Sarah Kapoor appointed as new Film Commissioner for the Kootenay Region

The Kootenay Regional Film Commission (KRFC) announced the appointment of Sarah Kapoor as the new Regional Film Commissioner. An accomplished and award-winning producer, writer, and director, Sarah brings over two decades of industry experience and strong ties with the local film community to her new role, heralding an exciting chapter for the emerging Kootenay film sector.

Sarah was born and raised in Creston, BC, and moved away to Ottawa for university, where she studied Journalism and Political Science at Carleton University, and where her career first blossomed when she started selling her independent documentaries to the CBC. CBC eventually brought her in-house where she worked for the next ten years, rising through the ranks from Toronto evening news reporter to Senior Producer.

Sarah came back to the Kootenays when her father passed, and had planned to stay for only a year to help her mother, but decided to make it home again upon realizing it was the ideal location to raise her family and to further fuel her creativity. Sarah has currently been residing in Creston since 2013, and her location positions her well to support film communities across the East and Central Kootenay.

During Sarah’s impressive career at CBC, she was the host and a co-creator of the CBC’s Past Life Investigation, which earned a Gemini nomination, won The Gracie Award by the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television, and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She also served as CBC Senior Producer for Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister.

In addition to her decade with CBC, Sarah has become a sought-after consultant in the industry, actively contributing to various independent projects in the capacities of story editor and consulting producer. Sarah co-founded her own niche production company, Pollinator Films in 2009. She went on to write, produce, direct, and star in the acclaimed independent dramatic comedy feature, The Bad Mother (2016), now available on several streaming platforms. Currently, Sarah is working with Thoughtluck and conceptualizing an interactive digital media technology that measures screen impact on the nervous system with support from the Canadian Media Fund, as well as producing the documentary The Dear Me Project, which will be available on Telus Optik in January 2025.

Sarah also participated in Nelson Civic Theatre Society (NCTS)‘ inaugural artist residency program in 2020 – 2021, where she examined series production potential in the Kootenays. In 2023-2024, Sarah was one of 22 Canadian producers selected by the National Screen Institute, CMF and EAVE for advanced training and mentorship on provincial and international co-productions, as well as production company and IP development. She attended the Imagine AI inaugural conference in April and has engagements to ensure that she can understand and navigate the tremendous changes AI is bringing to the creative industries.

Sarah will work closely with Lynn Trinh of NCTS, Kootenay Screen-Based Industry Regional Program Manager, to look at how to continue supporting local creators. She looks forward to focusing the lens on fostering Kootenay-based film and digital media production in her role:

“There are unique location advantages for film and digital creators considering coming to produce in our region, and I especially want to support creators with ties to or working in the Kootenays already,” says Sarah. “There’s no exact formula to follow here. We’ll create our own way forward.”

About Kootenay Film

Kootenay Film is made up of the Kootenay Regional Film Commission (KRFC) and the Kootenay Screen-Based Industry (KSBI) initiative that works with local communities to foster the Kootenay region as a prime location for film production.

Kootenay Film was created by NCTS, which started the KSBI initiative and the Kootenay Regional Film Commission (a joint initiative, co-founded and co-governed by NCTS and the Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association (KRTA), with oversight, support and funding from the BC Film Commission at Creative BC).

Read the original release here.
Learn more about the Regional Film Commissions of B.C. here