John Bolton(II)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
John Bolton is an award-winning filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada, and the founder & chief creative officer of Opus 59 Films, a boutique storytelling enterprise focused on adapting, and making films about, extraordinary works of music, literature and art. He brings a very particular erudition and sensibility to Opus 59 Films' diverse portfolio of projects.
John is best known for his feature length "musical docudrama" Aim for the Roses (2016) (for Blue Ice Docs and Monoduo Films, with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council), about Canadian musician Mark Haney and Canadian daredevil Ken Carter. Exclaim! Magazine called it "enthralling and thought provoking", the Globe and Mail called it "audacious and outrageous" and POV Magazine called it "bizarre, ambitious and ridiculously entertaining" and "the wildest, craziest, smartest doc in years". It had its world premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto, was the opening night film at DOXA in Vancouver, played in festivals around the world, had its broadcast premiere on CBC / Documentary Channel, and was nominated for 5 Leo Awards and a Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award. It's available on Apple TV in Canada and Vimeo On Demand worldwide.
John is currently producing and directing King Arthur's Night (2025), a genre-defying music documentary inspired by a medieval musical play created by an amazing company of artists living with and without Down Syndrome, including award-winning playwrights Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef and iconic musician Veda Hille. Think "The Green Knight" meets "Crip Camp", but with songs.
King Arthur's Night is produced in association with Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), Knowledge Network and Level Film, with the support of the BC Arts Council, the Canada Media Fund's POV Program, Creative BC's Reel Focus BC Production Program, the Rogers Documentary Fund and Telefilm Canada's Theatrical Documentary Program. It was developed with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Creative BC / Rogers Group Of Funds Documentary + Factual Development Fund, and Telefilm Canada.
Most recently, John produced and directed The Lake / n'-ha-a-itk (2022), an inspiring music documentary about an extraordinary friendship between two singers & teachers - Heather Pawsey of Astrolabe Musik Theatre, and Delphine Derickson of Westbank First Nation - and the groundbreaking cultural collaboration in which they decolonized a historic Canadian opera by incorporating syilx / Okanagan perspectives. It had its world premiere at FIFA in Montreal. The Georgia Straight called it "remarkable, heartfelt and memorable" and the National Observer called it "fascinating" and said that "it's hard to imagine if there can be many other films like it".
The Lake / n'-ha-a-itk is a Telus Original, produced with the support of the Vancouver Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, Creative BC / Amplify BC, the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Deux Mille Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, the SOCAN Foundation and the Ambache Charitable Trust, and with the sponsorship of Westbank First Nation, Turning Point Ensemble, Quails' Gate Estate Winery and the Canadian Music Centre in BC.
John recently produced Teresa Alfeld's documentary Doug and the Slugs & Me (2022) (for CBC / Documentary Channel), a POV documentary following Teresa's journey uncovering the story of her childhood best friend's dad, Doug Bennett, leader of the legendary 1980s Canadian band Doug and the Slugs. It had its world premiere at DOXA in Vancouver, where it was the closing night film. The Globe and Mail called it "an atypical rock doc" and said that "the film has a soul", POV Magazine called it "fun, fast and personal" and TV Eh? called it "wonderfully moving".
John previously produced Teresa's feature length documentary The Rankin File: Legacy of a Radical (2018) (with the support of the British Columbia Arts Council), about the colourful and sometimes controversial life of Vancouver lawyer, city councillor and socialist icon Harry Rankin, which was the opening night film at DOXA in Vancouver, and had its broadcast / streaming premiere in Canada on Knowledge Network, and in the USA on Means TV. The Commentary called it "a fascinating film and marvelous chronicle of Vancouver" and the Georgia Straight called it "memorable and nuanced".
John also recently executive produced Nisha Platzer's documentary Back Home (2022) (for Telefilm Canada), about Nisha's pursuit to get to know her older brother, Josh, twenty years after he took his own life. It had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and its broadcast / streaming premiere on TVO. POV Magazine called it "haunting, ethereal, poignant and personal" and Stir Magazine called it "a poetic, sensory portrait that pushes the documentary form".
John also recently wrote and directed the feature length documentary That Higher Level (2018) (for the National Film Board of Canada), about the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, which had its world premiere at the Victoria Film Festival, and had its broadcast / streaming premiere on CBC Gem. The Vancouver Observer called it "inspiring and thrilling" and Viva Scene called it "a soulful endeavour".
John's other films as producer / director include adaptations of short stories by Nancy Lee and Thomas King (both of which won Leo Awards for Best Actress); the cult classic Crazy8s short "Breakdown" (which won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress); a short documentary about Michael J. Fox; short films about the artists David Burdeny, Douglas Coupland, Omer Arbel and Pete Clarkson; a series of polyamorous classical music promos for Knowledge Network's Radio City strand; classical music performance pieces featuring Allegra Chamber Orchestra, Borealis String Quartet, City Opera Vancouver, Little Chamber Music, Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and Rudolf Komorous; and the Golden Sheaf Award winning Flame/Through Walls (2010), featuring the UBC Women's Hockey Team skating to the music of Jennifer Butler and Jordan Nobles.
John is best known for his feature length "musical docudrama" Aim for the Roses (2016) (for Blue Ice Docs and Monoduo Films, with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council), about Canadian musician Mark Haney and Canadian daredevil Ken Carter. Exclaim! Magazine called it "enthralling and thought provoking", the Globe and Mail called it "audacious and outrageous" and POV Magazine called it "bizarre, ambitious and ridiculously entertaining" and "the wildest, craziest, smartest doc in years". It had its world premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto, was the opening night film at DOXA in Vancouver, played in festivals around the world, had its broadcast premiere on CBC / Documentary Channel, and was nominated for 5 Leo Awards and a Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award. It's available on Apple TV in Canada and Vimeo On Demand worldwide.
John is currently producing and directing King Arthur's Night (2025), a genre-defying music documentary inspired by a medieval musical play created by an amazing company of artists living with and without Down Syndrome, including award-winning playwrights Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef and iconic musician Veda Hille. Think "The Green Knight" meets "Crip Camp", but with songs.
King Arthur's Night is produced in association with Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), Knowledge Network and Level Film, with the support of the BC Arts Council, the Canada Media Fund's POV Program, Creative BC's Reel Focus BC Production Program, the Rogers Documentary Fund and Telefilm Canada's Theatrical Documentary Program. It was developed with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Creative BC / Rogers Group Of Funds Documentary + Factual Development Fund, and Telefilm Canada.
Most recently, John produced and directed The Lake / n'-ha-a-itk (2022), an inspiring music documentary about an extraordinary friendship between two singers & teachers - Heather Pawsey of Astrolabe Musik Theatre, and Delphine Derickson of Westbank First Nation - and the groundbreaking cultural collaboration in which they decolonized a historic Canadian opera by incorporating syilx / Okanagan perspectives. It had its world premiere at FIFA in Montreal. The Georgia Straight called it "remarkable, heartfelt and memorable" and the National Observer called it "fascinating" and said that "it's hard to imagine if there can be many other films like it".
The Lake / n'-ha-a-itk is a Telus Original, produced with the support of the Vancouver Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, Creative BC / Amplify BC, the Central Okanagan Foundation, the Deux Mille Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, the SOCAN Foundation and the Ambache Charitable Trust, and with the sponsorship of Westbank First Nation, Turning Point Ensemble, Quails' Gate Estate Winery and the Canadian Music Centre in BC.
John recently produced Teresa Alfeld's documentary Doug and the Slugs & Me (2022) (for CBC / Documentary Channel), a POV documentary following Teresa's journey uncovering the story of her childhood best friend's dad, Doug Bennett, leader of the legendary 1980s Canadian band Doug and the Slugs. It had its world premiere at DOXA in Vancouver, where it was the closing night film. The Globe and Mail called it "an atypical rock doc" and said that "the film has a soul", POV Magazine called it "fun, fast and personal" and TV Eh? called it "wonderfully moving".
John previously produced Teresa's feature length documentary The Rankin File: Legacy of a Radical (2018) (with the support of the British Columbia Arts Council), about the colourful and sometimes controversial life of Vancouver lawyer, city councillor and socialist icon Harry Rankin, which was the opening night film at DOXA in Vancouver, and had its broadcast / streaming premiere in Canada on Knowledge Network, and in the USA on Means TV. The Commentary called it "a fascinating film and marvelous chronicle of Vancouver" and the Georgia Straight called it "memorable and nuanced".
John also recently executive produced Nisha Platzer's documentary Back Home (2022) (for Telefilm Canada), about Nisha's pursuit to get to know her older brother, Josh, twenty years after he took his own life. It had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and its broadcast / streaming premiere on TVO. POV Magazine called it "haunting, ethereal, poignant and personal" and Stir Magazine called it "a poetic, sensory portrait that pushes the documentary form".
John also recently wrote and directed the feature length documentary That Higher Level (2018) (for the National Film Board of Canada), about the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, which had its world premiere at the Victoria Film Festival, and had its broadcast / streaming premiere on CBC Gem. The Vancouver Observer called it "inspiring and thrilling" and Viva Scene called it "a soulful endeavour".
John's other films as producer / director include adaptations of short stories by Nancy Lee and Thomas King (both of which won Leo Awards for Best Actress); the cult classic Crazy8s short "Breakdown" (which won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress); a short documentary about Michael J. Fox; short films about the artists David Burdeny, Douglas Coupland, Omer Arbel and Pete Clarkson; a series of polyamorous classical music promos for Knowledge Network's Radio City strand; classical music performance pieces featuring Allegra Chamber Orchestra, Borealis String Quartet, City Opera Vancouver, Little Chamber Music, Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa and Rudolf Komorous; and the Golden Sheaf Award winning Flame/Through Walls (2010), featuring the UBC Women's Hockey Team skating to the music of Jennifer Butler and Jordan Nobles.
