Simcha Jacobovici – Executive Producer/Host

Simcha Jacobovici has been named “Canada’s top documentary filmmaker” by the Ryerson Review of Journalism. He is also a widely published writer and lecturer.

Jacobovici’s most recent award is the 2005 Overseas Press Club award for Impact of Terror, a documentary report that aired internationally on CNN. He has also received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Investigative Journalism, a certificate of Special Merit from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a Genie Award, two Gemini Awards, three U.S. Cable Ace Awards, an Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia University Award, a Silver Nymph from the Monte Carlo Festival, and the Best Documentary prize from the Jerusalem International Film Festival.

His feature documentaries include: Impact of Terror (2004), James, Brother of Jesus (2003), The Struma (2001), Quest for the Lost Tribes (1999), Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies & the American Dream (1997), Deadly Currents (1991) and Falasha: Exile of the Black Jews (1983).

Jacobovici’s articles have appeared in newspapers all over Canada and the U.S. – among them The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Montreal Gazette, The Ottawa Citizen, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe – and have been distributed around the world through Associated Press and the International Herald Tribune. He has also published in the academic journal The Middle East Focus, and is currently writing a book on the archaeology of the Biblical Exodus, to be published in 2006 by Key Porter Books in Canada and St. Martin’s Press in the U.S.

Jacobovici has been a guest speaker at many international conferences, and has lectured at universities such as UCLA, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, McGill University and York University.

An Israeli-born Canadian, Jacobovici received a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from McGill University, and an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Toronto.

AP and its talented team have produced programming for most major broadcasters around the world, have been featured at many international film festivals and have won almost every available industry award including two back-to-back U.S. Emmys for "Investigative Journalism". Most recently, the AP production, Impact of Terror, won the coveted Carl Spielvogel Award for "Best International Reporting in the Broadcast Media Showing a Concern for the Human Condition".

Internationally renowned for its expertise in documentaries, AP has been expanding into new programming areas: reality-based series, adult and children's animation, comedy and family dramas. The Naked Archaeologist provides a novel twist on Biblical archaeology, bringing ancient relics to life in a fun and irreverent way. As the company continues to grow, AP remains committed to excellence, entertainment and innovation.

Alberta Nokes

Alberta Nokes is Executive Producer and Director of Independent Production for VisionTV and One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel. She is responsible for commissioning documentary, music and other programming from independent producers in Canada and for VisionTV international co-productions. Overseeing managers for Eastern and Western Canada, Ms. Nokes reviews more than 1,000 programming ideas annually. She has been Vision's executive producer on documentaries including the Gemini Award Winning Carry Me Home: The Music of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale. Galileo's Sons , Seeking Salvation: A History of the Black Church in Canada, Inside Freemasonry, and RetroVision: Treasures from the Vaults of the National Film Board, a twenty-six part series drawing on the 10,000 films in the NFB archives. Ms. Nokes has also written the documentary series First Light: Tuscany and the Dawn of the Renaissance, a Redcanoe Productions, VisionTV co-production.

Ms. Nokes joined VisionTV in 1999. As Vice President of Communications for the VisionTV Group of Channels, she was part of the team which successfully applied for licences for three new digital channels - including One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel, for which she developed the initial concept, branding and launch campaign.

Prior to joining VisionTV, Ms. Nokes was an independent consultant for clients including CBC Radio, Television and Newsworld, The McLuhan Centre at the University of Toronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Ontario Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs. For these and other organizations she has developed and overseen programming and branding initiatives, communications, marketing and redevelopment plans, media and public advocacy campaigns, international conferences and fundraising.

The production team that worked on The Naked Archaeologist

THE NAKED ARCHAEOLOGIST – SEASON TWO CREW

Leslie Fruman - Series Producer
With a strong background in print and television journalism, Leslie Fruman has produced and directed a variety of documentary projects over the last 20 years. Before Series Producing The Naked Archaeologist, Fruman produced the premier season of Life's Birth Stories for Cineflix Productions, and was the consulting Series Producer on The Ex Factor for PTV Productions and W Network.

Directing credits include several documentaries for the Barna Alper/History Television series Turning Points of History and CBC Witness.

Prior to becoming a freelance producer/director, Fruman was a producer/director at CBC's The fifth estate for ten years, and was a staff reporter for eight years at The Toronto Star.

Graeme Ball – Director/Editor
Graeme Ball is a freelance director, writer and editor (D.G.C.) with numerous credits in documentary and dramatic productions. He has directed and edited multiple episodes for both seasons of "The Naked Archaeologist" and was most recently nominated for a Gemini award for "best writer in a documentary" for The Lost Tomb of Jesus. His editing credits include: THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS; THE EXODUS DECODED; SMALL TOWN GAY BAR (nominated best editor at the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2006); CONTINUOUS JOURNEY; and LILITH ON TOP (a feature chronicling Sarah McLachlan's all-female rock n' roll tour). He has edited series for National Geographic (CRISIS ZONE: DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS) and Discovery (BLUEPRINT for DISASTER) as well as directed his own award winning feature documentary, YUKONNA, which follows a four-month rafting trip down the Yukon River.

Graeme is currently directing the 90-minute feature, BEASTS of the BIBLE, which will premiere on Discovery's Animal Planet in the spring of 2009.

Christopher Behnisch - Director
Christopher Behnisch is a Toronto-based writer and director of documentary and reality television. He also works as a cinematographer on feature documentary projects from time to time.

His short films--both narrative and documentary--have screened at film festivals across Canada, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Montreal World Festival.

This is his second season with The Naked Archaeologist team.

Markham Cook – Director/Editor
Markham Cook is a director and editor in both documentary and drama.

He has been nominated for and won numerous awards, including awards at Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Chicago, Columbus, Yorktown, Houston, and Montreal. He was nominated for the “International Young Filmmaker of the Year Award” at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

His short films include: Cedar Cedar, The Visit , The Last Illusion, and Thirteen.

He was Second Unit Director on The Lost Tomb of Jesus.

Markham Cook is also an award winning picture editor. Among his credits are the National Film Board of Canada films Canada Remembers, Le temps d’une guerre, The Black Pit, The Battle of the St. Lawrence, First Nation Blue, and Band Aid. He has cut documentaries for CBC, PBS, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel and ZDF.

His dog Homer is currently involved in a long-term relationship with Eric Gold’s dog Sam.

Kim Harris - Director
Kim Harris has worked for many years in the trenches of television as a researcher, writer, director, and producer in almost every genre going.

Kim directed 4 episodes of The Naked Archaeologist, Season 2. Currently, she’s directing several episodes of At the Table With…., a biography series on famous chefs for the Food Network, and Breeder of the Pack for Animal Planet. Other recent gigs include directing an episode of Extreme Clergy in Haiti, for Vision TV, 72 Hours True Crime for CBC, and Women on Top for Slice.

She has produced and written such shows as Don Cherry for Greatest Canadian, Smart Ask!, Lunar Jim, and Zaboomafoo for CBC. She directed, wrote and produced the award-winning documentary Our Daughter’s Pain for CBC Newsworld, and with Newfoundland comedian Andy Jones, co-created and wrote Nasty Habits, a six-part sitcom for CBC. A season on Rick Mercer’s Monday Report proved no research job was too big or too small.

Kim has written several plays performed at the Toronto Fringe, and the Blyth Festival, and several short films that have aired on CBC and Citytv. She has received screenwriting grants from the Harold Greenberg FUND for three feature films, and co-wrote an adaptation of Spalding Grey’s novel, Impossible Vacation. At long last, she has an L.A. agent!

Karen Dougherty - Researcher/Director
Researcher, writer, and director Karen Dougherty (Naked Archaeologist, Seasons 1 and 2) has collaborated on many history documentaries and series: For King and Country (History Television); War and Peace (History Television); History's Courtroom (History Television); Ancestors in the Attic; and The Eatons: A Canadian Saga (History Television). She wrote and co-produced and Resolutions (PTV Productions for Alliance Atlantis), a six-part series on people making life changes.
She began her career in television at TVOntario, the province's public educational broadcaster (1993 to 1999). From 1997 to 1999 she was Associate Producer to Rudy Buttignol, Commissioning Editor of Documentaries and Science (The View From Here; Human Edge).
Karen has a Master's degree in Literature from McGill University, an Honours B.A. from York University in English and Humanities, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Sheffield.

She is the Head of Research at Associated Producers.

Concetta Principe – Researcher/Director
Concetta is a poet who branched into the TV industry in 1998 attracted to documentary storytelling. She has done visual and editorial research for various television series and one-hour docs. A two year live and work gig in Jordan got her hooked on the archaeology, which led her to the series.

She makes her directorial debut in this series and is still gushing with thanks for the gracious support of her bosses, and colleagues.

Andy Bely – Editor
Andy is a freelance director and editor who has worked in the film and television industry in Canada and the US for the past 13 years. Andy's editing credits include the Algerian-French feature PERE, the Japanese feature ASHITA, DIAMOND ROAD INTERACTIVE, a web-based interactive, THE RULES, PT 1 for Bravo Fact, videos for Yamaha, and has been a contributing editor to TVO's Person to Person & TVOKids.

Andy has written, directed and edited over 10 award-winning films, which have been shown on television and at numerous festivals, including the documentary FOOD FOR SELLING, the music video THIS UNPLEASANT VIRUS, and dramatic films REUNION, BREAD and LOUIE.

Scott Blackett- Editor
Scott is a freelance editor living and working in Toronto.

For 15 years. Scott Blackett worked his way up through the Toronto Commercial industry, eventually editing National and International campaigns for clients such as Sony, LG, Roger's, Walmart and Blue Cross.
Scott has recently made a successful transition into the world of TV and Documentary editing. Scott's series credits include episodes of Rescue Mediums for The Women's Network, Good Morning World for The Comedy Network, and The Naked Archaeologist for VisionTV.

Eric Gold - Editor
Eric has recently moved to Toronto from New York where he worked in the film and television industry for over 15 years. His editing credits include VH1's:ILL-ustrated, Comedy Central's: I'm with Busey, The Food Network's A Cooks Tour, and National Geographic‚s Doctors Without Borders: Life In The Field. Eric has cut dozens of one-hour verité style shows for TLC, Discovery and the National Geographic Channel, including: Paramedics, Code Blue, Maternity Ward and Lifeline at NYT-Television. Eric has also worked extensively in Los Angeles for Comedy Central, Bravo, and Court TV, among others. Eric plays Ukulele and prefers writing in the third person.