ABOUT US
Brenda and Robert Rooney have been in a creative partnership for over 30 years. Our documentaries continue to explore the theme of building bridges between people who face profound life challenges.
Our latest project, working title FREE ENTRY, focuses on the relationship between a retirement community and their Algonquin neighbours who make unlikely, and sometimes uneasy, allies in the fight to stop uranium exploration in the picturesque lake district of eastern Ontario.
Our most recent feature documentary THE GREAT GRANNY REVOLUTION continues to tour, having now been shown coast to coast across Canada and in South Africa. We are gratified to note that it has started to inspire policy changes in South Africa with new programs and services being launched to support grandmothers raising AIDS orphans. It was recently picked up for international distribution by Journeyman Pictures.
Other film and television credits include
CONDOMS, FISH & CIRCUS TRICKS;
THE WOMAN WHO LOST HER VIEW, a documentary about the rebuilding of the
Wakefield covered bridge produced in English and French; THE GREAT LAW, a 20 part series of one
hour programs on the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy; and SAFIKA!, a dramatic short which
aired on the SABC, Vision TV and MuchMusic, and was used extensively for voter education leading
up to South Africa's first democratic election in 1994.
Robert began his career as a journalist but was soon seduced by a life in theatre. The documentary film genre allows him to pursue both of these abiding interests. Apart from his documentaries he has directed over 40 stage plays in theatres across Canada and the United States, as well as concerts and special events. To find out more . . . click here. To read selected highlights from press reviews go here.
Brenda spent 10 years as a youth and community worker before switching to theatre. She has held positions at the Stratford Festival, Theatre Plus and the Berkshire Theatre Festival among others. She wrote the 1986 Job Readiness Training Program for the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture and Co-ordinated two Ontario Provincial Government Consultations. See her resumé for details.
We've had the honour of creating several events for Nelson Mandela, most notably the world's biggest classroom MANDELA AND THE CHILDREN AT SKYDOME. We also staged events for two of his fellow Rivonia trialists - namely Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada. For more info and pictures check out EVENTS.
We also specialize in the production of video programs and special events that celebrate Canada's diversity of language and peoples. We offer our clients and production partners skills in the following areas: Writing, Directing, Producing and Production Management. With our extensive background in theatre we try to combine a dramatic approach to our understanding of the issues involved.
We recently completed TAKING THE HEAT for a consortium of NGOs led by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. This documentary short explores farmers' responses to climate change in Mali, Kenya and Malawi. For more of our non-broadcast work see OTHER PROJECTS.
Associations include the Documentary Organization of Canada; Canadian Actors' Equity Association and the Wakefield Grannies.
In 2005, Rooney Productions hired Oren Hertz, who has worked on shoots and in the edit suite, proving to be an invaluable sound man, editor, composer, and all-round useful guy. To learn more about Oren . . . click here.
Brenda's Resumé | Robert's Resumé | Oren's Resumé | Press Quotes