Credits

DIRECTOR/WRITER  Cherien Dabis
PRODUCERS Christina Piovesan, Paul Barkin

Biography

Christina Piovesan (producer)

Christina Piovesan founded First Generation Films in 2007.  Committed toproducing quality film and television projects, FGF recently completedthe feature film Amreeka.  Written and directed by Cherien Dabis, Amreeka premiered in U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in2009, was selected as the opening night film for New Directors/NewFilms and will screen at the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes.

Piovesan’s other projects include The Whistleblower, a true-life drama set up at HBO Films; an adaptation of Robert Hough’s acclaimed novel The Stowaway; and a teenage drama titled White & Rice, which recently won an honorable mention for Best Screenplay at the Tribeca Film Festival.  

Prior to starting her own company, Piovesan worked for Telefilm Canada, where she oversaw production on the 2006 TIFF comedy Young People F@#king and Bruce McDonald’s experimental film Tracey Fragments starring Ellen Page, as well as dozens of projects in development. 

Piovesan earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, where she won a student Emmy Award for her work on the short film Miracle Mile. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and is a member ofthe Academy of Television Arts & Science and IFP New York.

Paul Barkin (producer)

A graduate of the Canadian Film Centre and champion of director driven films, Paul Barkin has produced for some of Canada’s most talented directors through his company Alcina Pictures. Selected credits include Night of the Living by Andrew Currie (Fido); Apartment Hunting by Bill Robertson; Kardiaby Su Rynard, recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Film Prize at the 2005 Hamptons International Film Festival; and the critically acclaimed, award-winning The Tracey Fragments by Bruce McDonald and starring Oscar® nominee Ellen Page.  

In addition to Amreeka, which is co-produced with Buffalo Gal Pictures and written/directed by New York-based Palestinian filmmaker Cherien Dabis, Barkin’s upcoming projects include the comedy The Con Artist, directed by Risa Bramon Garcia (200 Cigarettes), and The Colony, a sci-fi horror directed by Jeff Renfroe (Civic Duty, One Point 0).