Tieren Hawkins

Tieren Hawkins (he/him) is an Atlantic Canadian filmmaker and Vice President of Vertical Content at Blink49 Studios, where he leads the company’s expansion into mobile-first scripted entertainment, overseeing the development and production of vertical drama series and branded content. He also works across narrative film and television through his production company, Sleepy Bear Productions.

He has served as producer and key creative on more than ten vertical drama series for platforms including ReelShort, DramaWave, ShortMax, and FlickReels, generating more than 350 million cumulative views. His notable credits include Forbidden Bonds (DramaWave), the most-viewed vertical series worldwide the week it premiered, and Love in the Ashes of Us (ReelShort). His branded entertainment work includes Murder at the Mansion, a scripted murder-mystery series produced in partnership with Uber Eats and featuring talent from E!’s The Golden Life.

An established industry expert and consultant in vertical drama, Tieren has spoken on the creative, commercial, and production opportunities of mobile-first storytelling at events including Access Canada Summit, T.O. Webfest, Reelworld Summit, and Academy Talks, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. His expertise has also been featured in national media, including CBC Radio.

Beyond vertical drama, Tieren has produced more than 25 hours of scripted and unscripted programming for Canadian broadcasters and platforms including CBC, Bell FibeTV1, and Trailer Park Boys+. His notable credits include three seasons of the character-driven comedy King & Pawn, for which he received a Screen Nova Scotia Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Screenwriting, the true-crime anthology Halifax Homicide, and the psychological horror feature Stitches.

Before entering film and television, Tieren spent nine years in the Canadian Armed Forces working in logistics and finance, experience that continues to inform his collaborative and solutions-focused approach to production. He is a four-time Screen Nova Scotia Award nominee and was named one of Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30 Innovators in 2024.