POPE PRODUCTIONS

Pope Productions is a St. John's based film and television production company founded by the late Paul Pope (1958-2022). We are now led by Paul’s wife and business partner, Lisa Porter.

Our hit tv series Hudson & Rex (CityTV) is currently in its 6th season. Hudson & Rex has been sold to more than 100 territories, including The U.K., Ireland (UKTV). Italy (RAI), Germany (TNT Serie), France (Mediawan/France Televisions), the Netherlands (CLT UFA), Eastern Europe and Africa (NBC Universal), as well as Latin America (Telemundo, Belleville Group, Channel 12).

Our most recent movie was CBC’s A Christmas Fury, (2017) featuring an all-star comedy cast that included Mary Walsh, Sue Kent, Johnny Harris, Joel Hynes and Shaun Majumder. Hunting Pignut (2016) was nominated for a CSA Award for Best Original Song, and Beat Down (2012) was festival favourite. Grown Up Movie Star (2009) competed in the World Cinema category at the Sundance Film Festival, where it also scored a prestigious Special Jury Prize for a Breakout Performance for Tatiana Maslany. Roger Ebert hailed the quirky comedy Rare Birds (2002), starring William Hurt, as "a sweetheart of a film" and chose it as his DVD pick of the week. It also scored 4 DGC Awards.

Our doc series Heavy Weather Presents aired nationally on CBC. The TV comedy Drunk and on Drugs: The Happy Funtime Hour (2012), with Mike Smith, J.P. Tremblay and Robb Wells, won a CSA for Best Cross Platform Project in Fiction. The TV mini Above and Beyond (2006), featuring Richard E. Grant and Allan Hawco, picked up three DGC awards, a Gemini and a Canadian Screenwriter Award and has sold around the world.

LISA PORTER

Lisa Porter is President of Pope Productions and Executive Producer of Hudson & Rex. She has worked in the film and television industry in many capacities including producing, directing, screenwriting, acting and casting. She won a WGC Canadian Screenwriting Award for the dramatic television miniseries Above and Beyond. Lisa is also a multidisciplinary artist who works in live performance and media arts. She has made a significant contribution to contemporary dance not only as an artist, but also as a curator with Neighbourhood Dance Works, where she worked with the long running Festival of New Dance. Lisa owns Ochre House Retreat, a converted church that hosts creative arts retreats and the popular book festival, Ochre Fest.

PAUL POPE

Paul Pope (1958-2022) was a dynamic force in the Canadian film industry, having produced or worked on hundreds of films. A founding member of the Newfoundland Filmmakers Cooperative (NIFCO), where he served as president for over twenty years, he was instrumental in the development of a vibrant production industry in Newfoundland. A generous mentor, he was a passionate voice for independent production at a national level with a long-standing tradition of supporting Canadian artists and ensuring that Canadian stories are brought to the screen. Paul served as a board member on the Canadian Media Producers Association, Resource Centre for the Arts, NIFCO and was Vice-Chair of the Canadian Media Fund. In addition to his awards and nominations for his projects with Pope Productions, he also received the Arts Achievement Award from ArtsNL, the Douglas James Dales Industry Builder Award, the Legend Award from the City of St. John’s, and an honorary Doctorate from Memorial University. Paul received a BAA in Film and Photography from Ryerson. Shortly before he passed away in 2022, Paul’s goal of a Film and Television School in Newfoundland was announced by the College of the North Atlantic.