John Bolton is an award-winning filmmaker from Vancouver / xʷməθkʷəy̓əm / Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw / səlilwətaɬ, and the founder & chief creative officer of Opus 59 Films, a sui generis storytelling endeavour focused on adapting, and making films about, extraordinary works of music, literature and art. He brings a very particular erudition and sensibility to Opus 59 Films’ array of projects.
John is best known for AIM FOR THE ROSES (for Blue Ice Docs and Monoduo Films), about Canadian musician Mark Haney and Canadian daredevil Ken Carter. It had its world premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto, was the opening night film at DOXA in Vancouver, had its broadcast premiere on CBC / Documentary Channel, and was nominated for 5 Leo Awards and a Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award. Exclaim! Magazine called it “enthralling and thought provoking”, the Globe And Mail called it “audacious and outrageous” and POV Magazine called it “bizarre, ambitious and ridiculously entertaining” and “the wildest, craziest, smartest doc in years”. John’s most recent film is KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT (for Accessible Media Inc. / AMI), a medieval musical documentary, inspired by the critically acclaimed play of the same name, created by an amazing company of artists with and without Down syndrome, including award-winning playwrights Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef; visionary director James Long; and iconic musician Veda Hille. It had its world premiere at DOXA in Vancouver. POV Magazine called KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT “spellbinding" and "unique" and "unmissable"; the Tyee called it "fascinating" and "an uproarious melange of the epic and the everyday"; and Stir called it "an authentically inspiring and buoyant documentary-myth mashup that makes us see the world in a new way".
