilled roles across the spectrum of physical production since launching her career in film in 1997. Nicole’s first producer credit came with her award-winning thesis 35mm film, Road Movie… Working Title which was successfully sold to CBC in collaboration with her co-producers. She has since worked as a production supervisor/coordinator on some of Vancouver’s most high-profile feature projects including Steven Spielberg’s The BFG and Tim Burton’s Big Eyes. Today, Nicole is a seasoned film and television Unit Production Manager/Line Producer, most recently wrapped on Family Law Season 3 in September 2022. Nicole is a Vancouver native, and a graduate of the Post Baccalaureate Film Program at the University of British Columbia (BA – English/Psychology, 1995). 

Phil Klapwyk is known in Vancouver’s film & television production community for his leadership at IATSE 891 for the past seven years. From his start in large-scale live theatre and corporate events in the early 90’s, Phil quickly transitioned to BC’s growing film and television industry and in the ensuing years worked on feature films, television series, commercials, MOWs, and corporate events, often as a Head Lighting Technician (Gaffer), and in every supporting role within the department. His reputation for technical expertise, logistical acumen, and cooperative people skills inspired the members of IATSE Local 891 to elect him as their Business Representative in 2015, where he led collective bargaining on behalf of its members, and contributed to many industry committees to ensure strong relationships across industry, government and community stakeholders. Phil has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications, and a Master of Arts in Theatre from the University of Missouri.