KEY CREATIVES
MATHEW EMBRY
DIRECTOR
Mathew Embry is one of the most prolific producer/directors in Canada. They have produced and directed non-fiction programs for CBC, Global, CTV, HBO Canada, PBS, Animal Planet, OLN and Telefilm.
Mathew recently premiered the Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection Living Proof, which went on to screen theatrically in 15 North American cities. They also recently delivered to Rogers a four-part documentary mini-series about hockey’s impact on first generation Canadians and, for CBC, Hell or High Water — a behind-the-scenes account of how Calgary overcame a catastrophic flood.
Mathew’s first feature, Theo Fleury: Playing With Fire, screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
AWARDS & FESTIVALS
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Official Selection — Living Proof
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
Official Selection — Theo Fleury: Playing With Fire
Gemini Awards
Best TV Movie Nominee — In a World Created By a Drunken God
CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS
Best Web Program or Series, Non-Fiction — The Former Life of Amber Valley
Calgary International Film Festival
Audience Favourite Winner — Living Proof
Official Selection — Theo Fleury: Playing With Fire
Official Selection — In a World Created By a Drunken God
ALBERTA FILM AND TELEVISION AWARDS
Best Documentary — Living Proof
Best Short — The Former Life of Amber Valley
Best Information Or Lifestyle Series — Why I Love
New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards
Biography, Bronze World Medal — Theo Fleury: Playing With Fire
SEDONA International Film Festival
Official Selection — Living Proof
Audience Choice — Living Proof
Director’s Choice — Living Proof
SELECT DIRECTING & PRODUCING CREDITS
GLOBAL WARNING
Super Channel 1 x 97 min
PAINKILLER: INSIDE THE OPIOID CRISIS
Documentary Short 1 x 40 min
LIVING PROOF
Feature Documentary 1 x 88 min
HOCKEY UNITED
OMNI 4 x 60 min
HELL OR HIGH WATER
CBC 1 x 60 min
TELUS ORIGINALS
TELUS Optik 240 x 30 min
LET’S TALK ENGLISH
OMNI 120 x 30 min
THEO FLEURY: PLAYING WITH FIRE
HBO Canada | Theatrical 1 x 80 min
@NENSHI4MAYOR
OMNI 1 x 60 min
JANN ARDEN: FREE
CTV | Bravo 1 x 60 min
WILD HORSES OF THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
Animal Planet 1 x 60 min
THE TRIBUTE SERIES
PBS 4 x 60 min
HOLLY DUPEJ
PRODUCER
Holly Dupej is VP of production at Spotlight, overseeing crews and post-production teams in multiple markets as well as story editing our ground-breaking 4K digital doc series TELUS Originals.
She recently produced and co-wrote the short Painkiller: Inside the Opioid Crisis, which has screened across the country and amassed more than 1 million views on YouTube.
Holly is now in production on Dark Cloud, examining cyberbullying through the experience of Carol Todd, the B.C. woman whose daughter Amanda became a tragic face of the crisis after her suicide in 2012.
Holly also line produced and wrote the long-running series Let’s Talk English and Good Taste for Rogers.
RAVINDER MINHAS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Ravinder Minhas is the executive producer of all Spotlight Productions projects.
Ravinder’s credits include the feature documentary Living Proof (an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival), the award-winning documentary series TELUS Originals; CBC’s Hell or High Water, and Hockey United and Let’s Talk English for Rogers.
Most recently, he was an associate producer of Global Warning, an expansive Super Channel documentary examining Canada’s options for energy in a world concerned by climate change.
MELINDA FRIEDMAN
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Leo Award-nominee Melinda Friedman has created, produced and directed over 300 short format (under 5 min. and 15-30 min.) documentaries of all varieties. Her work has screened at film festivals in Canada, Germany and the UK.
Originally from NYC, Melinda moved to Vancouver to attend film school and spent the next 15 years climbing up the editorial department ladder, from an apprentice on Jumanjito lead editor on the feature film Air Bud: Golden Receiverand episodes of Wings Over Canada, The New Addams Familyand These Arms of Mine.
JYOTI AULUCK
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Jyoti Auluck oversees corporate administration and business affairs
at Spotlight, in addition to coordinating
production management of the company’s numerous projects.
Her credits include the Toronto International Film Festival selection Living Proof, CBC’s Hell or High Water, and Hockey United and Let’s Talk English for Rogers.
Jyoti holds a diploma in Business Administration from the Southern
Alberta Institute of Technology.
LINDSAY MELI
RESEARCH PRODUCER
Lindsay Meli has spent nearly a decade in non-fiction programming, working everywhere from Hollywood red carpets to crime scene recreations. She was a producer on the hit REELZ series Sex, Lies & Murder, produced web content for the Cooking Channel’s food travelogue Best in Chow and created Styleography for Corus.
Lindsay has also been a showrunner, writer, director, field producer and on-camera contributor to dozens of projects — including, most recently, senior writer and producer of Bell Media’s long-running series Celebrity Style Story.
MANJIT MINHAS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Now known across the country as a lead on the hit CBC reality series Dragons’ Den, Manjit Minhas also has numerous off-camera television credits to her name.
Behind the scenes, executive producer Manjit Minhas is a specialist in logistics and sourcing. Manjit helps oversee various Spotlight Productions projects ranging from documentaries to commercials to corporate videos.