Our films win acclaim but that's not why we're here

The first point of contact for callers or visitors to the MMP office will likely be Gordon. From coordinating meetings to juggling the day to day of the office, dealing with online sales to managing Merit’s calendar, Gordon’s organizational skills are only matched by his knowledge of 1970s Cinema and all-female rock/punk bands (most notably The Runaways).

Born and raised in Winnipeg, he was instrumental in kick-starting the local performance art scene as a performer and promoter and has gigged extensively throughout the UK and Netherlands with spoken word and performance poetry shows. Gordon moved to London, UK in 1984 and had a colourful career that took him to the Greater London Council; the Leaders’ Office of the Inner London Education Authority, the internationally-renowned contemporary art gallery Camden Arts Centre and he also managed the arts Review section of the Guardian Media Group’s Observer newspaper. Returning home in 2011 he landed at MMP and has been keeping us organized ever since.

Jolyn joined MMP in 2004 and has been responsible for managing all aspects of production accounting for every MMP project ever since. Over the last 17 plus years, she has been instrumental in MMPs growth and success as an independent production company. 

As the head of the accounting department, Jolyn is the one to reach out to if you have any questions related to accounts receivable or payable, distribution reports, banking or corporate taxes. If it has to do with numbers, she will be able to find you the answer. 

When Jolyn is not crunching numbers and keeping the accounting department organized, she can be found enjoying loud music and cake, soaking in the sun at her cabin and will probably be wearing pearls with an old band t-shirt.

Over the past 30 years, Merit Jensen Carr has built her boutique company, Merit Motion Pictures (MMP), into an industry leader with a reputation for excellence and putting people first. The secret of her success lies in her passion for people, great films and stories that expand our knowledge of the human condition and reveal the beauty of the natural world and that transport us to place’s unseen and challenge us to develop new ways of thinking.

Thanks to Merit's calm and steady leadership and “we’ll make it happen” management style, Merit Motion Pictures has produced an impressive slate of award-winning documentary programs and series.

Merit is currently producing Great Lakes Untamed, a 3 x 1hr natural history series for TVO, Smithsonian US, Terra Mater Factual Studios and ARTE; Everest Dark, a theatrical and 2x1hr documentary for CBC’s documentary Channel and Terra Mater Factual Studios; and Cub Camp, a 6 x 1hr natural history series for Love Nature and Blue Ant Studios.

In 2021, MMP produced two US-France co-productions that aired in the US on Earth Day 2021: the Canadian Screen Award-nominated Kingdom of the Polar Bears, a 90 min/2 x 1hr special for National Geographic Channels, Disney+, CBC, France 3, and Terra Mater Factual Studios; Reef Rescue, (winner of the 2020 Jackson Media Awards for Best Conservation Feature) for PBS NOVA, Vulcan, CBC and ARTE. Season 4 of Dr. Keri: Prairie Vet debuted January 21, 2022.

Other career highlights include the feature documentary Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees, which screened to sold-out audiences in cinemas across North America and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Science and Nature Film. Beyond the Spectrum: A Family’s Year Confronting Autism screened in cinemas across Canada on international Autism Awareness Day and was selected for the Audience Favourite award at the Festival Inclus in Barcelona. TuTuMUCH screened in 60 Cineplex theatres across Canada, in Australia, and at film festivals around the world. 40 Years of One Night Stands: The Story of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet premiered at Lincoln Center in New York.

Merit is honoured to have received the inaugural Hot Docs Don Haig Award for Producing and the Manitoba Women’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Merit has served on numerous industry boards throughout her career including the Canadian Media Producers Association, the Documentary Organization of Canada and On Screen Manitoba. She is best known for co-chairing the federally appointed Non-Theatrical Task Force with former NFB and Telefilm head, François Macerola.

One of the newest members of the MMP team, Adrian brings a wide range of skills and experience to the office. Adrian began his film career as a camera assistant and since joining the MMP team he has been able to apply these skills on Dr. Keri: Prairie Vet. He also assists with managing and maintaining MMPs camera equipment.

Adrian’s helpful “can do” attitude, creativity and curiosity make him capable of jumping in and helping with any number of roles. This has led him to expanding his skills into the world of post-production where he can also be found working as a logging editor.

In his spare time Adrian is also a visual artist and photographer. He comes by these talents honestly, having been born into a family of film professionals and growing up around the arts.

Sandra Moore has been with Merit Motion Pictures since 2000 as a Production Manager, Head of Production, Post Supervisor, Producer and Line Producer. Her numerous credits include the award-winning series Recreating Eden, The Science of the Senses, Smarty Plants, My Brain Made Me Do It, What Trees Talk About, Turtle Beach, Reef Rescue and two seasons of Dr. Keri Prairie Vet.

Relishing in the challenge of putting all the pieces together, Sandra loves the logistics of making a film; looking at each production as a combination Sudoko puzzle, crime novel and trip around the world. Highly organized and with a wealth of experience wrangling productions both large and small, Sandra brings team spirit and a smile to every project.

With a hot cup of tea in her hand, Sandra can be found accompanied by her strong, silent and brilliant right hand Production Assistant, Buddy Dog.

Ophélie started at MMP as an intern from Red River Community Colleges’ Creative Communications Program and proved to be such a skilled and dynamic asset she returned as a member of the team after she graduated from the program in 2019. 

Her first MMP project was the Canada/France coproduction Kingdom of the Polar Bears, where she not only served as a production coordinator, but also as a translator, using her French language skills to translate legal and creative documents. Her talent for writing and graphic design has led her to working on MMPs social media and marketing programs, and her training and passion for filmmaking is put to work with her assistant editor duties. 

When she isn’t at work on a film, she spends her free time experimenting with analog photography and cinematography or watching films with her cat Gero (pronounced jee-ROH).

Alexa Rosentreter is MMP’s General Manager and has been with the company in various capacities since 2004. She is in charge of production and business affairs and is the person to reach out to for any questions about time, money, and deals (ie, schedules, financing/budgets, contracts).

In 2010 she produced MMP’s interactive project, One Ocean Interactive (co-produced by Tactica Interactive), a first for both Alexa and MMP, which was critically acclaimed and won multiple prestigious awards.

With a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, an MBA from Rollins College/ Crummer Graduate School of Business and having spent six years managing the film and tax credit programs at the provincial funding agency, Manitoba Film & Sound (MF&S), Alexa has a keen understanding of the business of making films. 

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Kerri started at MMP in 2006 as an accounting assistant and then moved on to production coordinator on The Science of the Senses series for CBC’s The Nature of Things, as well as The Truth About Liars for CBC’s DOC ZONE. 

She took on the role of Production Manager on The Secret World of Shoplifting, directed by Andy Blicq, which received among the highest ratings ever for documentaries on DOC ZONE. She went on to work on a number of MMP projects with Andy including Vietnam: Canada’s Shadow War which won a Canadian Screen Award.

Kerri does theatre and improv, is an ardent Winnipeg Jets fan, really loves animals, and recently completed her MA in the department of English, Theatre, Film & Media at the University of Manitoba. She currently works in development at MMP.