Sarah Zammit, Ryan Dias join Canada’s M Media in development and operations roles

Sarah Zammit and Ryan Dias

M Media, the Canadian IP-based media business founded this summer by editor, showrunner, creator and executive producer Marlo Miazga, has made its first two hires, appointing Sarah Zammit as VP of content and development and Ryan Dias as VP of operations.

The hires come as M Media’s first greenlit feature documentary, Ground Control, has gone into principal photography.

The company is also preparing for expansion, with several projects in the late stages of development, some of which are to be announced shortly.

Zammit is an executive producer, showrunner, writer and director whose career spans documentaries and more than 150 hours of international factual television. She began her career as a producer under Canadian filmmaker Allan King. Her credits include Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, Hotel Paranormal with Dan Aykroyd, Fear Thy Neighbour, Mysteries from Above and CBC/Netflix’s Bollywed.

Dias has nearly 20 years’ experience in Canadian film and television, with more than 40 credits as a line producer, production manager and production accountant. His work for multiple channels spans APTN, Crave, Netflix, Hallmark, Lifetime, Great American Family, T+E, Discovery Canada and TVOkids, and has involved managing multimillion-dollar production budgets.

The appointments reunite Zammit and Dias with Miazga, having both worked on a range of projects for his first independent production company, Newroad Media, which Miazga founded in 2011 alongside director and producer Ann Marie Redmond.

Newroad Media created factual television series and international coproductions, including Close Encounters and Curious & Unusual Deaths, both of which are still airing internationally and are represented by Sphere Abacus.

Miazga said: “This year has been seismic for us, securing a TV and theatrical greenlight for our first feature documentary, Ground Control, while also igniting a host of advanced development projects and exciting new partnerships.

“I’ve worked with both Sarah and Ryan extensively in the past, always hoping to bring them on board full-time. As freelancers, they were highly sought after, but now their skills will cement and ensure the creation and delivery of our pipeline, both now and in the future.”