EXPERIENCE, CREATIVITY AND COLLABORATION. Heartstring is Nance Ackerman and Jamie Alcorn. With the help of some talented creatives in our area, we direct, shoot, edit, score and mix visual stories. With years of documentary filmmaking and photography behind her, Nance's heart is with social issues and creating art for change. As a musician and performer, Jamie brings a unique homegrown talent and energy to his soundtracks and sound production. So basically he just wants to rock. We work some amazingly talented folks here in NS and across the country. Call us. We're fun. 
 

NANCE ACKERMAN is a documentary photographer by trade and a filmmaker by choice. Her visual storytelling is powerful, visceral and authentic. She tells the social issue stories that need to be told, but in collaboration with her subjects. Nance started freelancing at Canada's National Newspaper, the Globe and Mail and then moved on to the Toronto Star, NYTimes, Canadian Geographic, the Montreal Gazette and now she works with the National Film Board of Canada and other production companies across the country. Her books and photographs have been shown around the world and her documentaries receive global critical acclaim. A director, cinematographer, editor and music composer, she works with her partner, Jamie Alcorn to create films that are experiential and cinematic. Her international photo workshops take students to some of the planet's most remote communities. In her spontaneous engaging way, she tries to connect people to create a more caring world. 

Over the last 30 years, JAMIE ALCORN has played guitar on some of Canada's largest stages. As one of Nova Scotia's premiere blues guitarists, he's shared the stage with such bands as Matt Minglewood, Downchild Blues Band, Lennie Gallant and Jeff Healey. He has recorded, produced and mixed the likes of the Rankins, Blue Rodeo, Cowboy Junkies, The Trews and Lenny Gallant. Jamie's eclectic style led him to collaborating with Nance on soundtracks for her documentaries and now they continue to create rootsy, haunting soundtracks for many of Nova Scotia's filmmakers and commercial production houses. With his amiable (read, nutty) personality, Jamie has produced and sound engineered for such bands as: Floodland, Carson Downey and Lone Cloud. He is now the sound engineer at Annapolis Royal’s Kings Theatre - one of the maritime’s premiere soft seater venues, mixing live for Classified, Ray Bonneville, Rose Cousins, Miles Goodwin, Ben Caplan and Madison Violet.

Our Creative collaborators

CHRISTOPHER BALL, at cbi films, is our go-to cinematographer. Anyone who can stand Nance's hovering over the viewfinder deserves a medal, but Chris manages to put up with it and make her vision come to life. One of Canada's finest shooters, Chris has lent his eye to a variety of television, film and documentaries, such as: Haven, Mr. D, Four Feet Up, Weight of Water, Diet of Souls, Growing Op, Trudeau: the Early Years and many many more. His complete lack of ego, sensitive eye and willingness to put in those long days on our projects makes Chris totally indispensable. 

KEVIN FRASER, our other go-to shooter, is just too adorable not to hire - he's a youngin' and that means he tends to get stuck with all the steady-cam work! His eye, creative brain and love of the craft is what drew us to him. Kevin's bio reads like this: " My goal is to work alongside friendly people (that's us!!) and make content we can all be proud of!"  He's shot such projects as: Bernie Langille, Borderline, My Week on Welfare, and many music videos for maritime musicians such as David Myles, Rose Cousins and The Stanfields. 

We call on famed world music violinist, CHRIS CHURCH, when we need some amazing strings put down in our soundtracks. He's classically trained but rips it up on the world music scene as a solo artist and as a collaborator. He's shared the stage with the likes of Lennie Gallant, Jesse Cook and Symphony Nova Scotia. But what makes Chris so special is his unbelievable sensitivity to the material and intuitive global musicality that weaves through our soundtracks. We love this guy. 

ARIELLA PAHLKE and TERESA MACINNES - both amazingly talented documentary filmmakers - collaborated with Nance on a major feature documentary co-production with the National Film Board. The three women, have a combined 60 odd years experience in the biz of documentary storytelling. Their creative brains and passion for social issue collaborative filmmaking make this trio a real force to be reckoned with. We've learned to wait until the end of the production meetings to start the cocktails though.