Northern Irish Roots, Toronto Base

At the heart of Ceres Productions is a proper mix: big creative ideas, global connections, and a real love of deeply human storytelling.

Founded by sisters Rebecca and Dr Natalie Davey, the Toronto‑based multimedia company has built a buzzing creative world across film, TV, podcasts and live “third space” events - all about putting people centre stage (with a bit of fun along the way, obviously).

Northern Ireland might be a few thousand miles away, but for sisters Rebecca and Dr Natalie Davey, it’s never too far from the story.

“Our grandfather was born and raised in Belfast and our grandmother was from Dublin. They married, moved back to Belfast and then our Dad came along. When the young family immigrated to Toronto they settled in the city’s Irish community in the east end of the city.” Today Rebecca and Natalie both live and work in Toronto’s Junction area – a neighbourhood with its own strong Irish streak.

Proof, if you needed it, that you can take the people out of Ireland… but good luck taking Ireland out of the people.

We caught up with the sisters to chat about where it all started, the highs (and a few lessons learned the hard way), and why partnership, resilience… and a wee bit of Northern Irish humour… shape everything they do.

Like many good NI-origin ideas, one of Ceres’ biggest successes started with… a chat.

Back in 2021, the sisters launched their podcast Reframeables with no grand strategy, just conversations, reflections, and the odd attempt to make sense of life.

Then, unexpectedly, people kept tuning in.

Fast forward, and the podcast is now 100 episodes strong, with a loyal audience and a guest list that includes some seriously big names in writing and the arts. What began as two sisters having the craic has grown into a full creative engine, feeding into film, TV, live events and beyond.

Not bad for something that started as “sure let’s give this a go.”

Some projects hit closer to home - in every sense.

One of Ceres’ latest short films, based on a story by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue, is about to start its festival run with an international premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh. Shot partly in Ireland and partly near Toronto, it weaves together lived experiences from both sides of the Atlantic.

But it doesn’t stop there. The film is also opening doors for a future Canada–Ireland co-production, already in development.

You can’t grow up with Northern Irish roots and not develop a particular kind of humour. The sisters recently met one of the producers behind Derry Girls and, unsurprisingly, the conversation quickly turned to the madness of film and TV production. Plenty of laughs were had!

While Toronto is home, the pull of Northern Ireland is always there. And rather than letting the ocean be a barrier, the sisters have made it part of the journey.

They’ve built real, ongoing collaborations with creatives across Ireland - from helping emerging filmmakers find their feet in Toronto, to bringing them back into projects in Galway and beyond. Those relationships don’t just end when the flight home is booked - they keep going.

Although firmly based in Canada, Ceres Productions has a strong and ongoing desire to work with partners in Northern Ireland. That pull comes from family roots, youthful memories of time spent in Belfast, and a growing sense that storytelling offers a way to better understand their grandparents’ experiences and their own identities as Canadian‑Irish creators.

For Ceres Productions, storytelling is not just about the final product. It’s about the people involved, the communities built, and the unexpected places those stories can show up: from craft breweries to condo communities or even a 100-year-old urban church. 

Next up? A “third space” event with the Art Gallery of Ontario, plus new partnerships with universities in Canada and Ireland, all focused on mentoring the next generation of storytellers.

For Rebecca and Natalie, this is just the beginning. More collaborations. More stories. More connections between Northern Ireland and the wider world.

Because when community sits at the centre of everything, the possibilities don’t just grow - they multiply.

And, when all’s said and done…that sounds like a pretty good definition of success.