Harold C. Joe (Director, Writer, Producer)

As a member of Cowichan Tribes, Xulputstun (Harold Joe) works as a cultural worker, archeology consultant, director, filmmaker, and producer. He does this to preserve and teach about the values and traditions of his ancestral Cowichan culture. 
He is a graduate of the Capilano Film School.

The comedy heist feature The Great Salish Heist inspired by Harold’s Archeological work, with Graham Greene, Tricia Helfer, and Ashley Callingbull, made its festival premiere at the Victoria Film Festival, was the opening Gala Film at the Oakville Film Festival where it won Best Indigenous Film, was the Gala Film at the Comox Valley International Film Festival, and won the Audience Favourite Award at the Okotoks Film Festival. It received its US Premiere at Global Stage Hollywood at the TLC Grauman’s Chinese Theatres on the Hollywood Strip. Following its Cineplex theatrical release, it had its first window release in the fall of 2024 is supported by the CMF, Creative BC, the ISO, Super Channel, Hollywood Suite, and CHEK TV. It was nominated for three Leo Awards, and an offer sheet has been received for the international rights for TGSH for execution this year.

Harold’s latest feature, the coming-of-age romance Sweet Summer Pow Wow debuted at the Victoria Film Festival where it won the Audience Favourite Award, and began its theatrical release shortly after, playing Cineplex, Landmark, and Independent Cinemas across Canada. Screenings for the film were held at the European Film Market in Berlin, the Winda Film Festival in Sydney, Australia, and a number of film festivals in the US including the Red Nation International Film Festival, where it received six award nominations, and won Outstanding Lead Performance (Joshua Odjick). It was the Gala Film at both the Comox Valley International Film Festival and the Oakville Film Festival. Recently SSPW was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Graham Greene’s performance in a supporting role. It is supported by Telefilm, CraveTV, Hollywood Suite, CHEK TV, the CMF, the ISO, Creative BC, and the Shaw Rocket Fund.

Harold completed the feature documentary Tzouhalem supported by Super Channel, CHEK TV, the CMF, and the Indigenous Screen Office. Tzouhalem has its theatrical release in 2022. It enjoyed its World Premiere at the American Indian Film Festival and its Canadian Premiere at Whistler, and has been, so far, an official selection to ten film festivals in North America including the Red Nation International Film Festival in LA and the Victoria Film Festival. A Cedar Is Life, another feature documentary supported by Super Channel, CHEK TV, the CMF, and the Rogers Doc Fund, won the Jury Award at the Quetzalcoatl Indigenous International Film Festival and Audience Favourite Award at the Salt Spring Film Festival, made its World Premiere at Red Nation and its Canadian Premiere at the Victoria Film Festival.

In 2018, Harold appeared in, directed, and was the EP for the documentary Dust ‘n Bones commissioned by Telus, and APTN in Canada, and FNX in the USA on his work as a First Nations archeology consultant and the issues surrounding the preservation and rededication of First Nations remains and artifacts. Dust n’ Bones has been acquired by Filmoption International, and has been sold to NITV Australia, Maori TV, Knowledge Network, TV 5 Monde, and Télé Québec. An educational unit on Dust n’ Bones is being developed for the Cowichan school district.

He also directed and produced the POV documentary films Wisdom of the River with Cowichan Tribes, and Broken Down, which explores issues of homelessness in the Cowichan Valley.
Harold’s on camera appearances includes his work on The Great Salish Heist, Sweet Summer Pow Wow, as Xavier in the Telus/ FNX sitcom series Ollie and Emma, performing in 1491: The Untold Story of the Americas Before Columbus.

Harold is currently in production for the feature documentary Tzinquaw Opera for Knowledge Network, Hollywood Suite, and CHEK TV for release in 2026.

Leslie D. Bland (Producer, Director, Writer)

Leslie has produced, written, directed, and performed in over 150 professional projects in film, television, radio, and live theatre.

Leslie is also the Producer and Co-director of the comedy heist film The Great Salish Heist with Graham Greene, Tricia Helfer, and Ashley Callingbull which made its festival premiere at the Victoria Film Festival, was the opening Gala Film at the Oakville Film Festival where it won Best Indigenous Film, was the Gala Film at the Comox Valley International Film Festival, and won the Audience Favourite Award at the Okotoks Film Festival. It received its US Premiere at Global Stage Hollywood at the TLC Grauman’s Chinese Theatres on the Hollywood Strip. Following its Cineplex theatrical release, it had its first window release in the fall of 2024 is supported by the CMF, Creative BC, the ISO, Super Channel, Hollywood Suite, and CHEK TV. It was nominated for three Leo Awards, and an offer sheet has been received for the international rights for TGSH for execution this year.

Leslie’s latest feature, the coming-of-age romance Sweet Summer Pow Wow debuted at the Victoria Film Festival where it won the Audience Favourite Award, and began its theatrical release shortly after, playing Cineplex, Landmark, and Independent Cinemas across Canada. Screenings for the film were held at the European Film Market in Berlin, the Winda Film Festival in Sydney, Australia, and a number of film festivals in the US including the Red Nation International Film Festival, where it received six award nominations, and won Outstanding Lead Performance (Joshua Odjick). It was the Gala Film at both the Comox Valley International Film Festival and the Oakville Film Festival. Recently SSPW was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Graham Greene’s performance in a supporting role. It is supported by Telefilm, CraveTV, Hollywood Suite, CHEK TV, the CMF, the ISO, Creative BC, and the Shaw Rocket Fund.

He has produced and directed the award-winning feature length documentary Gone South: How Canada Invented Hollywood which featured Howie Mandel, Neve Campbell, David Foster, Alex Trebek, David Shore, Shannon Tweed, and many other Canadian celebrities, for theatrical release and broadcast on Super Channel. Gone South won Best Documentary at the Glendale International Film Festival and was an official selection to 22 film festivals in Canada, the US, and the Cayman Islands including the Newport Beach Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival, and the Edmonton International Film Festival. It was also featured on Air Canada flights, specialty channel Hollywood Suite, Amazon Prime, Discovery Networks, and Westjet. Leslie was the showrunner, produced and directed the Telus sitcom series Ollie and Emma, now being broadcast to millions of homes in the USA by FNX (license renewed in 2023). Leslie also produced/ directed the all-female comedy series She Kills Me for APTN; and the documentary series The Wine Guys: Grape Escapes, which was shot in Italy and Spain, and has been sold throughout Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Europe. In 2018, he completed the documentary Dust n’ Bones as writer/ director/ producer for Telus, APTN, FNX, and theatrical distribution. Télé Québec, Knowledge Network, TV5 Monde, New Zealand’s Maori TV, CHEK TV, Zoomer Media, and Australia’s NITV have acquired Dust n’ Bones. He has also directed and produced lifestyle TV series for AMI-tv and Zoomer Media.

With Harold C. Joe, Leslie is the co-writer/producer/ director of Tzouhalem, supported by Super Channel, CHEK TV, the CMF, and the Indigenous Screen Office, which received its theatrical release March 2022. The film enjoyed its World Premiere at the American Indian Film Festival and its Canadian Premiere at Whistler. It was an official selection to ten film festivals in North America including the Red Nation International Film Festival in LA and the Victoria Film Festival. This film was nominated for two Leo Awards.

A Cedar Is Life, another feature doc collaboration with Harold, supported by Super Channel, CHEK TV, the CMF, and the Rogers Doc Fund, premiered at the Red Nation International Film Festival in 2022, and made its Canadian Premiere at the Victoria Film Festival. It is a Jury Winner at the Quetzalcoatl Indigenous International Film Festival in Mexico, and Audience Favourite Award Winner at the Salt Spring Film Festival.

From 2001 – 2010, Leslie was the Artistic Director of Kaleidoscope Theatre in Victoria. During his time as AD, he led a renaissance of Kaleidoscope’s programming and profile in the community, developing new works, setting attendance records for local in-house productions, winning and being nominated for many awards, and touring its productions nationally and internationally.

For 12 years Leslie was the co-founder and Executive Producer of Edmonton’s Stage Polaris. During his time there, he directed, performed, and produced over 100 productions, premiering many new plays, and oversaw Polaris’ growth from an idea to becoming the second largest theatre company in Edmonton, with annual attendance in excess of 100,000. Leslie’s last year with Stage Polaris, it won more Sterling Awards than any other Edmonton Theatre.
He is a graduate of the University of Alberta B.F.A. Conservatory Acting program, holds both his A.R.C.T. in Speech Arts and Drama with the Royal Conservatory of Music (University of Toronto), and received his M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Victoria. He has taught for the University of Miami, Concordia University in Montreal, and is currently an instructor at the University of Victoria.

He is an alumnus of the Trans Atlantic Partners training and networking program in international co-production.