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Kevin McMahon began his career as a newspaper journalist at the St. Catharines Standard before shifting his focus to documentary film in the mid-1980s. His films have been described as "visually stunning and brilliantly conceived" (The Globe and Mail); "poetic and ironic, they deal with important topics and never shirk the difficulties inherent in complex issues" (Take One Magazine).
Kevin's most recent project is WATERLIFE, an exploration of the Great Lakes which produced a feature documentary (Hot Docs Special Jury Prize, 2009) and an online interactive experience WATERLIFE.NFB.CA (Best Cross Platform Web Site, Canadian New Media Awards, 2009 and Best Of Show, Digital Marketing Awards, 2009).
Feature documentaries that Kevin has written and directed include: The Face of VICTORY, STOLEN SPIRITS OF HAIDA GWAII, AN IDEA OF CANADA, MCLUHAN'S WAKE, IN THE REIGN OF TWILIGHT and THE FALLS. Kevin's documentaries for television include YO-YO MA: INSPIRED BY BACH: THE MUSIC GARDEN, LIFTING THE SHADOW, TRUTH MERCHANTS and the three-part series COD: THE FISH THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, a collaboration with comedian Mary Walsh. As a producer, Kevin recently oversaw the 50-episode series THINGS THAT MOVE, about the history and science of motion, and WORKING OVER TIME, a four-hour history of Canada, as seen through manual labour. As a story editor, Kevin helped shape the feature documentaries A HARD NAME, LOVABLE, I, CURMUDGEON, A PERFECT FAKE and FOUR WINGS AND A PRAYER. Kevin is the author of ARCTIC TWILIGHT, about the impact of the Cold War on the Inuit, and a contributor to POV Magazine, The Toronto Star and CBC Radio's Ideas.
Kevin's work has garnered a variety of awards, including several Geminis, a top prize from the Canadian Centre for Investigative Journalism, a nomination for a Governor General's Award in public service journalism and honors from film festivals around the world. The Canadian Film Institute and Hot Docs have both held retrospectives of Kevin's work. In 2006 Kevin served as the first Official Mentor at the Hot Docs festival; in 2009 he was asked to mentor Canadian actor and director Sarah Polley's first foray into documentary in a program sponsored by the Canadian Film Centre and the National Film Board of Canada.
Kevin holds degrees from Brock and Carleton universities and the University of Bristol in England. He is a partner in Primitive Entertainment, a Toronto production company specializing in high quality documentary. Kevin lives in Toronto with his three teenaged children.
Email: kevin[at]primitive[dot]net
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