teenLook #10 - Summer 2020 - Gabrielle Bonogofski Cover

Founded by Ron E. Scott, Prairie Dog Film + Television
has established itself as a consistently successful,
independent production company.
www.prairiedog.ca
IG - prairiedogftv 3
introduced her to opportunities in the entertainment sector. “I
never thought in a million years that I would work in the film
industry,” Ms. Hamley said with a chuckle. She talked about
travelling when she was younger and the universal confusion
young people feel when deciding on a career path. “You
feel kind of lost. You don’t really know what you want to do.”
Then Joe Media Group came along and opened the gates
to an unforeseen work opportunity. She relayed how she initially
felt hesitant to pursue a career in an industry she never
thought would be part of her life, but how overjoyed she is
that she took that plunge.
Every inspiring woman seems to have an army of strong,
independent ladies that helped them along their journey
to success, and for Janet, those women were her family
members. She praised all of the women she has had the
opportunity to work with over the years, but implied that it
was her mother, her grandmother and her aunts who made
her the woman she is today. “They were
all very strong independent women
who all worked hard and said it like it
was. They basically showed me that you
can do anything you put your mind to.”
Ms. Hamley also discussed the need for
more women on her side of the industry.
“There are not enough women and
film and television, so it’s pretty tough
to list all the women producers who
were there before me because there
really weren’t many.” Ms. Hamley also
expressed her hopes for more women
working behind the scenes in the future,
encouraging other young women to
look into her vocation.
When asked for a piece of advice
she would depart onto a teenage version of herself, she
scrunched up her nose in thought. “That question can be
easy and hard. I wouldn’t change anything that led me up
to this place in my career, but I think confidence is key.” She
remarked, “I would try to tell myself to have more confidence
and not be so worried about what other people think. I don’t
really focus on what other people are saying about me,
which is something I think a lot of young people do.”
She added onto that statement by talking about her own
experiences with failure, and how in the end they were
what shaped her into the strong woman she is today. “I think
it’s all about how you handle that failure and get back up
again.” She talked about the importance of not taking failure
personally, and realize there are hurdles everyone has to
go through before achieving the success they strive for. “It’s
all about believing in yourself, actually wanting to do things
and then doing them.” After contemplating for a moment, Ms.
Hamley gave another strong word of advice for others, “You
can’t give up in the face of difficulty. You need to approach
things and problem solve. It’s not a matter of ‘I can’t do it!’ or
‘I don’t know how to do it!’, it’s a matter of getting perspective
and saying ‘how am I going to do better tomorrow?’ ”
We then switched directions a bit to Ms. Hamley’s community
work, and the recognition she has received for her charitable
efforts while living in Sherwood Park before her move to
Calgary. She told a heart warming story about the citizens of
Sherwood Park not having the ability to host their own Terry
Fox Run, and how her and event planner colleague took
matters into their own hands. They worked at the helm of the
fundraising event for 3 years,
having raised $ 80,000 for
Cancer research during that time.
“That really hit home for me. I
felt like I could definitely make
a difference.” She spoke very
highly of the members of her old
community, saying, “I think that
volunteering and generosity are
things the world can never have
enough of.”
Ms. Hamley ended her interview
with me on a high note, inviting
me to tour the set of Tribal if I
was ever inspired and in the Calgary
area. We talked a bit about
the overall goals of this project to
interview different Albertan and Canadian inspiring women,
and what was next for both of us. Janet Hamley proved to be
the epitome of an inspiring woman in a field where people
like her are not often at the helm, and a motivating tale of
self-discovery an unorthodox success.
Prairie Dog Film and Television is working on season two of
their new show Tribal, a show that tackles issues plaguing
First Nation’s communities such as healing lodge justice and
missing person’s cases, so if you take a look at this APTN
Original Series, be sure to check in the credits for the name of
a very notable and inspiring woman!
Photo - Carmen Bachez
teenlook | summer edition 15