See the full article published by Realscreen here.
Small Army Entertainment is thrilled to announce that it has been selected for Realscreen's Global 100 List as one of the Top 10 Emerging Independent Production Companies in the world!
Launched in 2022, Vancouver-based Small Army Entertainment is headed by executive producers Sean De Vries — a tenured unscripted veteran with credits on such titles as The Bachelor Canada, Border Security and Love It or List It — and Stephen Sawchuk, who has produced over 100 hours of content for such major outlets as Apple TV+, Peacock, HGTV, E! and Lifetime, among others.
Making its debut in its first year or business with Haunted Gold Rush, a two-part special for Blue Ant Media's paranormal channels T+E (broadcast) and HauntTV (FAST), Small Army followed that solid first showing with a pair of multi-episode orders for 2023: another Blue Ant commission, History's Most Haunted (6 x 60 min.), reuniting the three-woman paranormal-investigation team from Haunted Gold Rush; and Push (pictured, 8 x 30 min.), an original unscripted series for the CBC produced with Fenix Film and Television that spotlights a group of unlikely friends and wheelchair users living their lives to the fullest.
With season two of Push having aired its finale in March, SAE is moving forward with new projects in funded development for CBC and AMI-tv in Canada, as well as BYUtv, the cable channel owned and operated by Brigham Young University.
Jacks of all trades: Assessing the current TV landscape, SAE founder De Vries says that "a key challenge, no question, is the number of broadcasters and appetite for content on traditional TV, cable and platforms. Shows that require larger budgets are harder to get off the ground and harder to get renewed. However, we find a lot of opportunity if you're willing to be nimble, lean and creative.
"At Small Army, Stephen and I have managed to put a lot of energy into shows that don't have larger budgets because we do not have the infrastructure and overhead of larger companies," he continues. "Between the two of us, we've done pretty much every job in the business, and if the productions require it we continue to do those jobs — from directing, to line producing, to writing and story editing. We are also finding a lot of opportunity in co-ventures and service productions.
"We abide by two principles at Small Army that have guided our success: 'it's better to have a piece of something than all of nothing' and 'never underestimate what can be accomplished by a Small Army.'"
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