Bob Gaudette and Kirk Hipkiss Launch AI-Native Film and TV Studio Nolia in Toronto

Filmmaker Bob Gaudette and producer Kirk Hipkiss have launched Nolia Studios, an AI-native film and television production company based in Toronto built around original IP. Its first announced project is the animated property "The Little Cloud Thief," a story centered on a six-year-old boy living on the scaffolding of Notre-Dame Cathedral, currently in development for both feature and episodic formats. Nolia also has short and feature-length scripts ready for production and has begun developing an AI-animated feature with a UK- and Toronto-based film production company. The studio's production infrastructure is backed by Hipkiss's existing company, Radical Point Media, whose credits include work for Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Amazon Prime.

The launch follows a strong run for Gaudette's eight-minute short "A Face Only a Mother Could Love," which won the $50,000 Grand Prix at the 2026 Runway AI Festival, Best Picture at the OMNI International Film Festival, Best AI Film at the New York International Film Awards, and additional honors at The Eudaimonia Project Film Festival and the Reply AI Film Festival in Venice. No funding details or project timelines have been announced.