About
A studio built on the belief that the best films are the ones someone tried to talk you out of.
Creative Rebel Productions is an independent motion picture company founded in Toronto by Craig Stovel and Rajiv Maikhuri. We develop, finance, and produce feature films, documentaries, and limited series — from the first draft to the final delivery.
We started Creative Rebel because we kept watching good scripts get softened. Not because the writers wanted to soften them — because the system rewards the version that offends nobody and surprises nobody. We wanted to build something that worked the other way.
Both of us came up through the industry separately — Craig through production and financing, Rajiv through development and post — and we spent years watching projects lose their nerve at exactly the wrong moment. The company exists to hold the line on that.
We are small on purpose. Every project gets both founders in the room, from the first table read to the final color pass. We don't take on more than we can give our full attention to, and we don't greenlight anything we wouldn't want to watch twice.
"We don't take on more than we can give our full attention to, and we don't greenlight anything we wouldn't want to watch twice."
01
The Script Comes First
We don't develop projects to fill a slate. We develop them because the script has something to say and we want to help it say it without flinching.
02
Independent by Design
We structure every project to protect creative control. That means building financing that doesn't require us to compromise the work before a single frame is shot.
03
Small and Accountable
Two producers. One company. No committee. When you work with Creative Rebel, you work with Craig and Rajiv — not an assistant, not a development executive, not a coverage reader.
04
Finish What We Start
We stay attached through post, festival strategy, and distribution. A film isn't done when the shoot wraps. It's done when it finds its audience.
Craig Stovel
Co-Founder & Producer
Craig runs point on financing, scheduling, and the day-to-day of getting a script into production without losing what made it worth making. He spent a decade in production management before moving into producing, and has structured independent financing for projects across Canada and the US. He reads every draft twice before he says a word about it.
Rajiv Maikhuri
Co-Founder & Producer
Rajiv leads development and post, sitting with writers through rewrites and staying in the room through color and mix. He came up through the editorial side of the industry before producing, and brings a post-production sensibility to every development conversation. He is the one who argues for the cut nobody tested for.
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For press, festival inquiries, and general questions, reach us directly.
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