About
Hamilton Mehta Productions is a Toronto-based independent film Production Company. Co-founded in 1996 by internationally acclaimed director Deepa Mehta and Producer David Hamilton, Hamilton Mehta Productions has been international recognized for their powerful and politically charged films that explore the human condition. They have been the recipients of many well-respected international awards including their most recent Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Film, Water.
The Company has successfully independently produced all three parts of Deepa Mehta’s trilogy: Fire, Earth and Water. At the Chicago International Film Festival, Fire won two Silver Hugo Awards for Best Direction and Best Actress. Fire has been sold to over 30 countries worldwide. In 1999 their film Earth won the Critics' Award at the Schermi d'Amore International Film Festival, Italy. Earth has been sold to 22 countries worldwide and was selected by the Film Federation of India as India's nomination for consideration for an Academy Award in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.
The final film in their trilogy, Water, was a commercial success with worldwide Box Office in excess of $14 million. Released in the US in 2007 by Fox Searchlight, Water played for over 30 weeks on 90 screens generating the highest Box Office for a foreign film in the year prior to release. Water received the Golden Kinnaree Awards for best picture from the Bangkok International Film Festival. The film was also nominated for nine Genie awards, winning three: best cinematography, original music score and best actress for Seema Biswas.
More recently HM has produced a feature documentary Forgotten Woman which won best film at the San Francisco film festival in 2008. Heaven on Earth which was also completed in 2008 premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008. This film has become an icon for professionals in the field of assisting abused woman. It was recently screened at a conference of judges, crown attorneys and health care workers in order to assist them in building an understanding of the special circumstances of immigrant woman in abusive environments.
The latest film produced by Hamilton Mehta is Cooking with Stella a light hearted social satire which had a gala premiere at TIFF 2009. It is now being marketed around the globe.
David Hamilton (Producer)
Before embarking into filmmaking, David Hamilton received his masters at Harvard and wrote a book about “Decision Theory” that was published by MIT Press. He then traveled for a year in India, Iran and the Middle East on a Harvard Sheldon Traveling Fellowship. He now divides his time between Ottawa and Toronto.
For the past 15 years, his company Hamilton Mehta Productions has produced Deepa Mehta’s very successful films: the Elemental Trilogy: Fire, Earth, Water (and this included four years spent putting Water back together after it was shut down by Hindu fundamentalists),Bollywood Hollywood and A Heaven on Earth. He was also the executive producer on the 2001, first ever, Hong Kong – Canada co production Lunch with Charles, directed by Michael Parker. Recently David was the producer of Dilip Mehta’s internationally acclaimed documentary The Forgotten Woman. He was once a tightrope performer in a children’s circus (an activity remarkably akin to feature film production) and has acted in plays and musicals.
Deepa Mehta (Writer/Director)
Deepa Mehta is one of Canada’s most influential and respected filmmakers. Her movies have received numerous awards and played at every major film festival; she has received honourary degrees, tributes and awards around the world, including the prestigious CineAsia “Best Director Award.”
Her Elemental Trilogy comprises: Fire (1996) which she also wrote, Earth (1998), her adaptation of Bapsi Sidhwa’s acclaimed novel and WATER (2005) which was nominated for an Academy Award as best Foreign Film. Water had a notoriously difficult and dangerous production history; it also became a box office success in Canada and worldwide. Her earlier comedy Bollywood Hollywood (2002) remains one of the top 10 grossing English Canadian films. Her other movies are: Sam and Me (1991), Camilla (1994), A Heaven on Earth (2008). Future projects include Midnight's Children, which she is co-writing with author Salman Rushdie.