Speaking on: Festival insights: meet the festival programmers

Pahull Bains is the Outreach and Marketing Manager at Reelworld Screen Institute, where she also works on partnerships and festival programming.

Pahull is also an experienced magazine writer/editor, with bylines in publications like Vogue India, GQ India, Wired, FASHION and Billboard. Born and raised in India, she now resides in Toronto.

Speaking on: Connecting voices: unions, guilds and community organizations

Jean Benoît is the Director of Operations at Axia Films. He’s responsible for managing brand identity, nurturing partnerships and spearheading content sales and distribution.

Previous to joining Axia he was at Astral Media, and the VP of Sales Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. During his 30 year career Jean has worked on...show more

Eric Bizzarri is an award winning Canadian director and producer based in Toronto. Primarily interested in the nuances of human relationships, Eric's work investigates toxic masculinity, male-male abuse, friendships and intimacy. His films have been distributed by CBC, Super Channel, Revry and Amazon Prime (US, UK, Germany). His most recent...show more

Speaking on: Festival insights: meet the festival programmers

Kelly Boutsalis is the International Programmer, Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival. She's also a freelance writer, and has written about film and television for the New York Times, NOW Magazine, Elle Canada, Flare, POV Magazine and more. She's also written about lifestyle, design, and culture for publications including...show more

Speaking on: Festival insights: meet the festival programmers

Taisa Dekker is passionate about the screen-based industries and the promotion of Canadian artists and creators. She got her start working on productions in Calgary, Alberta and graduated from SAIT Polytechnic's Cinema, Television, Stage and Radio program. Taisa’s 17-year career with ACTRA began at the Alberta branch, where she was...show more

Speaking on: Connecting voices: unions, guilds and community organizations

Mark Edwards is the founder and managing partner of Edwards Creative Law, LLP, an entertainment law boutique with offices in Ottawa and Toronto and a practice that extends to every common law province in Canada. Mark’s personal focus is live-action and animated films and series, video games, and digital media.

Mark...show more

Speaking on: Financing + funding: the good, the bad and the money

Avi Federgreen’s over twenty-five years of experience in the Canadian film industry includes over seventy films produced. Federgreen also is the creator of the Indiecan10K & Indiecan20K First Feature Initiatives that have now helped 8 first features get made in Canada. Federgreen's producing credits include Home Free, One Week, Still...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Mongrel Media, Federgreen Entertainment, Neshama

Gracie Garcia works across management and finance at Cinetic Media, the multi-hyphenate firm specializing in film finance, sales, development, and talent management.

Before Cinetic, Gracie produced theater in New York City and graduated from the film department with honors at Wesleyan University.

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Cinetic Media

Edward Hanrahan is a Virtual Production professional at William F. White INTL. one of the world’s largest film supply companies. He is responsible for helping the largest film and television productions in the world utilize ICVFX while filming on LED volumes.

Spanning over 15 years in VFX, his careers highlights include...show more

Speaking on: Indie innovations: from sustainability to AI to discoverability

Sardé Hardie is a Toronto based writer, producer, community organizer and film executive acquiring new content and securing sales on broadcast and digital platforms for Photon Films. Prior to joining Photon Films, she was at Entertainment One as a Sales Executive within the Film and Television division. In 2018 she...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Mongrel Media, Vortex Media, Photon Films; Speed Meetings: Photon Films

Hilary's career in film began in short film distribution at Ouat Media, before moving onto the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), working in development, administration and distribution. While at the CFC she contributed to an online film magazine, The Seventh Art, where she managed a Live Directors Series, which brought prominent...show more

Speaking on: Finding your audience in the modern film market

Natalie leads acquisitions strategy for English programming for Canada’s premium SVOD and Pay services Crave and STARZ with Bell Media, and oversees scheduling strategy for the English Pay TV channels. Additionally in this role, Natalie works collaboratively with Bell Media’s original programming team in the selection and commissioning of Canadian...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Quiver Distribution, Bell Media, Vortex Media; Speed Meetings: Bell Media, Elevation Pictures

Beth joined Amazon Studios in 2022. In her role, she sources and develops original Canadian programs for Amazon’s streaming service Prime Video to strengthen Amazon studios’ ties within the Canadian screen industry.

Previously she was the Director of Development for New Metric Media, where she developed a slate of scripted dramas...show more

Speaking on: Going modern: will C-11 breathe new life into Canadian film?

Joan Jenkinson is a Co-Founder and the Executive Director of the Black Screen Office. She is an accomplished television executive and an outspoken advocate for Black Canadians working in the screen industries. Under her leadership the BSO has been named the 2022 Changemaker Organization of the Year by Playback, Canada’s...show more

Speaking on: Connecting voices: unions, guilds and community organizations

As the Director of Content, Crave, Tory leads the English-language content team responsible for programming Canada’s premium SVOD and Pay services Crave and STARZ with Bell Media. In this role, Tory oversees English content strategy including but not limited to acquisitions, commissioning decisions, budget management, scheduling and SVOD merchandizing for...show more

Annelise comes from a background as an independent film producer, with training at such prestigious institutions as the Canadian Film Centre and Banff Centre for the Arts which she transitioned into a career in digital marketing in 1995.

Today, her focus is helping creatives and storytellers use the digital opportunity to...show more

Speaking on: Indie innovations: from sustainability to AI to discoverability

Sally is Executive Director of the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for Black and People of Colour Creators (CISF), the country’s only dedicated For Us, By Us fund governed and operated by the Black and racialized creators it serves.

Sally has overseen CISF’s administration of the Rogers-BSO Script Development Fund since 2021...show more

Speaking on: Financing + funding: the good, the bad and the money

Emmy-nominated director Zach Lipovsky started his career on Spielberg's filmmaking competing "On the lot" where he placed 5th out of 12,000 directors worldwide. Zach has gone on to direct and produce projects for TV and film for Syfy, TNT, Lionsgate, Legendary, Universal, and Disney where he was the producing director...show more

Speaking on: Connecting voices: unions, guilds and community organizations

Joy was appointed CEO of the National Screen Institute in January 2020. By providing a clear vision for the organization, Joy’s work has resulted in unprecedented growth and furthered the organization’s mission to increase the number of underrepresented storytellers through training and mentorship programs.

Joy currently serves on several boards including...show more

Speaking on: Connecting voices: unions, guilds and community organizations

Adrian Love is currently the Executive Vice President and General Manager at Elevation Pictures overseeing the theatrical distribution team. Previously he served as the VP of Distribution and Operations at eOne Films and the VP of Marketing and Acquisitions at Alliance Films. Having worked in the Canadian independent film space...show more

Speaking on: BlackBerry: a marketing case study from title to screen

Winnie Luk is the inaugural Executive Director of the Disability Screen Office. The Disability Screen Office is a national, disability-led, not-for-profit organization that works with the Canadian screen industry to eliminate accessibility barriers and foster authentic and meaningful disability representation throughout the sector.

Winnie is a disability advocate, 2SLGBTQI+ activist, and...show more

Speaking on: Connecting voices: unions, guilds and community organizations

Lauren MacKinlay is an award-winning producer based in Toronto, Ontario. Currently, she is a Creative Producer with Neshama Entertainment, working across scripted development in Canada, the United States and internationally. She recently served as an Executive Producer on Neshama’s new one-hour drama The Way Home (Hallmark), which was a ratings...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Mongrel Media, Federgreen Entertainment, Neshama

Berry Meyerowitz is the co-founder of Quiver Distribution, a film and TV company operating in the U.S., Canada and international markets. Quiver acquires, develops, finances, and produces high-quality, talent-driven films from both established and emerging stars and filmmakers. The company recently produced and released the Netflix Original Happiness for Beginners...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Quiver Distribution, Bell Media, Vortex Media

Matthew Miller (Writer, Producer, BlackBerry) is the co-founder and president of Zapruder Films in Toronto. Working with director Matt Johnson he has developed a reputation for tackling challenging material that weaves historical fact with fiction and plays with filmmaking conventions and aesthetics to defy audience expectation. Projects include The Dirties (2013),...show more

Speaking on: BlackBerry: a marketing case study from title to screen

Anna Newallo has three decades of experience in the Film and Television industry. As a Program Consultant at Ontario Creates, her portfolio contains a wide range of programs and initiatives including the Film Fund (Production and Development), Marketing and Distribution Initiative and Industry Development Program.

As a producer, her award-winning independent...show more

Speaking on: Financing + funding: the good, the bad and the money

Matt Orenstein is Vice President of Acquisitions and Strategy at Vortex Media. Notable Vortex Media titles include Nitram, Peace By Chocolate, and I Don’t Know Who You Are. Upcoming releases include Sometimes I Think About Dying, Raging Grace, and You Can Call Me Bill. Previously, Matt was the co-founder of...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Quiver Distribution, Bell Media, Vortex Media

Founded in 1994 by Hussain Amarshi, Mongrel Media is a leading independent film distributor focused on bringing the best of local and world cinema to Canadian audiences. Since its inception, the company has built a reputation as an innovative and distinct brand with a discerning taste, and prides itself on...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Mongrel Media, Vortex Media, Photon Films; Speed Meetings: Mongrel Media, Federgreen Entertainment, Neshama

Nataline Rodrigues is a strategic, results driven, entertainment executive with a proven track record in production and programming. With a solid foundation in independent production and seasoned experience as a broadcast executive, Nataline is known for her commitment to creative excellence and delivering compelling cross platform content in all genres...show more

Speaking on: Speed Meetings: Mongrel Media, Vortex Media, Photon Films

Noah Segal is the co-president of Elevation Pictures. Since its launch in 2014, Elevation has established itself as a leading independent distributor in Canada with Academy Award winning titles such as The Imitation Game, Moonlight, Room and The Father alongside box office hits Lady Bird, Paw Patrol: The Movie and...show more

Speaking on: Going modern: will C-11 breathe new life into Canadian film?; Speed Meetings: Elevation Pictures; Speed Meetings: Bell Media, Elevation Pictures

Aaron Unrau is the Manager of Industrial Relations at the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), the labour organization that represents more than 2,600 professional English-language screenwriters. Overseeing both the administration and enforcement of the WGC’s collective agreement, Aaron wears both a pocket protector and sheriff’s badge at all times. Speaking...show more

Speaking on: Connecting voices: unions, guilds and community organizations

Natalie joined the production/development team at FilmNation in May of 2021. Prior to FilmNation, she spent over 4 years at Focus Features identifying films for a specialty audience. Starting her entertainment career in the mailroom at William Morris Endeavor, she’s developed a taste for quality material with commercial appeal. Natalie...show more

Jocelyn Wexler has been a Development Executive at Wild Sheep since 2020. She is responsible for creative materials and pitch decks, finding/acquiring new IP, and has spent considerable time in writers' rooms steering development.

Recently, Jocelyn led Wild Sheep Content in launching AI in Hollywood (aiinhollywood.com) to provide a one-stop shop...show more

Speaking on: Indie innovations: from sustainability to AI to discoverability

Lauren is the Head of Programming for OUTtv, currently with services in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  With servicing multiple territories, she has successfully negotiated contracts with companies worldwide.  Lauren is part of the development team at the network and continues to work closely with...show more

In his role as Director of Programming, Curtis Woloschuk articulates the Vancouver International Film Festival's artistic vision through curation, program development, and community building. He is responsible for the leadership and oversight of the organization's Programming department and implementation of an annual programming plan that delivers VIFF's mandate and ensures...show more

Speaking on: Festival insights: meet the festival programmers