About me

John Martin is a Canadian filmmaker based in Vancouver, British Columbia, originally from Cape Town, South Africa, where he lived for 53 years. His production company, Martin Media, works across Canada, Los Angeles, London, and Cape Town. John and Amber Fillary grew up in the same Cape Town social circles — attending schools in the same city, moving in overlapping worlds — though they weren’t close and had never really spoken. In 2022, a news article about Amber’s freediving prompted John to reach out. Under the Ice is the result of two years and two trips to Norway. His filmography includes short documentaries in post-production and development on subjects ranging from a 1963 wooden gill netter under restoration in Richmond BC (The Crystal S) to an Armenian artist-blacksmith on Granville Island (Fire and Form).