Our Team
director
Anna Cooley
Anna Cooley seeks out projects with fascinating characters and a strong message. Besides Garden Shark, her recent work includes; director and producer of the short queer sketch comedy Gender? I Hardly Know Them, director of the documentary series Le Côté Sombre de L’Aide Sociale and director of Marlene VR.
Anna has worked in the film industry in many capacities, including cinematographer, production designer, producer and writer. Her cinematography work can be seen in Clebs, a short documentary and winner of the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film at the 2020 Berlinale.
Anna is an alumnus of the Women in the Director’s Chair Story and Leadership Program and the Academy Directors program for Women. And she’s currently writing on the web series Sophie the Exorcist.
producer
Dawn Nagazina
As an emerging Métis filmmaker, Dawn’s innate curiosity draws her to places of vulnerability where her mission is to build empathy and inspire authenticity.
Beyond her work on Garden Shark, Dawn has also recently lent her talents to co-produce the COVID-19 inspired short film Rerouted, and writing, directing, producing and acting in Sixty Simple Seconds, a 1-minute film anthology series.
She was chosen as a writer and director for the 2020 Herland Mentorship Program for her short narrative film, The Superlative, and she is currently studying acting at the LA-based Zak Barnett Studios.
Before pursuing film, Dawn worked in the Alberta energy industry as a professional engineer. She leverages her past experience and detail-oriented nature to create passionately-engineered productions.
editor & composer
Chad Blain
Chad is an audio nerd that searches out projects that capture the triumphs and tragedies of the human spirit. He loves collaborating in theatre and film as a composer, sound designer, editor and producer.
He started volunteering soundscapes at the Loose Moose Theatre which quickly snowballed into professional theatre, television and film. His work has been broadcast on CTV, CBC and commercial spots on Sportsnet.
For the big screen, his feature length docs have travelled to CIFF, BMFF & WFF garnering 3 nominations at the AMPIAs and was awarded Best Score for Innaihtsiiyisinnii in 2019 (Stingers).
Chad is a member of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada and volunteers on the board of the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers.
cinematographer
Kara Artym
Kara Artym is a cinematographer and filmmaker from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology's Film and Video program with Honours in 2010, and has been working in the local film and video industry ever since.
Her career started in the local corporate and commercial sector, and has since evolved to include work on short films, web series, music videos, documentaries and feature films. She is passionate about working on content that can invoke social change and to question the status quo. Her work with non-profit organisations have taken her across the world, and is a core component of her work in Calgary.
Capturing the world through the lens of a camera has always been her preferred method of storytelling, and her adventurous spirit is a complementary trait for her creative exploits.
location sound mixer
Alex Mitchell
Alex Mitchell is a multidisciplinary filmmaker based out of Calgary, Alberta. In addition to producing his own content, he is also a member of both IATSE Local 212 and 669 as a location sound mixer and digital image technician, respectively.
He has been repeatedly recognized by the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association for his work, and his credits as a technician include international ad campaigns, prestige television series, and independent passion projects.
Off set, he participates in the administration of several non-profit arts organizations and currently assists both the Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society and the Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers. His company, DCPi Film Services, has served the Canadian screen industries for over a decade and he looks forward to continuing that support for years to come.
animator
Locke Vincent
My name is Locke and I am a videographer who loves to tell stories. I capture visuals and sounds of people and places with my camera and turn them into films that other people can relate to.
Stories are what connect us, and I find everyone has a story to share. I try to use my talents to capture these stories and show them off in a way that gets people to listen. Over the past several years I have aligned my work with my world view of trying to change the world for the better. This has had me working on more documentary style films to spark change in the way people think.