About Us
Pinegrove Productions was formed in 1994 by Franziska and Douglas von Rosen. Since then, we have evolved into a full-service production studio.
Dr. Franziska von Rosen
Founder, Producer, Director
Dreaming of being a folksinger and classical guitarist, but post music degree realizing that wasn’t going to happen, Franziska headed to graduate school and studied ethnomusicology and film making. During this time she made her first video – Micmac Storyteller: River of Fire. When it won an award (AMTEC ’92), she was hooked. After completing her Ph.D. she started teaching at Ottawa and Carleton Universities. , During this time, she and Douglas von Rosen founded Pinegrove Productions.
By 2004 Franziska had stopped teaching and was producing full time, working with Douglas and other skilled professionals who shared Pinegrove’s passion for telling stories that inform, that inspire, and most importantly, that lead to positive action.
Franziska’s personal passion is for helping people from different cultures and backgrounds share their stories. In 2008 Franziska was invited to direct a four part feature length series on the history of the Cree Nation of Quebec – The Eeyouch of Eeyou Istchee. For the series she interviewed four Grand Chiefs of the Cree Nation, former Prime Minister Paul Martin, former Quebec Premiers Bernard Landry and Jean Charest, Cree elders and many others. The Pinegrove creative team was responsible for production and post-production (www.pinegroveproductions.ca).
Franziska’s other passion is for environmental education, particularly for youth. In 2004 Pinegrove created the Our Incredible World brand a website that offers free multimedia resources for educators and youth on important environmental issues. Since 2004, Our Incredible World has been continually growing and reaching out to youth in all parts of Canada.
Douglas von Rosen
Founder, Videographer, Editor, Director
Whether stalking through the jungle in Colombia, or hanging out of a helicopter in northern Quebec, Douglas is usually behind the camera. When he’s not there, he’s in the studio editing. Douglas’s skill as a cinematographer, his technical knowledge of the craft, and his artistic vision ensure the high quality of each project he works on.
A graduate of the University of Guelph’s Fine Arts program, Douglas has learned to pay attention to detail, whether it is in the particular way he frames his shots, or in the way he works to achieve that perfect synergy between music and visuals in the editing suite.
From 1998 to 2003 Douglas honed his skills working freelance as a camera operator and editor on numerous dramatic and documentary projects. For example, in 1998 he edited In Search of Happiness, a documentary on the meaning of happiness in Cuba, Brazil and Canada (Produced by Mango Productions); in 1999 he was the DOP/Editor for Life on the Heater, a documentary about the lives of a group of homeless people living in the shadow of our nations parliament (produced by Contraband productions and aired by TVO); In 2002 he edited Growing Up Canadian, a six part series (produced by Telewerx Inc. and aired by History Channel & Vision).
Douglas shares Franziska’s passion for the natural world. He has been known to spend days tracking bears and Woodland caribou, or spend hours on his knees trying to get the perfect shot of a salamander that is refusing to move. He also likes new toys, in particular our drone with which he can get a whole new bird’s-eye view.
Miles Finlayson
Writer, Director, Cinematographer
In a dimly lit, grimy back room at the Salvation Army, Miles, barely out of school, pulled out a Super 8 camera. “I looked through the view finder, and it was honestly like one of those epiphany moments and I knew I wanted to make movies. It was a very raw, pure revelation that I wanted to tell stories through the moving image. In 2001 he directed his first short film and has continued creating his own work ever since.
We got to know Miles in 2004 when he was a production assistant on our first Our Incredible World series. He has been working on Pinegrove projects since then (among others): as sound recordist for The Eeyouch of Eeyou Istchee a feature length documentary series, as director of The Woodland Caribou, an Our Incredible World series, and as writer and director on our new series on species at risk.
Miles has continued to do his own creative work and freelance for others. As an editor, he worked on the TV series Nunavut Quest: Race Across Baffin, and was post production supervisor on the feature documentary L’aurore du Tréfonds. He worked as a live camera operator/effects manipulator for Guy Maddin on Tales From the Gimli Hospital: Reframed, and has generated projected video components for plays such as Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh and Fat Pig by Neil LaBute. He directed Connections (2006), The Picture in the House (2010), and The Walkers (2004). He was a cinematographer on film projects such as The Phoenix, Bliss, Odd One Out, Move, Sincerus, Flowers of Evil, The Mountain Pass, and The Lion for which he was recently nominated for best cinematography at the Los Angeles Short Film Festival.
His work has been widely screened including internationally at film festivals and have received several nominations and awards.
Emily Verhoek
Project Manager, Writer of Educational Content
Emily recently joined the Pinegrove Productions team, first as a volunteer, and now as our new project manager.
Emily received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph in Biological Science. During her summers and after graduation, she worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, where she gained valuable experience working in fisheries and wildlife, and species at risk. She finished her time at MNRF as a Species at Risk Biologist where she taught both adults and youth about the importance of coexistence with wildlife.
Emily’s passion for teaching led her to Queen’s University where she got her Bachelor of Education. Working with the Lanark Stewardship Council and Credit Valley Conservation Authority, she spent two years leading outdoor youth education programs. Now as a new mom, Emily continues to classroom teach and volunteer with the Lanark County Stewardship Council.
At Pinegrove, we are excited to have Emily join us. She brings her love for the natural world and her passion for teaching to everything she does.