Shawn Williamson
Co-Chairman, Brightlight Pictures
With over 25 years of entertainment, Shawn Williamson has risen to the forefront of the Canadian film and television industry as a leading independent film and television producer. A native of Vancouver, Shawn began his career as a stage manager in live theatre in 1983 and has since produced live events, live television, television series, television movies as well as feature films. In 2001, Shawn combined his film production expertise with the talents of independent producer Stephen Hegyes to form Brightlight Pictures Inc.
Shawn has filmed in many international destinations including Croatia, Romania, Ireland, Singapore, France, England, South Africa and Australia. Fifty Dead Men Walking (Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess), a Canada/UK co-production with Future Films and Handmade Films was shot in Belfast and had a Gala Premiere spot at the 2008 Toronto International Film. The TV series Stormworld, a Canadian/Australian co-production filmed in Australia, Singapore and Canada is currently airing on CTV␣␣ Space Channel and The Nine Network in Australia.
Shawn executive produced Frankie and Alice (starring Halle Berry, Stellan Skarsgard) along with of the television series The Guard for Global TV, produced the Canadian western Gunless (Paul Gross) with Rhombus Media and is currently line producing Dibbuk Box for Mandate Pictures.
Shawn's producing credits include Brightlight Pictures' most successful co-production to date, White Noise (starring Michael Keaton), which was a Canada/UK coproduction and has grossed more than $100 million since its release in 2005. Other past producing credits include Alone in the Dark (Christian Slater, Tara Reid, released by Lions Gate Films), The Long Weekend (Chris Klein, Brendan Fehr) and Edison (Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, LL Cool J, Justin Timberlake). Shawn also produced In the Name of the King (Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, John Rhys-Davies, Ron Perlman, Leelee Sobieski, Burt Reynolds), White Noise II (Nathan Fillion) with Gold Circle Films and Rogue, and the television series Saved (Tom Everett Scott) for Fox 21 and TNT.
Shawn has line produced both Wicker Man (Nicholas Cage, released by Warner Bros.) and 88 Minutes (Al Pacino) for Millennium Films, as well as Whisper (Josh Holloway, Joel Edgerton, Dule Hill) and Slither (Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks and Michael Rooker, released by Universal) for Gold Circle Films. He has also line produced the independent features Possession (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lee Pace) for Yari Film Group, Vertigo Entertainment and Spitfire Pictures, along with Passengers (Anne Hathaway) and The Untitled Cancer Comedy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen) both for Mandate Pictures. Shawn produced They Wait (Jaime King), executive produced the television series About A Girl aired by the N Network and Global TV. Shawn recently executive produced Battle of the Bulbs (Daniel Stern) for Hallmark Channel and Gone (Molly Parker) for Lifetime Movie Network.
Shawn chairs the City of Vancouver Industry Film Task Force and the Whistler Film Festival, and sits on the boards of each The Leo Awards, Capilano University Film Advisory and the BC Film Commission Advisory Committee. Shawn has received several awards including: The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2006 (for Brightlight Pictures Inc.), and Business Vancouver's 40 under 40 Award in 2004.
