Toronto Pictures, Inc. is company that is difficult to stereotype This Canadian-based independent film production house has followed the path less traveled since its inception in 1996. It has stubbornly gone its own way, struggling and succeeding to maintain a vision of producing ethical films that provoke thought, not violence. Targeting a global audience, Toronto Pictures addresses topical, often-controversial issues in dramatic format, often combined with the look and feel of documentary genre. With cultural influences from Europe, North America, Asia and, now, Africa, the company has bragging rights as being authentically international in its scope and recognition, as well as in the provocative themes of its films.

It was Socrates that said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” But it may as well have been Bruno Pischiutta, the passionate founder, President and CEO of Toronto Pictures. Not your typical movie executive, Pischiutta is first and foremost an artist; a man with a voracious appetite for life and learning. He is an award winning screen writer, director and producer who has proven to be a prodigy since his childhood in Italy.

Bruno's vision and inexhaustible energy have guided the company from a fledgling start-up through its lean and leaner times to its current status as a company exploding in all directions with creative and business success. Toronto Pictures is on a roll, with multiple projects in various stages of development, production and distribution.

Although his full-length filmography would take up most of the pages of this magazine, a partial snapshot of his body of work to date includes numerous feature-length films and documentaries, as well as made-for-television features, half-hour series and musicals. Pischiutta has produced work in North America, Europe and most recently in West Africa, where he just completed directing Toronto Pictures' newest film, “Punctured Hope.” slated for release in the U.S. in 2006. In addition to directing the film, Pischiutta is also the project's Executive Producer. Co-Producing the film is Ms. Daria Trifu, who is also the company's Vice President.

The themes of Toronto Pictures' properties tend toward controversial social messages which address major issues of our time. Examples of this include the feature film “…Maybe…”, dealing with sexual obsession and eating disorder; “Virtary,' an anthology of stories on lost virginity. The latest project,“Punctured Hope,” is a chilling revelation of modern-day slavery and sexual mutilation that still exists in parts of West Africa. Specifically, the film deals with the age-old tribal practice of “Trokosi” which promotes the enslavement, mutilation and sexual abuse of West Africa's young girls and women. The film has an all-African cast and a lead actress who is, herself, a survivor of these dreadful practices that have affected millions of African women over the past 300 years.

Although the motion picture industry is not usually associated with high standards of moral behavior, Toronto Pictures is determined to be an exception to the rule. Even off the screen, the company adheres to its own strict code of ethics. As business people, their goal is, naturally, to take full advantage of overseas filming opportunities whenever and wherever they can. However, their goal is also to take a non-exploitive approach by giving back as much as possible. Instead of merely gong to a place like Romania and Ghana to save money on casting and filming, they aim to also empower those regions culturally and financially.

As part of this philosophy of lifting up communities and supporting young talent, Pischiutta funded the Film Academy of Ghana in May of 2005. The first such institution in West Africa, the Academy of Ghana was established to help West African filmmakers to develop professional cinematic education and to promote their career advancement.

“Although we are still in the fledgling stages of the Academy's development, we are positioned to help aspiring actors writers, directors producers and other film professionals achieve their goals in a globally competitive arts environment, commented Pischiutta.” “For West Africa to have a real presence in international cinema, there must an institution that supports professional cinematic education and career development. We are committed to providing that support.”

Tirfu, who serves as the President of the new Academy also reflected on its importance, “As cinematic artists representing the continent in general, associates of the Academy of Ghana now have the opportunity to create a nucleus of great talent who can ultimately define the image of Africa the world will come to know and better understand.”

Many of the films cast have participated in the Academy's first professional film symposium which was held in Accra on (date?). Furthermore, the company is dedicating ten percent of the profits of “Punctured Hope” to an established West African philanthropic foundation focusing on education, medical treatment and infrastructure improvements for the village where the film was shot.

Another aspect of Toronto Pictures' uniqueness is the fact that it has always found ways to survive and thrive in a harshly competitive industry. In nearly ten years of operation, it has continually evolved and adapted to changing markets and opportunities. In its earliest beginnings, the Company was set up as a studio; a kind of creative incubator to develop the talents of young and unknown performers and prepare them for a career in film. This business model evolved into that of a combined repertory company and independent production house. Today, Toronto Pictures is a globally recognized production company with multiple projects in various stages of development, production or distribution. The company is also closely aligned with film financing & production company, International Film Properties. Together they are actively seeking to expand their operations even further through acquisition of entertainment industry-based companies in Eastern Europe.

Just recently, Toronto Pictures has decided to take its show on the big board…or at least on the Pink Sheets. As of mid July of 2005, the company announced a reverse merger with E_SOL International, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ESIT), thus making the avant-gardes production house one of the few independent film companies in North America to be publicly traded.

Pischiutta and Trifu, were both appointed to the Board of Directors of the new entity. Resultant of the acquisition, Pischiutta will now become President of E-SOL International and Ms. Trifu will become E-SOL's Vice President. Accordingly, E-SOL's corporate headquarters will be moved to Toronto, the production house's home base and namesake.

Commenting on the reverse merger, Pischiutta remarked, "Toronto Pictures has chosen to become a publicly traded entity in keeping with the long-term objectives of our Company. We have always been committed to profit-sharing relative to our films' revenues, and our current project in West Africa, where we are donating 10% of the film's profits to benefit a local foundation, is exemplary of that commitment."

"Our Company is still intent on developing and marketing films that are financially viable, yet violence-free, and we will be releasing five such films this year,” Ms.Trifu adds. “Toronto Pictures' production slate is full through 2008, but to produce and release high-quality films of this nature requires broad-based financial support. We believe that our reverse take-over with E-SOL International will enable us to further these critical goals. We may never become the largest film company in the industry, but we may well become one of the most profitable.”

Toronto Pictures has demonstrated its business savvy not only by going public but also in the way it went public. The advantages of an independent production/distribution company attaining publicly traded status are significant. including increased liquidity for investors, greater access to capital markets and the ability to use its public shares to acquire other companies. Also, being public increases the company's valuation, since the market value of a public company is typically substantially higher than that of a private company in the same industry with the same infrastructure.

As for the method in which the company went public, again we see evidence of shrewd business acumen. Going the route of a reverse merger rather than an Initial Public Offering (IPO) reaped solid benefits for the company's investors. Since a reverse merger is simply a private company merges with an existing public company with no assets or liabilities. In doing so, the private company becomes public. Simple as that. Typically the private company changes the name of the public company to its own name and appoints its own management as board of directors. Which was the case with Toronto Pictures. Gone are the big underwriting fees that investment bankers and brokerages charge to roll out an IPO. What's more, the time required to execute a reverse merger is considerably less than an IPO. And as was mentioned earlier, A reverse merger is rather simple transaction, which means that Toronto Pictures' senior management didn't have to devote a lot of attention to the process and thus were able to focus on the company's core business and the shareholder's best interests.

As a matter of fact, Toronto Pictures have some pretty good company in that respect. Some of the business world's most successful and esteemed entrepreneurs have taken their companies' public via reverse mergers. This includes media icon Ted Turner, the broad-jawed proponent of self-esteem Tony Robbins and Muriel Siebert, the first woman to ever purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

So, what's on the near horizon for the company? A film festival in the South of France. No, not Cannes, but close. It's Monaco. Toronto Pictures is set to be a Leading Sponsor of the third annual Monaco International Festival - Celebration of non-violent films held in Monte-Carlo from December 8th through 11th, 2005. The prestigious event's focus on non-violent films would seem to be a natural fit for Toronto Pictures.

“Our philosophy is to showcase films of quality that contain no gratuitous violence,” commented Dean Bentley, Executive Producer for the Festival. “Toronto Pictures has established its own strong reputation as an independent production house of like-oriented films. We are proud and privileged to have them serve as 2005 leading sponsor and to partner with us in our efforts to expand the reach and impact of non-violent films.”

On their part, the company is poignantly aware of the convergence of their mission and that of the Festival. “The non-violent theme of Monaco's 2005 Festival perfectly reflects our corporate commitment to eliminating superfluous violence in filmmaking,” remarked Pischiutta. “We live in an admittedly violent world and are in no way opposed to films that examine violence with integrity. It is the sensationalism of violence with which we take issue and seek to avoid. At Toronto Pictures, we remain strongly committed to producing films which educate, enlighten and provide impetus for political and social change. Our sponsorship of this year's Festival underscores our philosophy as filmmakers and artists.”

Both Pischiutta and Trifu feel that the surges of creative and financial success they have achieved are affirmations of this philosophy of ethical filmmaking. Of course, ethical behavior is its own reward. But still, it must be gratifying to be on the receiving end of real-world affirmation.

So, it's appropriate that this brief look at Toronto Pictures end on such a note of optimism and assurance. The little company that could seems to have proven that the race goes not to the swift, but to the morally committed. D

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