CreativeChaos & Geena Davis Re-Team

CreativeChaos has again partnered with actor, producer and author Geena Davis (The Accidental Tourist, Thelma & Louise) and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to adapt their documentary This Changes Everything for Canada.

The adaptation will draw attention to the issues specific to the Canadian media and filmmaking industries, including gender disparity, sexual harassment and the discrimination and underrepresentation of women, BIPOC and other marginalized groups. Poutine Studios and Palmina Productions are on board to produce.

Davis will serve as executive producer of the adaptation, along with Tom Donahue, Ilan Arboleda, Madeline Di Nonno and Kerianne Flynn. Debra Kouri is producer for Poutine Studios, and Natasha Gargiulo is producer for Palmina Productions.

Davis said, “When our Institute’s Canadian council chair, Natasha Gargiulo of Palmina Productions, came to us with this idea for a Canadian iteration, we went into action immediately, and we are excited once again to be teaming with CreativeChaos to make it happen.”

“During COVID, watching Geena’s riveting documentary This Changes Everything was a major revelation for me, and I immediately reached out to the institution about becoming an ally,” Gargiulo said. “As a woman working in the media landscape for over 25 years, the doc had a profound impact on me. After several meetings with President and CEO Madeline Di Nonno, I was appointed the Canadian Council Chair, with a mission to help generate awareness about the Institution in Canada. After the success of the [Intimate Evening with Geena Davis event in Montreal], it was clear that a Hollywood North version of her documentary, with a focus on Canadian women’s stories, was needed. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be producing this documentary that will help amplify Canadian women’s voices and shine a spotlight on female-led stories with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, CreativeChaos and Debra Kouri from Poutine Studios.”

Kouri commented, “As an experienced producer who has navigated these waters for 25 years, the original documentary This Changes Everything really resonated with me. While most Canadian broadcasters and financing institutions have made significant efforts to incentivize, correct and diversify both on- and off-camera representation in recent years, there’s still work to be done, and a plethora of eye-opening stories that need to be told. I founded Poutine Studios in order to produce social impact films and TV series that move these important conversations forward in Canada and abroad. We’re delighted to be producing this adaptation with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and CreativeChaos in order to contribute to national and international change.”

“Our original film was lauded for sparking conversation and change, but the struggle continues with more work to be done,” added Donahue and Arboleda, executive producers and co-founders of CreativeChaos. “We are excited to partner with Poutine Studios and Palmina Productions on the Canadian version, which will highlight the incredibly talented yet unsung below-the-line crew who keep the creative engines running in Hollywood, globally and in Canada’s homegrown film and television industry.”