Treepot Media
Treepot Media was an Ottawa-based production company, active from 2010 to 2017. Under the leadership of founder Jith Paul, the company produced and collaborated on several documentaries, narrative films, and promotional videos.
The music video channel Treepot.tv connected videographers with independent musicians, while the Treepot Film Festival, and the video-on-demand service IndieKoala took independent films to new audiences.
Treepot.tv
Play. Learn. Grow. Independent musicians and emerging filmmakers collaborated on 37 episodes distributed on the channel's website and on iTunes between 2009 and 2013.
Indie Koala
The artist-run video-on-demand service for indie Films operated from 2013 to 2016 featured 18 films and generated over 350 plays, expanding the reach of local films beyond the Ottawa-Gatineau region.
Treepot Media produced Jith Paul’s directorial films Algebra and A Clean Slate, which performed well on the international festival circuit. Algebra screened at the Festival international Entr'2 marches in Cannes, and A Clean Slate premiered at the Valle d'Itria Film Festival in Italy, where it was awarded Best International Short Film. Treepot collaborations Polar Bear Love, Moments, and Perfect, were finalists in CBC’s Short Film Face-off.
Algebra
An artist descends into madness and shuts out the world when he ultimately becomes a painter without vision.
A Clean Slate
A once promising pop singer struggles to overcome her debilitating stage fright with the help of her two friends.
Perfect
A quirky comedy about one man's attempt to free himself of any flaws, when only to learn that perfection can mean many things.
Expanding the linguistic diversity of its portfolio, Treepot co-productions Jasmin et Macarons was an official selection at Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois in Montreal, and L'homme de la Maison won awards at the Festival du Court-Métrage d'Auch in France and the Beacon Film Festival in Hertford, UK.
Jasmin et Macarons
A woman invites two friends for afternoon tea, but the discussion turns sour because of underlying tensions in their friendship.
L'homme de la Maison
A father's xenophobia influences a child as his recently divorced mother grows closer to their Muslim neighbour.
Polar Bear Love
A winner of two tickets to Taiwan tries speed dating to find a travel companion and discovers more than expected.
Treepot’s documentary collaborations include North Boys, winner of the Founder’s Award at the Yorkton Film Festival, and This is My Witness, which premiered at the Paley Centre in New York. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation commissioned Treepot to produce Neighbourhood Stories, showcasing people and their connection to Ottawa’s neighbourhoods.
This is My Witness
Two women go to New York to tell stories of brutality at the hands of the military regime in Burma.
Neighbourhood Stories
We all have a story that links us to our community. Take a stroll through parts of the city and meet our neighbours.
North Boys
Two residential school survivors, both were taken away from their home on the same day in 1944, reunite in 70s.
Treepot’s notable promotional video projects include Drum with Us for ACTRA National’s Diversity Committee, documentation of the Montebello Conference for the Nobel Women’s Initiative, annual concert videos for OrKidstra, and Love Me Loud, a music video for Tara Shannon.
Drum With Us
A promotional video advocating for diversity in casting of actors for ACTRA National.
NWI in Montebello
Nobel Peace Laureates host a gathering in Montebello, Quebec to discuss the increasing use of sexual violence in war.
In effort to provide a bridge for creators to transition from creating short films to feature-length films, Treepot Media also launched The Cliffhanger Project. The collaborative cinematic chain-letter saw five filmmakers create chapters of a story over a year, each building on the previous chapter’s cliffhanger. The resulting feature film, The Treepot Cliffhanger, was screened at the Mayfair Theatre.
Treepot Cliffhanger
A cinematic chain letter with each chapter following from the cliffhanger of the previous director's chapter.
OrKidstra
Empowering children and building community through the universal language of music.
Co-Creation
Youth and adults discuss important concepts related to Indigenous education in Canada.
Treepot Media's films and collaborations have screened at festivals, won awards, and continue to be enjoyed by audiences around the world.
Click on the "legend" icon (top left in the map header) for film-related breakdown | Direct link to map
Enthusiastic feedback from Treepot Film Festival audiences, filmmakers, and colleagues inspired Jith Paul to co-found the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival (OCan) in 2015, where he sits on the board of directors and enjoys bringing films from all across Canada to local audiences. OCan was recognized as an IMDB qualifying festival in 2019, and made the list of qualifying festivals for the Canadian Screen Awards (Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television) in 2024.
Jith continues to play, learn, and grow by freelancing and collaborating on film productions.