
OUR FREE INDUSTRY PANELS CREATE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
FOR EMERGING FILMMAKERS & STORYTELLERS.
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Learn from the experts, and get real advice that you wont hear any where else. Each panel features prominent industry leaders and gives attendees the opportunity to ask questions and facilitate discussions with the artists. You will be able to sit in on insightful discussions, while also getting the chance to drive the discussion with your questions.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 | 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
STRATEGIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY
Presented by AFBS
Join moderator Ella Cooper and panelists Gilad Cohen, Amos Adetuyi, and Ty Hyland and learn innovative, inclusive and financially successful tips for running your organizations - as told by people who are in production, film festivals and broadcasting. .
MODERATOR
Ella Cooper
Producer, Founder, Black Women in Film! Canada
PANELISTS
Amos Adetuyi
CEO, Circle Blue Entertainment
Producer, Diggstown (2019)
Ty Hyland
Production Planning Executive, Comedy & Digital,
CBC Scripted Content
Gilad Cohen
Founder and Executive Director, JAYU

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 | 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
WEB SERIES:
SOMNIUS: PILGRIMS OF CENTAURI AND NEXT STOP
Join us for a discussion on Reelworld Film Festival’s 2020 official selection web series, NEXT STOP (2019) and Somnius: Pilgrims of Centauri, with Reelworld programmer Marina Hanna and the filmmakers.
MODERATOR
Marina Hanna
Programmer, Reelworld Film Festival
PANELISTS
Alain Williams
Writer/Producer, Somnius:
Pilgrims of Centauri
Denver Jackson
Director, Somnius:
Pilgrims of Centauri
Phil Witmer
Director, NEXT STOP
Jabbari Weekes
Director, NEXT STOP
Tichaona Tapambwa
Director, NEXT STOP
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
GET ON THAT ROSTER AND DIRECT IN BC
A lot of USA series are shot in BC, and Hollywood is seeking racially diverse directors. Let's hear from some that are doing well in this field. Directors will discuss their filmmaking journeys and their experiences working in the British Columbia film and television industry.
MODERATOR
Prem Gill
CEO, Creative BC
PANELISTS
Sharon Lewis
Director, Brown Girl Begins
Sudz Sutherland,
Founder, Hungry Eyes Media
Nimisha Mukerji
DGC-BC Director,
Producer, Writer, Tempest Storm

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
CANADA MEDIA FUND CASE STUDY
TOKENS (2019)
Playback’s Jordan Pinto does a deep dive with the Canadian Screen Award-winning creators of the hit web series Tokens as they take us on the journey of how Tokens got funded, went viral, and won big - stay tuned and watch the pilot episode at the end of the panel!
MODERATOR
Jordan Pinto
Associate Editor, Playback
PANELISTS
Winnifred Jong
Writer/Producer, Tokens (2019)
Connie Wang
Performer, 2020 CSA Nominee
Trinni Franke
Producer, Tokens (2019)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
HOW TO ENGAGE AND KEEP YOUR AUDIENCE
Presented by Shaftesbury
If you want to be successful, you must know how to market and monetize your project - and yourself. Dylen Postnikoff, VP, Global Brand Strategy for Shaftesbury, shares her secrets on how to build an audience and keep them engaged from project to project. Marketing guru Kadon Douglas will be hosting this discussion breaking down how film and media makers can use the myriad of tools available now!
MODERATOR
PANELIST
Kadon Douglas
Chair of the Board,
Reelworld Film Festival
Dylen Postnikoff
VP, Global Brand Strategy, Shaftesbury
Our 2020 goal is to help filmmakers break through to the next level.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
One-on-One: A Conversation with Clement Virgo
Clement Virgo is one of Canada’s foremost directors. TV directing credits include Empire, The Wire, The L Word, American Crime, and the OWN series Greenleaf, where he also served as Executive Producer with Oprah Winfrey. He is currently developing BLOOM with Callie Khouri through the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground Productions.
In 2015, Virgo directed and co-wrote the miniseries adaptation The Book of Negroes. It won 12 Canadian Screen Awards, was nominated for two U.S. Critics Choice Television Awards and four NAACP Image Awards. Virgo’s features include Poor Boy’s Game and Lie With Me. His films have premiered at Cannes, Berlinale and TIFF.
Virgo’s debut film, Rude, premiered at Cannes in 1995. It was recently featured in Locarno’s Blacklight Retrospective, showcasing international Black cinema of the 20th century.
MODERATOR
PANELIST

Tonya Williams,
Founder, Executive Director
Reelworld Film Festival
Clement Virgo,
Director
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
One-on-One: A Conversation
with Shirley Cheechoo
Reelworld is proud to name Dr. Shirley Cheechoo as our 2020 Reelworld Visionary Award recipient. The Reelworld Visionary Award honours industry leaders who have dedicated decades toward changing the face of the Canadian entertainment industry through advocating, creating spaces, and pushing boundaries.
Dr. Shirley Cheechoo, a Cree filmmaker, actor, writer, and visual artist, made her directorial debut in 1998 and is revered as the first Indigenous woman to write, produce, and direct a dramatic feature film in Canada for her film Bearwalker, which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. This film also opened Reelworld's inaugural 2001 festival where Dr. Cheechoo won the Best Director award.
MODERATOR

Jason Ryle,
Producer & Curator
Former Executive Director of imagineNATIVE
PANELIST
Shirley Cheechoo
Chancellor, Brock University, Award-winning Artist, Actor and Film Director
Reelworld Free Industry Panels are made possible with support from Telefilm, Ontario Creates and the Ontario Arts Council.



THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 | 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Presented by Rogers
Financing your project, from the people who actually fund you.
Join us for a discussion on funding options for longform streaming and traditional broadcast content, including The Harold Greenberg Fund, the Independent Production Fund, the Bell Fund and the Shaw Rocket Fund.
Agnes Augustin
President & CEO,
Shaw Rocket Fund
Alain P. Arthur
Executive Producer/CEO
Caribbean Vibrations TV Ltd.
MODERATOR
PANELISTS
Carly McGowan
Manager,
Independent Production Fund
Nancy Chapelle, Executive Director,
Bell Fund
John Galway
President, The Harold Greenberg Fund
Robin Mirsky
Executive Director,
Rogers Group of Funds
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 | 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
TELEFILM CANADA CASE STUDY
Theres No Place Like This Place, Anyplace
From idea to script to screen - this is the step-by-step road map to taking the journey from idea to completion with Telefilm Canada. Join us with Telefilm Canada’s E.J. Alon and the filmmakers of the award-winning documentary feature There’s No Place Like This Place, Anyplace .
MODERATOR
E.J. Alon,
Talent Fund Director, Telefilm
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PANELISTS
Lulu Wei
Director,
There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace
Ali Weinstein
Producer,
There's No Place Like This Place, Anyplace
