IHP was founded in 1997 by Mark Achbar who has in various combinations directed, produced, and executive-produced over a dozen acclaimed feature documentaries —including box-office hits Manufacturing Consent and The Corporation—championing impact-driven storytelling that captivates visually, engages intellectually, and moves audiences to view the world with greater critical awareness and compassion.

Invisible Hand Productions Inc. is a Vancouver-based production company with a global reputation for groundbreaking documentaries that challenge, inform, and inspire.

MANUFACTURING CONSENT

Co-Directors / Co-Producers

Mark Achbar & Peter Wintonick

“

Immensely watchable. Both funny and deadly serious, moves quickly and yet delves deep.

—Andrew Leonard, S.F. Bay Guardian

Funny, provocative, and surprisingly accessible, MANUFACTURING CONSENT explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, world-renowned linguist, intellectual, and political activist. In a dynamic collage of new and original footage, biography, archival gems, imaginative graphics, and memorable illustrations, the film highlights Chomsky’s probing analysis of mass media.At 165 minutes—originally with an intermission to enable engagement with activist tables in theatre lobbies—MANUFACTURING CONSENT is nonetheless light on its feet, favoring a style that encourages viewers to question its own workings, as Chomsky himself encourages his listeners to extricate themselves from the “web of deceit” by undertaking a course of “intellectual self-defense.” 22 Awards.

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“

May do for big business what Jaws did for sharks.

 — Daily Telegraph

150 years ago, the corporation was a minor entity. Today, it dominates our lives—like the Church, the Monarchy, and the Communist Party once did. But history humbles even the most powerful institutions.In this gripping and provocative documentary, co-directors Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott investigate the rise of the modern corporation, its unchecked influence, and the consequences of its pursuit of profit. Based on Joel Bakan’s bestselling book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, the film takes viewers on an entertaining, eye-opening journey through the corporation’s origins, inner workings, and controversial impacts on the world.Featuring CEOs, whistleblowers, brokers, spies, and thought leaders, THE CORPORATION charts the spectacular rise of an institution designed to achieve specific economic goals and recounts victories against this apparently invincible force.WATCH Full movie on Apple TV ($ supports IHPI's ongoing projects)>

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THE CORPORATION

Co-Directors Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott

Producer / Executive Producer Mark Achbar

Based on Joel Bakan’s The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power

TWO BRIDES AND A SCALPEL

Director / Producer Mark Achbar

“

An engaging, honest, and brave collaborative work”

— VIFF

After two decades working in a Nanaimo pulp mill, George walked into the lunchroom wearing make-up. Everyone else walked out. George had finally come out as transsexual.While qualifying for sex change surgery, Georgina met and fell in love with Linda, an outspoken lesbian. Naturally wanting the legitimacy and benefits that marriage accords heterosexuals, they were married. Three months later, Georgina had surgery and the couple made history as Canada's first legally married lesbian couple.Shot by Georgina and Linda over two years, this intimate video diary is embellished with impressionistic, multi-layered imagery, and both comical and disturbing archival footage.

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IN DEVELOPMENT

ROMANCING THE ATOM

Director Mark Achbar

Based on Robert Del Tredici’s photos and interviews

Romancing the Atom examines the moral, environmental, and political consequences of nuclear weapons history and future through the lens of photographer, author, and master storyteller Robert Del Tredici. For over five decades, Del Tredici has sought to make the invisible world of nuclear weapons visible, documenting bomb-making facilities, test sites, and the people whose lives have shaped and been shaped by the atomic age.This feature documentary will weave together Del Tredici's vast photographic archive with contemporary explorations of today's nuclear landscape. His disarming interview style, philosophical insights, and iconic imagery offer a uniquely grounded perspective on the psychic, physical, and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons.

Please sign this global appeal to the leaders of the 9 nuclear armed governments:

Invisible Hand Productions’ early films exhibit remarkable longevity. In 2017, Manufacturing Consent and The Corporation were re-released on the Canadian Media Fund’s Encore+ YouTube platform, a 5-year distribution experiment where they quickly became the most-viewed titles among 2,500 “classic” Canadian film and TV offerings, generating over 16 million combined views.IHP has played a pivotal role in supporting the Canadian documentary film industry. When The Corporation broke box office records, it challenged the existing funding model in Canada, becoming the first documentary eligible for a “Performance Envelope” — a financial incentive previously reserved for dramatic films. As a result, IHP secured $2.38 million in funding, leveraging it to support ten Canadian feature documentary projects that collectively raised $5.85 million in financing.

Today, Invisible Hand Productions remains dedicated to bold and powerful storytelling. Achbar continues his work as a director, producer, and executive producer, occasionally stepping into the realm of dramedy and social issue mockumentary. His commitment to social justice extends to animal rights advocacy, with videography contributions to films such as Penny's Story and Meat The Victims: Excelsior Farms. Through its legacy and ongoing work, Invisible Hand Productions remains at the forefront of documentary filmmaking, challenging audiences to see the world through a more critical and compassionate lens.

MARK ACHBAR

FILM PORTFOLIO

Penny's Story: An Inside Look At The Canadian Egg Industry

Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicine

Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space

Two Brides and a Scalpel: Diary of a Lesbian Marriage

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media

MARK ACHBAR

Director / Producer / Executive Producer

For nearly five decades as a Director, Producer, Executive Producer, Videographer, or a combination of these roles, Mark Achbar has dedicated his filmmaking career to the struggle for human rights and progressive social change. His penchant for quirky visuals and intelligent humour combine to make complex ideas compelling and entertaining.Achbar was among a handful of non-fiction feature filmmakers who paved the way for documentaries to reach large international audiences through mainstream movie theatres, as well as TV, home video, BitTorrent, and streaming platforms.Interview with Achbar about the making of The Corporation

Mark Achbar was the driving force behind the two most successful Canadian feature documentaries ever made. His five-year collaboration with Peter Wintonick resulted in Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992). He spent six years working with Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott to give us The Corporation (2003). Both surprise box office hits, his two major films won a total of 48 awards of which 14 were audience choice awards, including Sundance.

As Executive Producer, Achbar facilitated the production of several award-winning theatrical feature documentaries including: Sam Bozzo's Blue Gold: World Water Wars (2008); Velcrow Ripper's Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action (2008); Denis Delestrac's Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space (2009); Kevin McMahon's Waterlife (2009); Mathieu Roy's and Harold Crooks' Surviving Progress (2011); Oliver Hockenhull's Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicine (2013); Mark Grieco's Marmato (2014); and Fiona Rayher's and Damien Gillis' Fractured Land.Currently a supporter of both Hello Cool World and Cool World Technologies Inc., he has granted worldwide distribution control for Manufacturing Consent and The Corporation to Hello Cool World.

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