The countdown has begun for the 21st century’s most heroic and potentially deadliest expedition. A manned mission to Mars has been the dream of scientists for decades – and now “Mars Rising” explores that dream and the challenges being faced by international space agencies and in laboratories. More than 300 scientists from Canada, the United States, Europe, Chile and Russia have contributed to “Mars Rising,” a six-part documentary series and a companion to the expedition series “Race to Mars.” The quest to the secrets of the universe begins – on Mars.

“Mars Rising” offers a comprehensive examination of the challenges, the obstacles, the fears and the successes of the mission and experts with diverse backgrounds and nationalities contributed their knowledge to this series. Producers Galafilm secured unprecedented co-operation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency and various Russian space agencies and contractors like Energia, gaining access to top personnel and up-to-the-minute prototypes. Over 300 scientists were consulted for the series and more than 60 experts, including former and current astronauts, appear on camera. Critical subjects covered include spaceship design, possible trajectories, rocket fuel, finding new life forms, new thoughts on astronaut selection and training, space suit engineering, medical training for deep space, blasting through Mars’ atmosphere, life support systems and robotics.

“Mars Rising” was shot in High Definition in 48 locations over a period of almost two years, from March 2005 to January 2007, filming for an unprecedented 140 days. Crews were dispatched to Russia, Europe, the United States, China, Chile and across Canada, including the Canadian Arctic. Various crews spent a total of 32 days in Russia, filming at Energia, Lavochkin, IBMP and Star City. At the height of filming in August 2005, four separate film crews were working simultaneously in the U.S. and Russia.

And all of this travelling means that audiences will be taken by helicopter to Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth; underwater in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia; underground in Sudbury, Ontario; and the Four Window Caves in New Mexico and the Mars-like terrain of the Arctic’s frigid Devon Island.

Additional Canadian locations include Fredericton, New Brunswick; Sherbrooke, St.-Hubert and Montreal, Quebec; and Toronto and Guelph, Ontario.

Among the distinguished experts appearing in the series, three experts with very different backgrounds stand out: James Garvin, lead scientist for Mars and Lunar Exploration at NASA; Paul Delaney, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Toronto’s York University; and Academy-Award winning filmmaker James Cameron (‘Titanic’) who is a member of NASA’s special advisory committee. They all speak passionately and incisively about the dangers of the mission and the possibilities of life on Mars.

Nine astronauts and Russian cosmonauts talk about their incredible experiences. They include:

• Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon.

• Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian mission specialist and the first Canadian to operate the Canadarm in orbit.

• Canadian Dave Williams, who was on board the Atlantis (June 2007) and who is expected to make three space walks on the Shuttle Endeavour in August.

• Retired NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger, who spent 132 days aboard the Mir Space Station in 1997.

• Jeffrey Hoffman, who was inducted into the U.S. Hall of Fame earlier this year.

• Canadian Julie Payette, lead astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency and first Canadian to board the Mir Space Station.

           
Also laced into the series were between 100 and 150 clips of archival and/or stock footage per episode, some of it never seen before.  As well as working closely with NASA HD archives, the filmmakers had exclusive access to Russian material that shows the Russian space program in the ‘60s was actually aimed at Mars. The Russians have been planning to go to Mars from day one.

“Mars Rising” Production Biographies

In 2007, Galafilm will release the event television drama series ‘St. Urbain’s Horseman,’ based on Mordecai Richler’s Governor General’s Award-winning novel.

Arnie Gelbart is a member of the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association, as well as a member of the APFTQ.

Phyllis Platt – Executive Producer
As magazine editor, a radio producer, a CBC Television executive and now, independent film producer, Phyllis Platt has an enviable career in Canadian media. With Arnie Gelbart, she is the executive producer of “Race to Mars” and the companion documentary series “Mars Rising.” After editing the respected film criticism magazine Take One, Platt, who is fluent in French, spent five years as a producer at CBC Radio in Montreal and later was promoted to various positions at CBC Television Montreal, most notably as Executive Producer of News and Director of Television.

Her wealth of experience in Montreal led her to CBC's national headquarters in Toronto where, as Executive Director of Arts and Entertainment, she supervised the development and production of some of Canada’s most popular and award-winning television including ‘This Hour Has 22 Minutes,’ ‘The Newsroom,’ ‘DaVinci’s Inquest,’ ‘Made in Canada,’ ‘Twitch City,’ ‘Wind At My Back,’ ‘Million Dollar Babies,’ ‘The Arrow,’ ‘Net Worth,’ ‘Butterbox Babies’ and ‘Little Criminals.’

Platt left CBC in 2000 to found her own independent production and consultation company. She has acted as a consultant to CBC with regard to the Canadian Television Fund and other policy issues and advised several independent companies on re-structuring and strategic planning. Platt Production’s first independent television project ‘Betrayed,’ an MOW inspired by the water contamination tragedies in Walkerton, Ontario, and North Battleford, Saskatchewan, drew the largest audience of any drama that aired on CBC Television during the 2002-2003 season, and was nominated for three Gemini Awards. ‘Open Heart,’ an exploration of a courageous nurse’s attempts to confront a full-blown crisis in paediatric cardiac care, was nominated for five Geminis including Best Television Movie. She produced the acclaimed family television movie ‘Booky Makes Her Mark’ and acted as executive producer on ‘Shania: A Life in Eight Albums.’

Denis McCready – Line Producer
Denis McCready has dedicated his talents and creativity to “Mars Rising” since February 2005. A director, writer, producer and photographer, McCready needed all of his skills to face the challenges of this ambitious documentary series which was filmed in Canada, the United States, Chile, Russia and the Arctic.

Prior to “Mars Rising,” McCready executive-produced the feature ‘Places Everyone’ which premiered at Montreal’s World Film Festival and ‘Arthur’s Paradise,’ which closed the 2006 Rencontre Internationales du Documentaire and screened at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival in 2007. His other production credits include ‘Korea: The Unfinished War’ directed by Brian McKenna for Galafilm Inc.; ‘The Pines of Emily Carr’ and ‘Signé Perreault’; Mireille Dansereau’s ‘Eva – the Art of Aging’ and ‘Saved by the Belles’ directed by Ziad Touma.

McCready is a board member of the film distribution centre Les Films du 3 Mars and is a past president of Main Film, a Montreal-based access centre for independent filmmakers.

Charles de Gagné – Visual Effects Supervisor
With vast experience as a VFX supervisor, a 3D MAYA artist, a 3D project lead and a multimedia products designer plus an intense interest in space, Charles de Gagné was the perfect artist to take on the challenge of creating images for “Mars Rising.”  “There was intense research into almost every shot,” he says. “It is the most complex project I have ever worked on – but the most interesting.”

During the more than two years Gagné worked on “Mars Rising,” he created over 200 computer generated images. Almost every image was original, but he also incorporated some of the CGI from “Race to Mars” where 3D images of a possible spacecraft and Mars Lander were already underway. “Co-ordinating the ideas of five different directors was fascinating,” he says. “I came to know the surface of Mars as well as I know the face of Earth.”

His other major credits include VFX supervisor, second season of ‘Extreme Engineering,’ project lead for the 3D animated sequences of Discovery Channel’s ‘Unsolved History’ and participation in such television documentaries as ‘When Dinosaurs Roamed North America,’ ‘Search for the Indianapolis’ and ‘Prehistoric Planet.’

Michael Jorgensen – Supervising Producer          
“Mars Rising: Journey to the Red Planet” (Written and directed by Michael Jorgensen)
Michael Jorgensen is an Emmy award-winning producer with a passion for character driven science and history stories. Over the past 20 years, he has garnered more than 80 awards for excellence in writing, producing, directing and cinematography from organizations such as CNN, the Canadian Association of Journalists, the New York Film Festival and the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. He was the first reporter to send files from war-torn Somalia in the weeks leading up to Operation Restore Hope.

In 2003, Jorgensen won an Emmy for his work on the documentary feature ‘Battle of the X-Planes’ produced for PBS’ NOVA.  ‘Battle of the X-Planes’ marks the only time in history the U.S. Department of Defense has allowed a filmmaker access to a major defence competition. In addition to the Emmy for producing, ‘X-Planes’ earned him awards for directing, writing and cinematography.

Since 2003 Jorgensen has worked exclusively in the HDTV format, starting with ‘Lost Nuke’ which concentrates on the previously untold story of America’s first lost nuclear weapon. In 2007, the Spruce Grove, Alberta-based Jorgensen began production of ‘Dinosaur Resurrection’, which follows the scientific investigation into the most significant dinosaur discovery of all time.

Brian Murphy
“Race to Mars: Rocket Power” (Written and directed by Brian Murphy)
“Race to Mars: Staying Alive” (Additional Writing and Directing by Brian Murphy, Narration by Brian Murphy)
Brian Murphy’s first award came in 1994 from the Canadian Association of Journalists which named his CBC Television documentary ‘Autistic Abuse, Silent Victims’ Best Documentary. He went on to win the Bronze Medal at the 1995 Columbus Film Festival for ‘Bad Brakes, Tough Luck;’ Finalist – Investigative Reporters and Editors of America, ‘Conspiracy of Silence,’ 1996; Honourable Mention – 1996 Columbus Film Festival, ‘Portraits of Patriotism,’ ‘Conspiracy of Silence,’ ‘Genetic Journey’ and ‘Precious Cargo’ and nominee, Best Science Documentary, 2003 Leo Awards for ‘Impossible Cure.’

Other recent credits include ‘Mountain Biking: a Bumpy History;’ Discovery Channel’s ‘Champions of the Wild,’ a study of rattlesnakes; ‘Inferno,’ on survivors of fire and other catastrophes for Discovery Channel’s U.S and ‘Terror in the Sky,’ an episode in the ‘Without Warning’ TLC series, which examines investigations into commercial airline mishaps.

Jon Kalina
“Mars Rising: The Human Factor” (Directed by Jon Kalina, Documentary script by Jon Kalina)
Born in New York, Jon Kalina moved to Montreal in 1970 to study at McGill. He developed his skills as a host and investigative journalist on such television programs as ‘The Journal,’ ‘Midday’ and ‘Newswatch.’ His many documentaries for the landmark CBC Television current affairs program ‘The Journal’ include ‘AIDS,’ ‘Sikhs in Canada’ and ‘The Hidden Healers.’ His documentaries for the French service Radio-Canada include ‘Operation Lifeline Sudan’ for Les Grands Reportages du Point Kalina and co-director and writer Josh Freed won the 2003 Writers Guild of Canada Award for Best Documentary Writing for ‘To Kill or To Cure – Crime and Punishment Around the World,’ two one-hour documentaries produced by Galafilm, and he was a finalist for the Prix Gémeaux - Documentary Series for ‘Technopolis – The Science of Cities,’ produced in English and French for Discovery Channel, Pixcom and Canal D in 2000-2001.

For Galafilms, he co-wrote ‘In the Crossfire – Louise Arbour and the Battle for Human Rights.’ He served as co-director of the PBS, Arte/France and Radio Canada documentary ‘Six Days in June’ and as journalist/interviewer for Radio-Canada’s ‘Mensonges d´Etat.’ In 2007, he acted as creative consultant on ‘That´s Poker’ for CBC’s ‘The Passionate Eye’ and as story editor for ‘Spies, Security and Us.’

Laura Turek
“Mars Rising: Six Minutes of Terror” (Written and directed by Laura Turek)
Montreal-based Laura Turek is successful writer/director in a variety of genres: drama, documentary and life style. Her first fiction short, ‘Cherry Fruitbread,’ won the Audience Choice Award for the Best Canadian Short Film at the 2003 Montreal World Film Festival and has been presented at more than 20 film festivals. Her second fiction short, ‘My Friend Ana,’ is an official selection at INPUT 2007.

Her documentaries and reality credits include ‘Buy Me,’ a lifestyle series for HGTV about the high stakes of  buying and selling homes; ‘Out in the City,’ a docu-soap for Life Network and Pride Vision and ‘Women Warriors,’ a series profiling female Olympic athletes for CBC Television.

She is currently directing ‘La Quête,’ a series about children researching their ancestors for TFO and she is in post production of her third short drama, ‘Man of the Family.’

Denis Blaquière
“Mars Rising: Search for Life” (Written and directed by Denis Blaquière)
Denis Blaquière took a most circuitous route to documentary production. He was a comedy writer/performer, an adviser to advertising agencies and a civil engineer.

His comedy group ‘Les Carcasses,’ labelled the Monty Pythons of Quebec, wowed audiences in the 1970s. In the eighties Blaquière and his creative partner Claude Paré were regulars on the TQS comedy shows ‘100 Limite’ and the parody of a police series ‘SQrete Five-O.’ They were the head writers for the successful ‘Labatt Blue’s Secret ‘campaign in which they played the Blue Brothers.

It was not until 1995 that Blaquière devoted himself to documentaries. His first documentary, the series ‘Insectia’ featuring maverick entomologist Georges Brossard was filmed in 160 countries and won numerous awards including the 2001 Gémeaux Best Documentary Series and a 1999 Gemini Award for Best Photography in a Documentary.

His more recent credits include writing/directing one episode of the documentary series ‘Technopolis - The Science of Cities,’ (nominated in the Best Documentary Series category at the 2001 Prix Gémeaux), "Hypnosis, A Window into the Mind", nominated in the Best Writing - Documentary category at the 2003 Prix Gémeaux, and two episodes for "What's That About?" for Discovery Channel. He is currently writing two new documentary series: "Garbage World" and "Dictators - Lessons in Tyranny" (with Leopoldo Gutierrez).

Gary Lang – Story Editor, Writer / Director
“Mars Rising: Human Factor” (Narration written by Gary Lang)
Gary Lang is an accomplished writer and director specializing in factual entertainment for international television. In the past 12 years, Lang has written, directed or produced over 50 award-winning programmes. Top broadcasters include the Discovery Channel (U.S., Canada and International), National Geographic (U.S. and International), Canal+ (France), Channel Four and Five (U.K.) and History Television (Canada).

Between 1994 and 1998, Lang wrote, researched and produced 13 one-hour marquee titled programs on a variety of subjects for the Discovery Channel, including Tutankhamun, ‘The Lusitania Mystery’ (1998 Emmy Nomination) and ‘Nuclear Sharks: Cold War Submarine Adventures’ on nuclear submarines.

In 1999, Lang helped create a new series, ‘National Geographic Adventures,’ for National Geographic International. He conceived and wrote two episodes and directed a third, an acclaimed dramatization of Charles Lindbergh’s heroic 1927 Atlantic heroic flight which premiered the new National Geographic Channel in 2001. A new adventure series, ‘Women Adventurers,’ premiered on Canal+ and History Television in 2000. In 2001, Lang went underwater to direct the one-hour special ‘Raising the Kursk,’ which he also wrote.  

More recent credits include ‘Forensic Factor,’ two episodes of ‘Mayday’ and two episodes of ‘True Crime Scenes.’ He recently completed writing and co-directing with James Cameron the Live Discovery Channel special ‘Last Mysteries of the Titanic’ and a three-hour series on Freemasonry for Vision TV.

Paul Lewis – President and General Manager, Discovery Channel
Concept Creator, “Race to Mars” and “Mars Rising”
Paul Lewis, as President and General Manager of Discovery Channel Canada, oversees all of the network’s day-to-day operations including programming, production and marketing. In addition, he oversees Discovery Civilization, Animal Planet, Travel + Escape, Discovery HD, Exploration Production Inc. and Exploration Distribution Inc.

Lewis joined Discovery Channel in 1994 as Executive Producer of in-house programming and helped to create the world's first daily science magazine show, ‘@discovery.ca,’ which was re-introduced in Fall 2002 as ‘Daily Planet.’

In addition to his Discovery responsibilities, Lewis has been involved in numerous industry organizations, including Director of the World Congress of Science Producers, an organization dedicated to the sharing of programming ideas and productions with international broadcasters, independent producers and distributors as well as The Canadian Association of Broadcasters. He is a graduate of the journalism program at Ryerson University and has completed the Alliance Atlantis Banff Television Executive Program.

Ken MacDonald – Vice President, Programming, Discovery Channel
Production Executive, “Mars Rising”
Ken MacDonald, as Vice- President of Programming for Discovery Channel (Canada), is responsible for the strategic programming direction for Discovery Channel, Discovery HD, and three digital specialty services: Animal Planet, Discovery Civilization Channel and Travel + Escape.

In this role, he oversees the Discovery programming team in all aspects of programming and production, ranging from acquisitions and schedules to international co-productions. He is also responsible for Discovery’s Interactive department.   

MacDonald, joined Discovery in January 2004, as Executive Producer In-House Programming. 

Prior to joining Discovery, MacDonald held the position of National Vice President, News at Global Television, where he oversaw the expansion of   news and current affairs operations across Canada and the design and launch of that network’s first national newscast, ‘Global National.’ He is also a former national television journalist who covered Parliament Hill for 10 years.

Theresa Hunt – Production Executive, “Mars Rising”
Teresa Hunt brings 20 years of production and executive producer experience to “Mars Rising.” As a principal director with a reputation for journalistic rigor, she helped grow ‘Horizon’ into the BBC’s flagship science series, reaching a wide international audience. Her ‘Horizon’ episode on the development of a new malaria vaccine won the British Medical Association Award.
In 2004 she wrote, produced and directed ‘The Hungerford Massacre,’ a critically-acclaimed controversial docudrama about the first spree killing in Britain. Watched by a third of all U.K. households, it was described by The Guardian as "Painstakingly reconstructed...Teresa Hunt's film captured a world in which everything has gone suddenly and horribly wrong." At the BBC Hunt was also responsible for creating and developing new projects and securing funding from international co-producers. Programs included a 13-part series on ‘Supernatural Science’ for Discovery U.S.; and ‘Pompeii: The Last Day,’ a big-budget docudrama which drew an audience of 10 million viewers in the U.K.

Since 2006 she has worked as an Executive Producer for Discovery Canada. In addition to “Mars Rising,” other recent projects included ‘DinoLab’ (Meteor Films), a record-breaking one hour CGI special co-produced with the Science Channel and NHK; and ‘Rainforest Gold,’ a theatrical release feature-length documentary, co-produced with the NFB and Brazilian Government.