LOU RIGOUDY
Co-Founder
Lou Rigoudy has been animating, designing, and working as a conceptual artist for over a decade on everything from major blockbuster movies to indie-films. Her career has included work as a lead artist for MPC, animating on The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Dolittle, and The Call of the Wild. She holds a double bachelor’s degree in Film Animation and Theatre Design from Concordia University. Lou is a grant recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts and has been selected for the National Film Board of Canada’s Filmmaker Assistance Program. In 2021, Lou decided to take the leap into creating her own projects, launching Studio l’Oierignal with Robert Montcalm and working on their debut short film Nounours.
ROBERT MONTCALM
Co-Founder
Robert Montcalm is one of the most sought-after performance capture specialists in Canada, having worked extensively with top tier gaming studios including Ubisoft, Eidos, & Game On. He has brought his expertise in choreography, stunt performance, and voice to the creation of a wide array of characters across multiple award-winning titles (For Honor, Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, Rainbow Six). As a performer he has been fortunate to work onstage with the Canadian Opera Company, act in two X-Men films, and play a series regular on Mon fils (TVA). A professional stunt performer, Robert has worked as a lead stunt double on Blood & Treasure (CBS) and Future Man (Hulu). Seeking out emerging and diverse artists with engaging stories, Robert served as an executive producer on several short films that have garnered international festival attention, including Caitlyn Sponheimer’s I Want To Be Like You, Letitia Wright’s writing-debut Things I Never Told My Father, and Oriana Leman’s The Whale. Robert jumped on board with Lou Rigoudy to found Studio l’Oierignal to collaborate and create new and unique stories for years to come.
PAUL ZINNO
Producer
Paul Zinno has worked in film, TV, voice & video games for the past several years. As an actor, Paul has worked on Future Man (Hulu), Appelle-Moi Si Tu Meurs (Zone 3), Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes (SuperMassive Games) and the upcoming series From (Epix). He served as an associate producer on Caitlyn Sponheimer’s multi-award nominated film, Kitty’s Naughty Knickers. Along with Sponheimer, he also developed and produced the short film The Ugliest of Them All for 20th Digital Studio’s Bite-Size Holiday program. Paul holds a Bachelors of Commerce from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business. He continues to seek out opportunities to bring compelling, high-quality stories to the screen.
CAITLYN SPONHEIMER
Producer
Caitlyn Sponheimer is an award-winning director, writer, producer and actor. Her debut live-action short Kitty’s Naughty Knickers (2019) was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement (Directors Guild of Canada) and opened Women in Film at HollyShorts Film Festival. Caitlyn co-wrote, co-produced and starred in April in Autumn (2018) which premiered at Telefilm’s Best of New Canadian Cinema (Cannes Marché) and produced and co-starred in multi-award winning Jasmine Road (2020). Caitlyn will direct her debut feature film Wild Goat Surf in the summer of 2022. She is currently in development with producer Maddy Falle on her next feature, Cocoon and on her next live-action short, Eat a Burger, with TIFF winner and Oscar-nominated executive producer, Evren Boisjoli. Caitlyn is a Telefilm Canada and Canada Council for the Arts grant recipient. A graduate of the Neighbourhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City, she was recently shortlisted as an actor for TIFF Rising Star and as a director for TIFF Filmmakers Lab in 2020. Through her work, Caitlyn seeks to bring light to stigmatized and challenging female struggles through the heightened lens of genre and comedic inspired storytelling.
TREVOR HAYES
Producer
Trevor Hayes has over 20 years experience in the entertainment industry. He has worked extensively as an actor in film and TV, including Titans (Netflix), The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu) and a recurring role on The Girlfriend Experience (Starz). Past notable performances include a series regular in the IFC comedy, The Business, a lead role in the multi-award winning film The Wild Hunt, and playing the titular character in the mini-series, Dr Norman Bethune. Trevor is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre's Actors Conservatory and The University of Western Ontario (Honours BA - Psychology).