SHAWN WILLIAMSON
Founder and Chairman
Shawn Williamson is an Emmy-nominated producer and founder of Brightlight Pictures, a film and television production company based out of Vancouver, British Columbia that develops, packages, and produces independent feature films and television projects. Since launching in 2001, Williamson has produced more than 100 film and television series, from White Noise with Michael Keaton, and 50 Dead Men Walking starring Jim Sturgess and Ben Kingsley to Nacho Vigalondo’s Colossal starring Anne Hathaway, critically-acclaimed Summer of '84, and Disney’s Descendants films.
Williamson’s current productions include an array of critically-acclaimed film and television projects, including Lionsgate’s Float starring Robbie Amell, Nickelodeon’s Monster High: The Movie, Netflix’s “Firefly Lane,” Amazon Prime Video’s “Upload” and “The Power” with Toni Collette, Alice Eve, and John Leguizamo, AMC’s “Straight Man” with Bob Odenkirk, and the renowned drama series “The Good Doctor” for ABC and Sony Pictures Television, which was named the most watched television series in the world at the Monte Carlo TV Festival in 2018.
A highly sought-after executive producer, Williamson’s other noteworthy credits include: The Interview starring Seth Rogen and James Franco for Columbia Pictures; Horns starring Daniel Radcliffe, produced in conjunction with Mandalay Pictures; and Netflix’s “Julie and the Phantoms,” for which he was nominated for an Emmy. He also served as a producer on The Company You Keep with Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf, 50/50 starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, The Possession starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick, Passengers with Anne Hathaway, and The Wicker Man starring Nicolas Cage.
With more than 25 years at the forefront of the film and television industry, the Vancouver native began his career as a stage manager at The Arts Club Theatre in 1983 and, in addition to feature films, has since produced live events, live television and unscripted series across the globe, including Singapore, Croatia, Romania, France, England, Northern Ireland, South Africa and Australia.
ARIELLE BOISVERT
Partner / Executive Vice President, Production
As EVP of Production, Arielle Boisvert brings over a decade of production experience to her position at Brightlight Pictures, having worked with both independent and major studios like Fox, Disney, Sony, Voltage, ABC, Netflix, and Amazon. Boisvert has served as co-producer on the cult-favourite feature Colossal (Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis), and producer on the Disney Channel original Descendants 3, the limited series Valley of the Boom (Steve Zahn, Bradley Whitford) for STX TV and National Geographic, as well as the reboot of "Mighty Ducks: Game Changers" (Emilio Estevez, Lauren Graham) for Disney +. More recently, she produced both the first & second seasons of "Upload", the hit sci-fi/comedy series for Amazon, as well as season 2 of "Space Force" for Netflix - both created by Greg Daniels. Boisvert most recently produced the second season of the Netflix drama "Firefly Lane" (Katherine Heigl, Sarah Chalke), as well as the much anticipated live-action TV Movie incarnation of Monster High.
SANDRA DESROSIERS KARR
Chief Operating Officer
Sandra Desrosiers Karr is the COO of Brightlight Pictures, overseeing operations and overall strategy for the company.
In her previous role as Director, National Business Affairs for Telefilm Canada, she led a bi-coastal team that was responsible for all business affairs aspects of Telefilm’s project financing and co-production certification. Prior to joining Telefilm, Karr held controllership positions in the entertainment industry’s distribution, production and finance sectors.
In addition to being a CPA, CGA, Karr holds a business degree in Finance.
Emily Alden
Senior Vice President, Originals
As Senior Vice President, Originals, Emily Alden brings 20 years of experience in development, financing, production, and distribution to her role at Brightlight Pictures. Alden manages the development acquisitions and original content for both film and television at Brightlight Pictures.
Prior to her position at Brightlight Pictures, Alden was Senior Vice President of Pacific Northwest Pictures, overseeing the company's development, financing, production and distribution activities. Actively involved in the Canadian film community, Alden has been a speaker and panelist for film festivals and forums across the country, including Vancouver International Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, and Screen Nova Scotia Broadcaster and Distributor Forum.
Alden sits on the CMPA BC - branch committee, the CMPA’s international committee, as well as Vancouver-based nonprofit Music Heals’ board of directors.
JONATHAN SHORE
Vice President, Distribution, Post Production
Jonathan Shore is Vice President of Distribution and Post Production for Brightlight Pictures and oversees distribution and post production across the company’s slate, including Lionsgate’s Float starring Robbie Amell, Nickelodeon’s Monster High: The Movie, and Netflix’s “Firefly Lane,” AMC’s “Lucky Hank” with Bob Odenkirk.
Shore has been involved in more than 350 film and TV projects, and has worked with many of the industry’s top directors such as Joel Schumacher and Robert Redford, and actors including Sir Ben Kingsley, Anne Hathaway, Blake Lively, and more. His most notable producing credits include Marc Forster’s I Still See You, Pitch Perfect 1 & 2, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, and Lionsgate animated feature My Little Pony, and will serve as co-producer on Bobby Farrelly’s upcoming Champions starring Woody Harrellson from Focus Features.
As a leader in his field, Shore is a prominent film industry speaker, a founding Director of the post-production organization, Vancouver Post Alliance, as well as a supporter of the Whistler Film Festival, and a mentor to young filmmakers. Originally from Montreal, Shore graduated from McGill University. He is bilingual in both French and English.
AARON AU
Director, Production & Development
Since joining the company in 2016, Aaron Au has produced the features Elsewhere with Aden Young, Parker Posey, and Ken Jeong, 2 Hearts starring Jacob Elordi and Radha Mitchell, and most recently, Lionsgate’s Float with Robbie Amell. Au’s other notable credits include the pilots “Woke” starring Lamorne Morris and Blake Anderson for Sony/Hulu and “Next” with John Slattery and Fernanda Andrade for FOX, as well as Netflix’s “Firefly Lane” starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.
Au started his film career in 1998 as a stunt performer and actor and used his time on set to learn the filmmaking process. In 2008, he moved behind the camera and wrote, directed and produced a series of short films. He then co-produced the feature Preggoland starring Sonja Bennett, James Caan, and Danny Trejo, which premiered at TIFF 2014.
DAVID MAGEE
Producer
David Magee brings over 20 years of production experience to his role at Brightlight Pictures.
Since starting his film and television career in 1998, Magee has worked with studios such as Amazon, Netflix, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox Television and Sony Pictures Television. He’s produced several series including “50 States Of Fright” starring Rachel Brosnahan and Travis Fimmel for Quibi, “The Barbarian and The Troll” and “Monster High” for Nickelodeon, Season 2 of “Space Force” starring Steve Carell and John Malkovich for Netflix and most recently “Lucky Hank” starring Bob Odenkirk for AMC.
Magee graduated from the University of British Columbia.
JAMESON PARKER
Director, Production & Development
Jameson Parker is a producer who currently serves as the Director of Development & Production for Brightlight Pictures.
Parker produced the critically-acclaimed feature film Summer of '84 directed by RKSS and starring Rich Sommer, Margaux from Paramount / MPCA, Under Wraps via Disney Channel / Marvista and its upcoming sequel Under Wraps 2.
Most recently he served as Executive Producer on Borderline from LuckyChap / RedA starring Samara Weaving, Eric Dane and Jimmie Fails, as well as QC Entertainment and NEON’s upcoming It Lives Inside.
In 2019, Parker produced the Netflix series “Julie And The Phantoms” with High School Musical and The Descendants’ Kenny Ortega serving as Executive Producer and Director. Parker was an Executive Producer and director on “White Ninja,” the first narrative series developed for Vine, starring Paul Scheer and his first feature film Prodigals, which had its world premiere at the Whistler Film Festival.
Parker graduated with honours from The University of British Columbia’s film and theatre department.
Ryan Silva
Director, Production & Development
Ryan Silva joined Brightlight Pictures in 2014 leading both development and production efforts across the company’s slate. He most recently produced season 3 of “Upload” starring Robbie Amell and Andy Allo for Amazon. Previously, Silva completed seasons 1 and 2 of “Firefly Lane” starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke for Netflix, and season 1 of “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” with Lauren Graham and Emilio Estevez for Disney+. Silva was the production manager for two pilots - “Next” with John Slattery and Fernanda Andrade for 20th Century Fox, and “Woke” starring Lamorne Morris and Blake Anderson for Sony and Hulu, and produced the second season of “Quest Out West Wild Food” for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Silva also served as a line producer on a trio of independent feature films: Elsewhere starring Aden Young and Parker Posey, Summer of ‘84 with Graham Verchere and Rich Sommer, and 2 Hearts starring Jacob Elordi and Radha Mitchell.
Silva graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Motion Picture Arts from Capilano University in 2013.
Ricardo Plaza
Production
Since joining Brightlight Pictures in 2016, Ricardo Plaza has worked in production on Netflix’s “Haters Back Off” and “Julie And The Phantoms,” Disney’s Descendants 3, and the renowned drama series “The Good Doctor” for ABC and Sony Pictures Television, which was named the most watched television series in the world at the Monte Carlo TV Festival in 2018.
Plaza worked in clearances for Summer of ‘84 and Elsewhere, and most recently served as the Production Manager on the upcoming Lionsgate feature film Float starring Robbie Amell, and Season 3 of “Upload” for Amazon Studios.
He began his film career in Santiago, Chile as a production executive for La Casa Films working on commercials for Nestle, Eddie Bauer and Pepsi. He is fluent in both English and Spanish, and currently resides in Vancouver, BC.
Andrea Miklos
Corporate Accountant
Andrea Miklos joined Brightlight Pictures in December 2016 as an Assistant Accountant. Miklos studied costuming for theater and film at Capilano University, and after a brief period in costumes, she changed course to production then corporate accounting. Miklos has always possessed an affinity for the precision of numbers, and continues to grow her skill set as she advances her career in corporate accounting and payroll.
DAVID OLAND
Business & Legal Affairs
David Oland* joined Brightlight Pictures in 2010 with experience in all aspects of development, financing, production and distribution. Having delivered over 100 studio, network and independent projects, Oland enjoys meeting the daily challenges and problem solving required for successful film and television production.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Oland attended McGill University before graduating UBC Law in 2003.
*denotes a law corporation
Kristen Bell
Business & Legal Affairs
Kristen Bell is a graduate of Capilano University and has been with Brightlight Pictures since 2010. Kristen brings several years of legal experience in various areas of law to her position at Brightlight. Kristen has worked on over 120 film and television projects and has experience in various aspects of the film industry, including development, financing, production and distribution.