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 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. Arielle 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. Arielle is currently producing 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
As the COO of Brightlight Pictures, Sandra Karr assists the company with executing its strategic plan by directing and overseeing the day to day operations of the company. In addition to being a CPA, CGA, Ms. Karr holds a business degree in Finance. In her previous position 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, Ms. Karr held controllership positions in the entertainment industry’s distribution, production and finance sectors. Ms. Karr’s knowledge and experience makes her a valuable addition to the Brightlight team.
Emily Alden
Vice President, Originals
Emily brings over 18 years of experience in development, financing, production and distribution to her role as VP of development, where she is manages the development acquisitions and original content for both film and television. Prior to her position at Brightlight, Emily most recently acted as Senior Vice President of Pacific Northwest Pictures, overseeing the company's development, financing, production and distribution activities. Actively involved in the Canadian film community, Emily currently sits on The First Weekend Club board of directors and has been a speaker and panelist for film festivals and forums across the country.
JONATHAN SHORE
Vice President, Distribution, Post Production
Jonathan Shore is Vice-President of Distribution and Post Production for Brightlight Pictures. He has been involved in more than 250 film and TV projects. Recent credits include Co-Producer for Marc Forster’s I STILL SEE YOU, Associate Producer for PITCH PERFECT 1 & 2, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2, and the animated feature MY LITTLE PONY. Shore has worked with many top directors such as Joel Schumacher and Robert Redford and actors, namely Sir Ben Kingsley, Anne Hathaway, and Blake Lively to name a few. As a leader in the field, Shore is a popular and knowledgeable speaker of the film industry. Shore is a founding Director of the Vancouver Post Alliance, as well as a supporter of the Whistler Film Festival and mentor to young filmmakers. Originally from Montreal, Shore graduated from McGill University with a degree in commerce. He is bilingual in both French and English. He now lives in Vancouver with his wife and two daughters.
AARON AU
Director, Production & Development
Since joining the company in 2016, 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 is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and started his film and television career in 1998. With over twenty years of production experience David has worked with studios such as Amazon, Netflix, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox Television and Quibi. David has served as production manager on the series HATERS BACK OFF (Colleen Ballinger, Angela Kinsey), UPLOAD (Robbie Amell, Andy Allo), and on the feature film STATUS UPDATE (Ross Lynch, Olivia Holt). David produced the series 50 STATES OF FRIGHT (Rachel Brosnahan, Travis Fimmel) for Quibi and THE BARBARIAN AND THE TROLL for Nickelodeon. David most recently produced season 2 of SPACE FORCE (Steve Carell, John Malkovich) for Netflix.
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 Unt. Bishal Dutta Horror Project.
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
Silva joined Brightlight Pictures in 2014 leading both development and production efforts across the company’s slate. He is currently producing season 3 of “Upload” starring Robbie Amell and Andy Allo for Amazon, and recently 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+. Previously, 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
Ricardo has been with Brightlight Pictures since 2016. 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. Currently residing in Vancouver, BC, he has worked in production (HATERS BACK OFF, DESCENDANTS 3, THE GOOD DOCTOR & JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS), clearances (SUMMER OF 84 & ELSEWHERE) and most recently as the Production Manager on the upcoming Feature Film FLOAT and Season 3 of UPLOAD for Amazon Studios. Ricardo is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Andrea Miklos
Accounting
Andrea joined Brightlight Pictures in December 2016 as an Assistant Accountant. Her film experience started in 2012 when she enrolled at Capilano College to study costuming for theatre and film. After a brief period in costumes, she moved in the direction of production then corporate accounting. Andrea has always preferred the precision of numbers – to the infinite possibilities of letters - and continues to grow her skillsets as she advances her career in corporate accounting and payroll.
DAVID OLAND
Business & Legal Affairs
Born and raised in Vancouver, David Oland attended McGill University before graduating UBC Law in 2003 and being called to the bar in British Columbia. David started working with Brightlight Pictures in 2010 and he is experienced in all aspects of development, financing, production and distribution. Having delivered over 100 studio, network and independent projects, David enjoys meeting the daily challenges and problem solving required for successful film and television production.
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.