Kirk Shaw

Kirk Shaw is one of North America's most prolific award-winning producers, credited with over 250 films and television projects in a career spanning over 30 years. He has worked with all major studios and collaborated with A-list talent such as Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron, Ashton Kutcher, John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kim Basinger, Ray Liotta, and Cuba Gooding Jr. he is recognized for his leadership in the entertainment industry and for bringing innovative approaches to financing and packaging film and television projects.

In 2017, Shaw was honored with induction into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame for his significant and lasting impact on Canada’s screen industry.

He built Canada’s largest independent production company and transformed creative ventures into businesses that compete globally. As a CEO, Shaw combines scripted and non-scripted production expertise with strong skills in high-concept IP packaging, financing, and international co-productions. His work spans IP acquisition, development planning, and managing budgets from $1 million to over $200 million. He has developed partnerships with leading talent and commercial partners across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, delivering theatrical, streaming, and broadcast distribution. He is experienced in business affairs, legal oversight, investor relations, and marketing, leading creative teams and corporate growth.

He is Co-President of Ambitious Entertainment, a next-generation studio based in Los Angeles and Vancouver, focusing on global content packaging. Established in 2017, Ambitious has produced Guns of Redemption, Viper, and Dead Man’s Hand under his leadership. By 2025, Shaw had expanded Ambitious into a fully integrated IP-acquisition and packaging studio serving streamers, major studios, and international markets. Focused on profitable, high-concept storytelling, the company links top-tier talent with worldwide distribution and is positioned for public listing on the NYSE.

2009 Shaw launched Odyssey Media Inc., a boutique studio specializing in lower-risk international co-productions. Supported by a $25 million investment fund, he financed more than 20 films with combined budgets exceeding $70 million. Notable projects include Drive Hard, filmed in Australia with John Cusack; Pound of Flesh, filmed in China with Jean-Claude Van Damme; and The Town That Came A-Courting, filmed in Canada with Valerie Harper.

Kirk began his career in 1990 by founding Insight Film Studios, which first produced museum audio guides before moving into documentaries like Inside Track. By the early 2000s, the company shifted to long-form projects, starting with Maximum Surge in 2002. Under Shaw’s leadership, Insight became Canada’s largest independent film and television production company, producing over 130 titles and managing annual budgets exceeding $200 million. Highlights include Battle in Seattle (2007), Helen (2009), and the Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker (2008). Other works include When A Man Falls, Personal Effects, and television series such as Blood Ties and Painkiller Jane. By the mid-2000s, the company had supported thousands of jobs and generated more than CAD 500 million in local economic activity.

Kirk Shaw is a member of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and the Producers Guild of America (PGA).

He studied journalism at Douglas College, helped launch the Edmonton Sun in 1978, worked in the computer industry in the 1980s, attended Vancouver Film School for screenwriting, and completed a National Screen Institute (NSI) of Canada program focused on production, covering development, budgeting, financing, management, and distribution.