WHO WE ARE
When a series of movies were shot in the rolling fields and old growth forests of the Cowichan Valley, it shed new light on the immense talent and ingenuity sheltered in its unassuming communities. When we experienced that artistic convergence, we never wanted it to end.
That’s why we formed Empress Avenue Media: A collective of prolific writers, visual magicians and tech-savvy problem-solvers, using cutting-edge tools to breath new life into age-old stories. Under the veil of this rural oasis, Empress is a hive of activity, with an ensemble cast of creatives.
Our promise is our people
EMREY WRIGHT
Producer, Operations Manager
Emrey Wright co-founded Empress with Joseph Boutilier in 2018, building on over ten years of experience in the entertainment industry as a TV producer, project manager and 1st AD. After mentoring with prolific Canadian producer/director David DeCoteau, Wright’s work has been featured extensively on American networks including Sci-Fi, ION and Lifetime, as well as in festivals and on leading digital platforms worldwide. With Empress Avenue, Emrey is honoured for the opportunity to use his intuition and business savvy to bring to life brave stories from strong new voices.
JOSEPH BOUTILIER
producer, creative director
Before co-founding Empress, Joseph worked in the film and television industry in a variety of roles including 1st Assistant Director and Cinematographer for TV series and movies including Runaway Christmas Bride (2017), New Year’s Kiss (2019) and Honeymoon in Paradise (2020). Before his involvement in the film industry, Joseph worked as a graphic designer, senior social media game designer and political communciations officer. Boutilier is an honours graduate of the Vancouver Film School’s Digital Design program, and currently serves as Producer and Creative Director for Empress Avenue Media.
Mia Golden
Producer, Development Coordinator
Mia Golden has worked as a producer, director, writer and actor on dozens of independent media projects. She served as Associate Producer on the cult Canadian comedy feature Jackhammer (2013) featuring Robb Wells, Nicole Sullivan, Jamie Kennedy and Pamela Anderson. Golden also served as producer and co-host of the 2017 TV series Girls on Grapes and co-produced the short documentary Penny Girl in 2019. Mia is currently developing a feature film and several factual series for Canadian distribution. Outside of film, Mia directed family and youth counselling and intervention programs for over 20 years.
Dennis Hughes
Senior Web Developer
Ashlee Allan
Social Media Coordinator
Josh Terry-Brand
Senior Video Editor
Peter Olivastri
Senior Videographer
Since graduating from the Digital Video Production program at Durham College, Peter worked as a wedding videographer before being recruited to capture world champion body builders as a video director for Kaged Muscle Supplements. He later served as Digital Media Coordinator for the Lally Auto Group, overseeing video content creation for a large chain of dealerships. Peter spends most of his free time in nature, hiking and exploring; any time he can combine this passion with his love for film, it makes for a great day at work.
Luisa Dumas
Graphic Designer
Luisa holds a diploma in Interactive Media Design and a Bachelor of Music, and has independent film credits as a composer and sound designer as well as graphic artist and animator. While not dabbling in the world of audio, Luisa can be found painting, illustrating and doing graphic design work for a broad array of applications, digital and print alike.
Camilla Sampaio
Editor, Motion Graphics Animator
Milla is a Brazilian-born multimedia artist, sewing together video, audio, and graphics in a wide range of creative projects. Milla has extensive film theory knowledge and revels in the concept development process. Her first short film, Rez, was celebrated at numerous film festivals. Dell, Royal Canin, and Toyota are among the brands included in her portfolio. Milla is an animal and social activist who loves cooking, heavy metal, writing, and reading about fantastic journeys in galaxies far, far away.
Gavin Andrews
Editor, Videographer
Gavin Andrews is an alumnus of Concordia University’s Graduate Diploma in Communications, and has served as director and editor on dozens of ethnographic films and documentaries for broadcasters in Brazil. Since returning to Canada, he’s served as Editor for the feature documentary Dust n’ Bones (2017) and Colourist for the short documentary Penny Girl (2019). He’s currently wrapping up a fitness series for Zoomer Media as both DP and Editor.
Aixa
President of Everything
Aixa rules the roost at Empress Avenue Media. She might seem a bit reserved at first, but give her a belly rub and you’ll be under her spell forever.