Established in March, 2000 by President Michelle Mason, Cypress Park Productions Inc. was named after an area of rainforest in Vancouver, British Columbia that continues to inspire the filmmaker. This area serves as the locus for a feature-length dramatic screenplay currently in development entitled The Water's Edge about three young women searching for identity and truth in their early 20s. Cypress Park's First production The Friendship Village (completed June 2002) is a one-hour documentary about an international group of veterans who are building a village of reconciliation in Vietnam for children born with Agent Orange-related deformities.

The Friendship Village was produced in association with Vision TV and History Television, and with the participation of British Columbia Film, Rogers Documentary Fund, the Canadian Television Fund Licence Fee Program, the Canadian Independent Film & Television Fund, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Province of British Columbia Film Incentive BC.

Before becoming an independent filmmaker, Michelle Mason worked in international television news production for the CBC's London and Washington D.C. bureaus. She received a Masters Degree in International Journalism from London's City University after writing a master's thesis on the decline of investigative journalism in Britain. Michelle is also founder and chair of the Vietnam Friendship Village Project Canada (2003), which helps to raise funds for the Friendship Village. As well, she serves as co-chair of the B.C. chapter for the Documentary Organization of Canada. She has lived in London, Washington D.C., Berlin and France, and has returned to her hometown Vancouver to focus on making films that reflect the tolerance and insight of the Canadian experience at home and abroad.