For their broadcast work, Alison and David have operated under the banner of Gabriel Films North Inc., a film and television company that specializes in producing socially relevant documentary and television programming.
David has been awarded two 
Gemini’s for his work, plus a Daytime Emmy for a series he produced for Discovery Health. As producers, Alison and David have also been awarded an American GLAAD award for a documentary on Gay Rodeo they produced in their 10-part documentary series “Only In America.” 
Gabriel Films North has also produced multiple television series including: Casino Diaries (Discovery Channel) ; World’s Most Dangerous Places (Travel Channel); and “Ultimate Survival: Everest” (Discovery Channel).
As a director, David has been a lead director on CBC’s popular “Village on a Diet”, as well as History Channel’s “Ice PIlots”.
Take a peek here for some great videos from “Ice Pilots”
David and Alison were producing partners on “Twins Who Share Brains”, a one-hour documentary that followed a set of conjoined twins over a one-year period in their young lives. The documentary aired on National Geographic US; Channel 4 in the UK and on “Rough Cuts (CBC).
Twins Who Share Brains is the story of one year in the life of the most unique set of twins ever born in Canada. The Hogan twins have struggled to survive since they were conceived in the womb. Statistically, the twins had a 20% chance of being born alive. If they beat that hurdle then there was a 75% chance they’d die within 48 hours. Only two sets of craniopogus twins have reached adulthood. Yet at birth they were as strong as one would expect if they had been ‘normal’ monozygotic twins born prematurely.
However, it soon became obvious that their survival was far from assured.
Seizures have gripped the girls and sent them to death’s doorstep. Their doctors are operating under new rules…few people have had the opportunity to see craniopagus twins, let alone treat them. Every test administered, every operation the girls have to undergo, puts them into new territory.
Many Craniopagus twins share brain matter, but in most cases it’s an insignificant amount with no impact on function or consciousness. But in the case of Tatiana and Krista, earlier MRI scans suggested something unique in the human form. They have a well-defined bridge between the Thalamus, the key-switching centre of the brain. This is where all senses (apart from smell) are received before being passed on to the higher levels of the brain for processing into the senses of touch, sight, taste and hearing.
The ramifications of this are two-fold. Firstly it means that any attempt to separate would almost definitely result not only in the death of Krista, but also in severe brain damage to her sister Tatiana.
But more incredibly, it opens up the possibility that both sisters could use each other’s senses. As Dr. Cochrane explains, it’s only now that the twins are older that functional MRI techniques can tell the level of communication between the brains at the sensory level. The neuro—psychological team prepare for what could be a medical first.
However, already there is plenty of evidence of some level of sharing of the senses – particularly sight. Both Doug, the twins’ grandfather, and Felicia have observed Tatiana ‘zoning out’, her eyes becoming transfixed in an almost hypnotic state when Krista is being fed a visual stimulus that Tatiana cannot see. Felicia firmly believes that at those times she is using her sisters’ eyes to see what her sister is seeing.
Against all odds, they came into this world and have not only survived, but thrived to the amazement of their medical team. Their story is one that will change our understanding of human consciousness.
To watch a trailer, or the full program please go here:
Twins Who Share Brains
One of their documentaries, Sledhead, was accepted into film festivals around the world – winning Best Picture multiple times.
Sledhead is the story of one year in the life of Canada’s National Sledge hockey team. Each player has a different story to tell – inspiring stories that speak to the day-to-day struggles of playing for a national team and what it’s like to be a disabled man living in a world largely designed for the able-bodied person.
They are as different as the disabilities that brought them together as a team. Each man, whether born with a disability, or come to it by accident, has learned to live through adversity. They joke amongst themselves about separating the “amps” and the “wheelies” into separate dressing rooms. But one thing is certain; they have bonded together into a unique and sometimes dysfunctional family with a single purpose – to be World Champions in their chosen sport of sledge hockey.
In the past, the National Team has soared to great heights, winning a gold medal at the Paralympics in Turino. The team became a close-knit family and that family is about to get tested by some of the best sledge hockey teams in the world. Theirs is a story in the classic sense of storytelling: a quest – the World Championships – with rivals out to dethrone them. It’s also the story about men who live their life as disabled men and all the baggage that entails – the stares, the prejudice, the struggles to do things that able-bodied people take for granted.
It is a story of a remarkable team of athletes and even more remarkable men.
To watch the Sledhead trailer press the button below (when you arrive on the page, push the small arrow button below the video and it will play).
Sledhead W5 Trailer