Hidden Story Productions (HSP) helps people and organizations use documentary media as a tool to educate, engage and advocate on social issues. We partner with people to conceptualize their idea, research and investigate it, produce it and distribute it all within a given budget. What sets us apart is our understanding of the issues and how it fits into the larger context of the environment and humanity. Our aim is to cultivate the collective narrative to create a more compassionate and intelligent society.
CHRIS HSIUNG, President
Chris Hsiung is an engineer turned documentary filmmaker. The break from tradition began with a fateful encounter with Romeo Dallaire and the horrors of the Rwandan genocide. It led Chris to re-think his nine-year career in telecommunications software design. Hidden Story Productions was born out of a desire to learn more about the world and nurture a more compassionate, just and intelligent society. Documentary media was the right blend of the technical, creative, and intellectual.
Ever since the transition, Chris has not looked back. He was selected to be an Artist-in-Residence as part of the Calgary 2012 Cultural Capital selection. His first documentary short called The Spirit of Sport was about what six different amateur athletes have learned from their sport. He later directed a participative documentary short called Flood of Change about a group of Nepalese youth who are fighting for better water and sanitation. The film was selected for the Global Justice Film Festival.
Hsiung facilitated several documentary workshops for youth in schools, non-profit organizations and aboriginal reserves. His time spent on reserves ultimately led him to produce and direct his first feature-length documentary Elder in the Making, a film that premiered at the Calgary International Film Festival and won Best Feature Documentary in Alberta. Continuing his exploration of Indigenous culture in Alberta, Chris spent two more years as Executive Producer for over 30 short documentary films and a spectacular 360 projection currently exhibiting at the new Royal Alberta Museum.
Chris has produced several documentaries for broadcast on CBC and continues to produce stories for education and social advocacy purposes. Hsiung is a longtime Technical Director for TEDxCalgary, and also sits on the board of the Human Venture Institute, a research organization studying the successes and failure of humanity.
MARTINA PAVLOUSKOVA
After studying film and media Martina worked in radio, newspaper and on national television in the Czech Republic. She left for the film scene in Calgary and joined Hidden Story Productions as a production manager. Martina finds joy collaborating with other local filmmakers especially with women, Indigenous, LGBTQA, and new immigrant communities.
ASSOCIATES
Hidden Story Productions recognizes that important stories come in all sizes and shapes. Each project deserves the right team. From multiple units for a large museum production to a two-person crew for a remote documentary, Hidden Story works with a network of associates to deliver the project. Here are some people we’ve consistently worked with over the years.
Aaron is a multi award winning cinematographer whose awards include: Best Cinematographer-Drama under 30 minutes at the AMPIA’s (Alberta Media Production Industries Association) for” Dear Kate” (2017) and again for “Hello World” (2015), Aaron has also snagged back-to-back AMPIA’s for Best Music Video with Petunia’s “Mercy” (2016) and Hello Moth’s “A Song about Transience” (2017). He has been recognized with a Best Cinematography – Feature Film at the Mumbai International Women’s Film Festival for this work on “Three Colors and Canvas” as well as Best Cinematography – Short Film at the Red Dirt International Film Festival on “Consolation Prize”. Check out his work at https://www.aaronbernakevitch.com and https://4kfilmproduction.com.
Aaron Bernakevitch
aAron munson is a Canadian multimedia artist, filmmaker and cinematographer. His work has taken him from his personal studio, to war zones, high-Arctic weather stations, reindeer nomad camps in Siberia, and the Arabian Desert. aAron’s projects tackle extreme human experiences, in documentary and dramatic form. See his work at https://www.aaronmunson.com/
aAron Munson
Danny Cox is a cinematographer, adventurer and recovering mechanical engineer. Concerned with social and environmental issues, Danny defected from cubicle life 12 years ago to pursue filmmaking as a tool for positive change. He likes anything outdoors and photogenic, and all else equal is happiest when hanging out with mountain goats. His work steeps in stories of land, wildlife and wildpeople and seeks to inoculate the masses with the radness.
Danny Cox
Dewi is an award winning music composer, producer & recording artist with extensive experience delivering quality creative audio: music, sound design & voice recordings for the; film, television, commercial, digital, interactive, theatrical, live performance, and event industries. He has a lifetime of experience working with visionary traditional and digital advertising creative, as well as performing organizations, artists and special event producers.
Dewi Wood
Rio is a documentary artist and mountaineer who’s life, love and work often stay close to the great Continental Divide – straddling the glaciers, mountains, drainages and stories of Alberta and BC. Her work explores land-based relations; stories of people which may overlap to tell the story of a Place. Coming from a background of directing documentary theatre and community-gatherings, Fox Chaser is Rio’s directorial debut in documentary film.