Meet the Team

DENNIS JACKSON
DIRECTOR/CO- WRITER

Dennis Jackson began his career in elementary school watching 16mm prints of animation on aboriginal creation tales. Mr. Jackson remembers sitting at the back of the class with the projector as the teacher explained the process of animation with the individual frames.

Since this introduction, he has excelled in writing stories about his Cree ancestry with the help of his mother and grandparents.

Mr. Jackson went on to volunteer through the local Saskatoon cable channel and produced a 13 part series entitled, “Voices of Aboriginal Youth,” that was nominated for Best Community Programming at the 1993 Showcase Awards.

In 1998 Mr. Jackson attained his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Film and Video Production at the University of Regina. Upon graduating, Mr. Jackson founded, Dark Thunder Productions (DTP). The company’s first project, “Journey Through Fear,” won the Telefilm Canada/TVNC Award, presented at the 1998 Banff Television Festival.

Mr. Jackson then went onto write, produce and direct a one hour stop-motion animated special entitled, “Christmas at Wapos Bay”, which premiered as an Official Selection of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The film went on to win the Best of Saskatchewan and Best Children’s Program at the 2002 Golden Sheaf Awards.

Dennis is a graduate of NSI Totally Television (2002-03), the NSI Aboriginal Cultural Trade Initiative (2004) and Featuring Aboriginal Stories Program (2009).

Drawing from this success the company continued to produce stop-motion children’s animation with Wapos Bay – The Series. The animated series has since garnered thirteen Gemini nominations in its thirty-four episode run. The pilot episode, “There’s No ‘I’ in Hockey”, won the 2006 Gemini Canada Award. The series also won the 2007 Gemini Award for Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series and the 2008 Gemini Award for Best Ensemble in a Children’s Program or Series, as well as the 2007 CAB Gold Ribbon Award for Best Aboriginal Program.

Dennis has since received Gemini nominations for both his writing and directing of Wapos Bay. This children’s animated series has received four Gemini awards of excellence. He has proudly received the 2009 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for the Arts. Mr. Jackson has also proudly received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Regina in 2015.

Dennis continues to write stories drawing inspiration from his Mushom (grandfather), who had hunted and trapped for his own twenty-two children in the north. Currently, Dennis has developed an exciting new stop-motion children’s series inspired by his grand daughter, Cherish, aimed at getting indigenous girls inspired about astronomy entitled Twin Witts and a preschool animated series Chums, about a group of young friends learning about Turtle Island through traditional stories and helping each other.

ERIC JACKSON
PRODUCER/SCREENWRITER

My objective as an artist is to consistently create high-quality content for young audiences both locally and globally.

I aim to explore new mediums that are shaping the industry and incorporate them into my storytelling. I am committed to learning from my mentors and collaborating with colleagues in the dynamic work environment that surrounds me.

LESLEA MAIR
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Leslea Mair is a writer, director and producer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With a background in theatre and experimental film, Leslea has applied her love of narrative to writing and producing award-winning documentaries and series.

She has written, produced, and directed documentaries in the genres of science, current affairs, social/political issues, POV and feature documentary. Subjects range from Shaolin monks to killer robots, preachers who don’t believe in god, archaeology and the effects of human activity on the environment.

She has also produced three seasons of the lifestyle series The Prairie Diner, a celebration of food and culture on the Canadian prairies, the science fiction web series, Nikola Tesla and the End of the World, and a 3D animated series for preschoolers, CHUMS.

Zoot Pictures’ creative team have originated and produced shows for a wide variety of Canadian broadcasters including CBC’s Doc Zone, CBC The Nature of Things, Documentary Channel, History Channel, Global, Vision TV, APTN, TVO and Knowledge Network as well as ARTE France, SBS Australia and PBS NOVA.