Mario Terzoli never imagined a year abroad in Nova Scotia from his native England would lead him to a 15th century Palace in Rome, where he found himself filming an archaeological crew as they sifted through the development site in search of ancient ruins. But this is just a normal workday for Mario, an assistant producer for Windfall Films in London, U.K., where, since 2021, he’s worked on documentary projects for National Geographic, BBC and the Discovery Channel. How did he get here? It began with a chance visit to Halifax.
In 2016, Mario took part in an exchange program from the University of Birmingham in the U.K., where he was completing a Bachelor of Arts focusing on American and Canadian Studies. The program took him to Dalhousie University for a year. While there he also learned about King’s Bachelor of Journalism program, which allows students with a prior university degree to complete the BJ in only eight months.
On returning to the U.K., Mario started thinking seriously about his future. He loved photography and visual storytelling and wondered if there was a way to pair that with his interest in history. “I didn’t really know how to leverage that degree to get into the TV and documentary industry,” he says. “So King’s one-year program seemed like a perfect fit.”
At King’s, Mario took workshops in both documentary-making and news reporting, which not only provided tactical skills, but grew his confidence. For one workshop, he and his classmates produced a documentary about Halifax’s defunct independent cinemas. “I’d never made a documentary before…I remember finishing the project and just thinking like ‘Oh wow, I can’t believe I did that,’” he says. Later, a hard news workshop helped him learn the ins and outs of interviewing, skills he relies on today. “That was really helpful; getting on the phone, cold calling people, knowing how to organize yourself and the right questions to ask.”
But Mario’s memories of his time at King’s aren’t limited to his program. He found support from the wider Halifax community as well. “I think Halifax is a great place to be a student in particular because it’s quite a small city, and I think you can develop a sense of community even as a student, especially in [Journalism] School,” he says. “You begin to get an understanding of the wider community and then you know, that community might actually help you later on down the line.” As if to prove his point, one of the people Mario interviewed for a student assignment ended up being his colleague at Arcadia Entertainment after graduation.
After graduating, Mario worked for two years at Arcadia, assisting on Discovery Channel projects. In 2021 he moved back to England and landed his current gig at Windfall, working his way up from a researcher, to a visual effects producer, to an assistant producer, where he’s currently working on Lost Treasures of Rome 2, a National Geographic special.
As a producer, Mario’s days are varied. One day he might be on site at a shoot—like the one in Italy earlier this year, just a stone’s throw from the Vatican. Other days he might be in his office, arranging film permits or interviewing archaeologists over the phone. But Mario loves the unpredictability of his job. “When I was flying out to Rome, I just felt really grateful,” he says. “If I was to think back a few years ago when I was in J School…if someone were to tell me ‘Oh you’ll be working on this project in this role’, that would be like my dream, so to be in it right now, it’s really, really fun.”