John Bolton
British Columbia
John Bolton is an award-winning filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada, and the founder & chief creative officer of Opus 59 Films, a boutique storytelling enterprise focused on adapting, and making films about, extraordinary works of music, literature and art. He brings a very particular erudition and sensibility to Opus 59 Films’ diverse portfolio of projects.
John is best known for AIM FOR THE ROSES (for Blue Ice Docs and Monoduo Films), about Canadian musician Mark Haney and Canadian daredevil Ken Carter. It had its world premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto, was the opening night film at DOXA in Vancouver, played in festivals around the world, had its broadcast premiere on CBC / Documentary Channel, and was nominated for 5 Leo Awards and a Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award. Exclaim! Magazine called it “enthralling and thought provoking”, the Globe And Mail called it “audacious and outrageous” and POV Magazine called it “bizarre, ambitious and ridiculously entertaining” and “the wildest, craziest, smartest doc in years”.
John’s most recent film is KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT (for Accessible Media Inc. / AMI), a medieval musical documentary, inspired by the critically acclaimed play of the same name, created by an amazing company of artists with and without Down syndrome, including award-winning playwrights Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef; visionary director James Long; and iconic musician Veda Hille. It had its world premiere at DOXA in Vancouver. POV Magazine called it “spellbinding and unique and unmissable” and “the “Holy Grail for those looking to watch a doc that sensitively explores community and culture through the eyes and minds of people who are often disregarded throughout history and society.”
John also recently produced and directed the documentary THE LAKE / nx̌aʔx̌aʔitkʷ (for Telus Originals) about an extraordinary friendship between two singers & teachers - Heather Pawsey of Astrolabe Musik Theatre, and Delphine Derickson of Westbank First Nation - and the groundbreaking cross-cultural collaboration in which they decolonized a historic Canadian opera by incorporating syilx / Okanagan perspectives. It had its world premiere at FIFA in Montreal. The Georgia Straight called it “remarkable, heartfelt and memorable” and the National Observer called it “fascinating” and said that “it’s hard to imagine if there can be many other films like it”.
John’s other films as producer / director include VALENTINES and THE CLOSER YOU GET TO CANADA (adaptations of short stories by Nancy Lee and Thomas King, both of which won Leo Awards for Best Actress); the cult classic Crazy8s short BREAKDOWN (which won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress); a short documentary about Michael J. Fox; short films about artists David Burdeny, Douglas Coupland, Omer Arbel and Pete Clarkson; a series of polyamorous classical music promos for Knowledge Network's RADIO CITY strand classical music performance pieces featuring Allegra Chamber Orchestra, Borealis String Quartet, City Opera Vancouver, Little Chamber Music, Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and Rudolf Komorous; and the Golden Sheaf Award winning FLAME / THROUGH WALLS featuring the UBC Women’s Hockey Team skating to the music of Jennifer Butler and Jordan Nobles.
john@opus59films.com
Main Reel
Aim For The Roses - Official Trailer
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Aim for the Roses
Dates: 2016
Link: IMDB
Roles: Writer, Producer, Director
Genre: Biographical, Drama, Music
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