Director, writer, producer, ex-farm boy Kim Saltarski has applied his dynamic bald brain to over 400 hours of original animated and live action family, tween, adult comedy, documentary and reality TV programming. His bevy of platforms/broadcasters include: Nexflix, Amazon, Nickelodeon, CTV, The Comedy Network, YTV, CBC, TVO, Disney Channel, Global, Discovery Channel, BBC Kids, Cartoon Network, and The Family Channel. Kim also has extensive TV brand building experience creating and producing interstitials for YTV, Fox Family Channel and Fox Kids… in addition to his DRTV and brand commercial work with Northern Lights Direct, Harvey McKinnon & Associates & Eaglecom.
Kim co-wrote a romantic comedy TV movie for Leif Films shot in 2021. He wrote 15 episodes and directed 7 on the first season of the live action kids series “Leo’s FishHeads” with Fifth Ground Entertainment for TVO Kids. He also wrote and directed on season two focusing on Pollinators.
He’s currently shopping a YA live action Fantasy Adventure Series “Legends Unleashed.”. His documentary short, “Andre The Anti-Giant” won Best Documentary Shattering Stereotypes in Moscow at the 9thInternational Disability Film Festival and available on bravo Canada’ online portal. In 2015, he directed and produced the riveting 1 hour documentary “IF THE POET” for CBC and Amazon Prime US… the moving, irreverent and inspiring story of IF, aka Ian French, a middle-aged man with a family, mortgage, and career, who suddenly decides to crash the world of competitive Slam Poetry.
His third instalment of his anthology “human beacon” documentary series was “Reimagining Humanity” – Therapist/Social EcologistMark Skelding’s personal reflection on how eco-anxiety angst can be one of the most important evolutionary drivers of our times. It’s on The Green Channel. And Kim’s latest instalment is “Jack’s Garage”. It showcases the emotional healing journey of Jack Kungel who cured himself of bladder cancer using medical cannabis and a plant-based diet. Since then Jack has made it his personal mission to help over 4,000 people and pets from around the world to heal themselves.
Kim’s inspiring DRTV documentaries shot in Benin, Colombia, Peru, Zambia, The Philippines for Not-For-Profit’s Children International& Plan Canadahave touched the hearts of millions across North America. The last one he directed, “A Child’s Cry”, showcased the grueling lives of children struggling in extreme poverty and wasshot in Ecuador. He recently shot and edited two mini-docs in Tanzania for Right To Play and the LEGO Foundation with Pivotal Pictures. Plus he directed, shot and edited French and English versions of a minute commercial for Heart & Stroke of Canada with Harvey McKinnon Associates. Kim shot and edited the latest season of “The Exceptional Life” web series for Autism Ontario and Fifth Ground Entertainment.
Kim produced and directed a riveting docu-adventure reality series, “Operation Unplugged” for travel+escape channel. The 6 x1 hour series threw 8 techno-obsessed people into the wilds of Canada’s National Parks on the adventure of a lifetime. Kim also produced “Canada’s Worst Driver 2” for Discovery Channel without a receiving a single speeding ticket.
On the comedy flipside, Kim was the executive producer/showrunner on 78 ½ hr episodes of “popcultured with Elvira Kurt” for The Comedy Network… Canada’s take on The Daily Show skewering pop culture. He produced 130 ½ hour episodes of “Out Of Bounds with John Oakley” for Global. He also produced four “Cream of Comedy” TV specials for The Comedy Network. Kim created, wrote and produced 285 hours of “YTV’s The Breakfast Zone”, North America’s first live national morning show for kids. He co-created and produced YTV’s #1 rated comedy daypart, “Brain Wash” inspiring his intense fascination with lint.
Animation writing-wise, Kim just finished writing on the first season of a new Netflix/Mattel preschool animation series. He also wrote on the preschool animation series “Uma & Devan: Namaste” now on Amazon and Netflix India. Kim wrote on all three seasons of the hit animation comedy series “League of Super Evil” seen on Cartoon Network US / YTV / BBC Kidsand gaggle of other countries around this wondrous world. This adds to his list of comedy animation writing credits that includes: “Mona The Vampire”, “Hoze Houndz” and “Freaky Stories”.
To Kim, length is no boundary to telling a great story. Whether it’s the commercials he’s directed with Northern Lights Direct for “Plan Canada”, “Children International” and “MarcAngelo Foods”, “SelectQuote”. “5-Hour TEA” or penning nine screenplays. His feature scripts include the family fantasy adventure “Druidstone” and the live action/CG comedy “The Big Electric Skunk” which were optioned by Stephen J. Cannell Productions, Knightscove Entertainment and Screenworks Media. Kim also developed an animated family comedy screenplay “Clay’s Cruise” with Atul Rao for Arc Productions (Gnomeo & Juliet). Plus he directed a music video for country rockers “Kansas Stone” for TAP International and DOPed a music video for Juno awarding winning bluesman Steve Strongman.
Kim continues strategic creative collaborations with his brand building/writing/producing partners, Atul Rao and Greg van Riel, collectively known as “The Membrains”. Kim and Atul’s branding wizardry started at YTV with the hit daypart interstitials, “The Zone”, “The Breakfast Zone”, “Brain Wash” and TV specials “Psyko Blast” and “Cyberwired”. Teaming up with Greg, they became “The Membrains” and together they created and Executive Produced “The Basement”, “Morning Scramble” and “The Weekend Chill” for The Fox Family Channel. Their department created over 35 hours of mind-warping host-driven interstitial programming, 300 shorts and a series pilot. They were also the brains, voices and vision behind “The No Yell Motel” interstitials for Fox Kids. The Kids WB!, Film Roman, Disney Channel, Klasky Csupo, and Nicktoons have all harnessed their “Mem-minds” to develop projects for them. Plus their marquee TV property development expertise has had them reinventing franchises for everyone from Terrytoons’ Heckle & Jeckle and Mighty Mouse, Raggedy Ann, and Fred Penner, to Roy Rogers, and The Three Stooges.
An infamous ex-farm boy, Kim was also the writer / director / producer of the cult classic short “Don’t Look Cow!” for First Choice & SuperChannel. When the camera isn’t rolling or the keyboard clicking, Kim is also known as a prolific songwriter, husband of one, fanatic father of two, friend to many, Westoverian poet, DOP, Editor, blissed out world traveller, crap golfer, watermelon lover, faces & places photographer, world party organizer, creek jumper, scuba diver, swimming enthusiast, multi-tasking maven, and more. Kim’s rare gift to fully embrace the creative and production challenges of comedy, reality and real life drama content continues to generate fresh and inspiring work.
