John Barbisan is a film and television producer working in the industry since 1997. John produces acclaimed documentaries with Network Entertainment, Vancouver's premiere unscripted media company. With Network, John produced of the four-part documentary series, Women Who Rock, for EPIX which won a LEO Award for Best Doc Series, as well as the four-part series Punk, also for EPIX, which won multiple LEO Awards including best doc series and best direction. John oversaw a slate of feature documentaries for Paramount Network on iconic luminaries including Heath Ledger, Richard Pryor, Jackie O, Bruce Lee, Burt Reynolds, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. He is the recipient of LEO Awards for best feature documentary for I Am MLK Jr. which he produced, wrote and co-directed and Best Documentary Series for Women Who Rock and PUNK. As co-founder of Hoodwink Entertainment, John has executive produced 59 hours of dramatic television for major Canadian and International end-users including 33 episodes of the one- hour series, "Bitten", based on the “Otherworld” novel series by Kelley Armstrong (with No Equal Entertainment and eOne Entertainment), for Space/Bell Media, Syfy, Netflix and eOne. Also, with Hoodwink, John co-created, developed and executive produced the one-hour series "Whistler" that ran successfully for two seasons on CTV in Canada and The N in the United States. As principal of Hoodwink Entertainment, John is presently developing a number of projects for film and television including the series The Night Wanderer with Drew Hayden Taylor, an indigenous vampire story based on his novel of the same name, as well as In Blood, a one-hour gothic horror series inspired by the life and literature of Bram Stoker and the international thriller "Shadows" with writer Jonathan Lloyd Walker and more. John graduated from Toronto’s York University in 1989 with an Honours Degree in Creative Writing.

John Barbisan

PRO

John Barbisan is a film and television producer working in the industry since 1997. John produces acclaimed documentaries with Network Entertainment, Vancouver's premiere unscripted media company. With Network, John produced of the four-part documentary series, Women Who Rock, for EPIX which won a LEO Award for Best Doc Series, as well as the four-part series Punk, also for EPIX, which won multiple LEO Awards including best doc series and best direction. John oversaw a slate of feature documentaries for Paramount Network on iconic luminaries including Heath Ledger, Richard Pryor, Jackie O, Bruce Lee, Burt Reynolds, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. He is the recipient of LEO Awards for best feature documentary for I Am MLK Jr. which he produced, wrote and co-directed and Best Documentary Series for Women Who Rock and PUNK. As co-founder of Hoodwink Entertainment, John has executive produced 59 hours of dramatic television for major Canadian and International end-users including 33 episodes of the one- hour series, "Bitten", based on the “Otherworld” novel series by Kelley Armstrong (with No Equal Entertainment and eOne Entertainment), for Space/Bell Media, Syfy, Netflix and eOne. Also, with Hoodwink, John co-created, developed and executive produced the one-hour series "Whistler" that ran successfully for two seasons on CTV in Canada and The N in the United States. As principal of Hoodwink Entertainment, John is presently developing a number of projects for film and television including the series The Night Wanderer with Drew Hayden Taylor, an indigenous vampire story based on his novel of the same name, as well as In Blood, a one-hour gothic horror series inspired by the life and literature of Bram Stoker and the international thriller "Shadows" with writer Jonathan Lloyd Walker and more. John graduated from Toronto’s York University in 1989 with an Honours Degree in Creative Writing.

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John Barbisan is a film and television producer working in the industry since 1997.
John produces acclaimed documentaries with Network Entertainment, Vancouver’s premiere unscripted media company.

With Network, John produced of the four-part documentary series, Women Who Rock, for EPIX which won a LEO Award for Best Doc Series, as well as the four-part series Punk, also for EPIX, which won multiple LEO Awards including best doc series and best direction.

John oversaw a slate of feature documentaries for Paramount Network on iconic luminaries including Heath Ledger, Richard Pryor, Jackie O, Bruce Lee, Burt Reynolds, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others.

He is the recipient of LEO Awards for best feature documentary for I Am MLK Jr. which he produced, wrote and co-directed and Best Documentary Series for Women Who Rock and PUNK.

As co-founder of Hoodwink Entertainment, John has executive produced 59 hours of dramatic television for major Canadian and International end-users including 33 episodes of the one- hour series, “Bitten”, based on the “Otherworld” novel series by Kelley Armstrong (with No Equal Entertainment and eOne Entertainment), for Space/Bell Media, Syfy, Netflix and eOne.

Also, with Hoodwink, John co-created, developed and executive produced the one-hour series “Whistler” that ran successfully for two seasons on CTV in Canada and The N in the United States.

As principal of Hoodwink Entertainment, John is presently developing a number of projects for film and television including the series The Night Wanderer with Drew Hayden Taylor, an indigenous vampire story based on his novel of the same name, as well as In Blood, a one-hour gothic horror series inspired by the life and literature of Bram Stoker and the international thriller “Shadows” with writer Jonathan Lloyd Walker and more.

John graduated from Toronto’s York University in 1989 with an Honours Degree in Creative Writing.

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Language

English
Fluent
French
Intermediate

Work Experience

Producer at Network Entertainment
January 1, 1997 - Present
Produced four-part documentary series Women Who Rock for EPIX; produced four-part series Punk for EPIX; oversaw feature documentaries for Paramount Network on luminaries including Heath Ledger, Richard Pryor, Jackie O, Bruce Lee, Burt Reynolds, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others.

Education

Honours Degree in Creative Writing at York University
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 1989
Honours Degree in Creative Writing at York University
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 1989

Qualifications

LEO Award Winner
January 7, 2026 - January 7, 2026
Numerous projects I've produced have been recognized by the LEO Awards across many categories. Notably, I am the recipient of a LEO Award for Best Feature Documentary for I Am MLK Jr. for Paramount which I produced and co-directed. Also I produced the series Women Who Rock for EPIX which won a LEO for Best Documentary Series.
LEO Award for Best Feature Documentary (I Am MLK Jr.)
January 11, 2030 - February 25, 2026
LEO Award for Best Documentary Series (Women Who Rock)
January 11, 2030 - February 25, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Professional Services