BEYOND THE FRAME

Beyond the Frame · August 2026 · Habethy Film Productions From the Producers’ Chair Ask most Canadians whether we have a spy agency and you'll get a shrug. The real answer is stranger than yes or no. We run signals intelligence. CSIS collects foreign intelligence - but Parliament wrote it into law in 1984 that it could only do so within Canada. What this country has not built publicly is a service that runs human sources abroad: no CIA, no MI6, no Australian ASIS. Whether it should is being...

BEYOND THE FRAME | MAY 2026 Sundowning rolls camera. Blue Box opens at #1 on Prime. The market is listening. We watched Ruthless Bastards at the Rio earlier this spring. A film we helped build. We worked on this production during the writers (WGA) and actors (SAG) strike in 2023, and there it was... finally up on the big screen for a Vancouver crowd. It's a strange and wonderful feeling to watch something you helped build from the other side of the screen. You forget about the budget. You...

February 2026 From the Producers’ Chair Hello Reader, Harrison Ford spent fifteen years going back and forth between acting and carpentry before the world figured out what he was. He wasn't waiting to be discovered. He was doing the work. Building things with his hands when the industry wasn't looking. Trusting that the right room existed somewhere, and that when he walked into it, he'd recognize his people. We thought about that a lot this February. Because this month we have been having...

January 2026 Newsletter From the Producers’ Chair Hello Reader, "The best shot is the one that makes you uncomfortable." 2025 was full of uncomfortable shots - both literally and metaphorically. The kind where you're not quite sure if you're brilliant or insane, but you know you can't play it safe anymore. That's where we lived most of last year. In the discomfort. In the space between "this is impossible" and "we're doing it anyway." The Stoics had it right: "The obstacle is the way." Turns...

April, 16 2025 From the Producers’ Chair Hello Reader, Today is National Canadian Film Day—a moment to pause and recognize the incredible stories born here, told here, and shared with the world. And it’s a perfect day to send this update because The Quiet Canadians—our next film—is more than just a movie. It’s a declaration of how we believe films should be made: • With clarity of purpose. • With a committed audience from day one. • And with a whole lot of Canadian grit and ambition and some...

March 2025 Newsletter Independent Film is Not Just Alive—It’s Thriving Sean Baker just made history. His independent film Anora swept the Academy Awards, proving beyond a doubt that independent cinema is where the real artistry lives. Five Oscars for a film made on “blood, sweat, and tears” – not studio franchise money. Proof that audiences and movie lovers want fresh, original stories, not the same recycled Hollywood IP. This is a defining moment for indie filmmakers. It’s also why we’re...

February 2025 Newsletter From the Producers’ Chair Hello Reader, Sometimes, the best way to move forward is to start before you’re ready. The same mindset is driving The Quiet Canadians. We’ve set the course: our first stunt sequence will be shot this spring/summer! This is a parachuting sequence that will set the tone for the film’s high-stakes tension. Our full production is locked for October/November 2025. We’re pushing forward with funding, assembling our team, and crafting a lean,...

January 2025 Newsletter From the Producers’ Chair Hello Reader, Toward the New Year As we step into a new year, we’re reminded of George Eliot’s three phrases: “The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.” It might seem paradoxical to hold these truths together, but it’s essential. To believe in progress, we have to embrace the complexity of the world as it is—acknowledging its flaws, celebrating its strides, and committing to what’s possible. This perspective...

Limited Copies of the Novels That Inspired The Quiet Canadians Dear Reader, As 2024 draws to a close, we want to take a moment to thank you for being part of this thrilling journey. Your support and enthusiasm for The Quiet Canadians are what make this all possible. To celebrate the season and the incredible stories we’re building, we’re excited to offer limited signed copies of both The Quiet Canadians and its sequel, Disguising the Lie. These gripping novels set the stage for the film...