JOSÉE VALLÉE

PRESIDENT, PRODUCER

Since the company’s founding in 1996, Josée Vallée has been involved with every production bearing the Cirrus name which includes over forty titles such as: documentaries (Un monde sans pitié, Outlaw Bikers, Nikan, War of the Sexes, etc.), magazines (Urbania, Montreal en 12 lieux, Chic Choc, Ici…Le Monde), fiction (Tout sur moi, Belle-Baie, Nos Étés, La galère, Naked Josh, Temps Dur, Ciao Bella, La Vie la vie, etc.) and feature films (La loi du cochon, Nitro, Le Banquet,  5150 Elm's Way, Life Begins). Armed with a law degree, she started her entertainment career acting as the judicial counsel for the Quebec Association of Producers of Film and Television (APFTQ) as well as for the Artists Union (UDA). Her talent as a negotiator so impressed Cirrus that they recruited her to work for Cirrus as in-house legal counsel. Ms. Vallée quickly distinguished herself to become Associate Producer then Producer and finally in 2005 she became President of Cirrus.  Ms. Vallée was on the Board of Directors for the Quebec section of the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television while also holding the title of Vice-President of Television Production; from January 2006 until November 2008. 

ANDRÉ BARRO

PRODUCER, FACTUAL & CO-PRODUCTION

André Barro joined the Cirrus team in fall 2007. He is most notably known for his work on international documentary productions. Before joining Cirrus, André worked at Pixcom, Cineflix and Galafilm, where he oversaw the development, production, sales and management of several hundred hours worth of high-quality television programming. He supervised productions brought to life by creators based in Montreal, Toronto, London and Paris.   Not only a deft hand at production financing, Mr. Barro also negotiated international development and production deals with South Africa, Germany and Australia. Series such as Insectia, Mayday, Jonestown, True Crime Scene, Crash of the Century, MadLab and Sectes Tueuses, developed and produced under his leadership, received critical acclaim along with numerous awards, and were broadcasted in over 130 different countries, notably on National Geographic (USA, INTERNATIONAL), Discovery (CAN, USA, INTERNATIONAL), France 2, France 3, France 5, M6 (FRANCE), FIVE, Living, BSKY (UK), ASTRAL, SRC (CANADA), Prosiben (GERMANY), Mediaset (ITALY).  Aside from supervising the development of many projects, both for local and international networks, André is currently working on the post-production of documentary mini-series Un monde sans pitié and on the post-production of documentary Jetman, which will be broadcasted in spring 2009.

ANTONELLO COZZOLINO

PRODUCER, FEATURE FILMS

Antonello joined the Cirrus team in fall 2009. Antonello produces feature films with content, torque and spirit. He strongly believes that movies can be content oriented and simultaneously score at the box-office. For the past six years, Antonello has surrounded himself with highly talented directors, writters and creators, who will surely impact the industry landscape in the near future. Antonello presently works on Kiki Wilder a film by Alex Epstein, Le Paradis des bas perdus written by Isabelle Hébert with the director Christian Laurence (Aurélie Laflamme) and, Stefan Miljevic's next film, Amsterdam, written along with Louis Champagne and Gabriel Sabourin.

RICHARD SPEER

Executive producer

President and Chief Executive Officer, Attraction Media

In 2002, guided by his innovative and pioneering spirit, Richard Speer launched Attraction Media, a group of talented creators of content for television, film, advertising and live events.  His vision: to penetrate the media and entertainment industry by establishing a company that would fully embrace the emergence of creativity. Richard is a young, hip entrepreneur whose flair and vision are matched only by his passion for production.  Always on the lookout for new trends and the best strategies for the future, Richard knows how to surround himself with talented individuals, who, spurred by his creativity and boldness, create and produce original, attractive and high-quality content. Prior to embarking on the Attraction Media adventure, Richard honed his skills at Jet Films in 1999, then founded Go Film with Nicole Robert in 2000. In 2002, he acquired Cirrus Communications in order to move forward with Attraction Media. Ambitious and determined, Richard Speer plans on making Attraction Media Quebec’s premier reference in the production field.

PAUL-E. AUDET

Assistant producer

After spending quite a lot of time of his younger years in the projection booth of an Eastern Townships movie theatre, Paul-Emmanuel Audet studied filmmaking at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) where he obtained his B.A. in 2001. He then completed a film producer specialized training at the Institut National de l’Image et du Son (INIS) in 2004 and completed, in 2009, a business law certificate at the Université de Montréal. He has produced several short films presented in many festivals around the world, most notably “L’effet secondaire”, “Le facteur poulpe”, “À l’ombre” (nominated at the 2007 Jutra) and “Hydro-Lévesque”. In 2007, he worked on the documentary series “Urbania: Montréal en 12 lieux”, coproduced by Toxa and Cirrus Communications. He was once again part of the adventure on “Urbania: le Québec en 12 lieux” in 2009, while also working as line producer on the documentary mini-series “Un monde sans pitié” and on the short film “Love & Volts” selected at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival.  Acting as Assistant Producer for Cirrus Communications since 2007, he actively takes part in the development and production of Cirrus’ feature film, television and documentary projects.

FRANCE FOURNIER, CA

Director, Finance and Administration

France Fournier is a true asset to Cirrus as her particular accomplishments have given her the experience and know-how needed to tackle all of the company’s myriad financial challenges. Regardless of whether she is negotiating financing offers, maximizing the company’s tax credits or putting financial structures into place, Ms. Fournier is creative, disciplined and highly efficient at finding financial solutions that are tailored to meet the company’s needs. Through the years she has judiciously juggled millions of dollars and her input has had an invaluable effect on the quality of all Cirrus’ productions including, among others, the big hits 2 frères, La Vie la vie, Tabou, Temps dur, Nos étés, C.R.A.Z.Y. and Nitro. Armed with a Baccalaureate in Business Administration from HEC along with a Chartered Accountancy degree, Ms. Fournier previously worked in several positions as a financial controller with the Groupe Coscient in their feature films and animation divisions as well as holding an external auditor position with KPMG Poissant Thibault-Peat Marwick Thorne.

ÉQUIPE CIRRUS

CIRRUS TEAM

Geneviève Hébert - Post-production Supervisor

Audrey Simard - Coordinator, Production and Post-production Television

Christine Beaudet - Coordinator, Television Development

Elisabeth Tougas - Coordinator, Feature films

Jasmine Caron - Operations Assistant  

Trinh Mai - Corporate Accountant and Post-production

Nikky T. Mai - Assistant Accountant