Board of Directors
Reelworld Screen Institute
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Sasha Henry, Chair
Writer, Director
Sasha Leigh Henry is a writer, director, and producer having recently wrote and directed 'Bitches Love Brunch', starring Prism Prize Lipsett Award winner Karena Evans and playing internationally at Cambridge Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival and Atlanta Comedy Film Festival. Sasha has produced 7 films including Kelly Fyffe Marshall’s 'Black Bodies' and Randall Okita's 'The Lockpicker' (John Dunning Discovery Canadian Screen Award winner). Sasha is currently in development for an original comedy series about a millennial black woman and her imaginary best friend. As a frequent panelist and speaker, Sasha is an alumni of POV 3rd Street, Black Women Film, and was recently featured in a TIFFxRBC collaboration highlighting up and coming women in the arts.
Blake Tohana, Treasurer
CFO,
9 Story Media Group
Blake Tohana is a senior financial executive with more than 25 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry. Since April 2016, Blake has been CFO of 9 Story Media Group, an industry leading creator, producer and distributor of award-winning animated and live action content for young audiences around the world with more than 1,000 employees and operations in Toronto, New York City, Dublin and Bali. Blake has previously held senior management roles at Tricon Films & Television, marblemedia, Magna Entertainment, Fireworks Entertainment and Alliance Communications. Blake is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds an MBA from McMaster University and a B.Sc. from Western University.
Terry E. Markus, Secretary
Entertainment Lawyer,
Professor, Producer
Terry E. Markus is an independent lawyer/consultant providing business & legal affairs services to the entertainment, broadcasting and screen-based media industries for over 30 years. She is also part-time faculty at Humber College, Faculty of Media + Creative Arts, Toronto Canada, teaching Entertainment Law & Ethics. Terry is currently executive producing the feature-length dramatic films “Cidic” and “Concession Nine”, and executive produced the feature-length dramatic film “Happy F’K’IN Sunshine” (2020) (premiering at the 2022 Dances With Films Festival) Terry is a member of the Board of Directors of Women in Film & Television – Toronto (Secretary) and the Reelworld Screen Institute (Secretary).
Tanya Brunel
Producer,
White Bear Films
Tanya Brunel, Red River Métis from south west Manitoba, has been developing and producing motion picture, television and digital media content with a focus on Indigenous stories as an integral part of the White Bear Films production team since 2001. She was Producer on Mr. Soul, 4 seasons of youth series, Cool Jobs, multiple award winning Juliana & The Medicine Fish, The Corruption of Divine Providence which premiered at the Reelworld Film Festival and Whistler Film Festival in 2020, and The First Encounter, an Indigenous sci-fi feature. Most recently, she produced Little Bird, a six part limited drama series on Crave.
Gina Bowen
Fractional CMO and Strategist
Cheryl Hudson
Founder & CEO,
Dove Philanthropy Advisors
Through her philanthropic advisory practice Cheryl guides business owners, professionals, foundations, charitable and non-profit organizations in shifting strategies from short-term, less structured giving to sustained, focused, high-impact philanthropy directing large-scale philanthropic investments to organizations. After, a career driving profit and growth at TD Bank. Cheryl served as Director, Corporate Engagement, at World Vision Canada. She’s a director on the Boards of the Canadian Film Centre and The Art of Time Ensemble. A member of The Professional Advisory Council at SickKids Hospital Foundation and a volunteer on the fundraising committee for the Ontario Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
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Ty Hyland
Production Planning Executive
and Comedy & Digital,
CBC Scripted Content
With over 25 years of film & television industry experience, Ty Hyland has held the positions of Producer, Production Executive, Line Producer and Production Manager on hundreds of hours of primetime TV series and feature length projects. Currently she utilizes her production knowledge working in-house at CBC as a strategist in Production Planning on scripted and digital programming. Ty has extensive experience working on behalf of Production with both broadcasters and funding agencies across Canada ensuring that policy and contractual obligations are properly executed and adhered to.
Floyd Kane
Creator, Writer, Producer,
Search it Up Productions Inc.
Floyd Kane became a Writer/Producer after many years as a lawyer and senior executive within the entertainment industry. In 2005, he wrote and produced the series North/South (CBC), going on to write and executive produce SOUL (Gemini Nomination for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series). He has written on shows like Continuum (Syfy) and Backstage (Disney) and Across the Line (Best Atlantic Feature at the Atlantic Film Festival and Best First Feature at the Canada Film Festival), Jean of the Joneses, which debuted at SXSW, and Brown Girl Begins. Floyd is an alumnus of the Summer Institute, NSI Totally Television Program, the TIFF Talent Lab, the Shaw Media Showrunner Programme and TIFF Studio.
Peter-John Kerr
Creative Director, Director, Producer,
Shift
Peter-John has over 10 years experience in the creative and digital marketing industry. A former co-host of SunTV’s Street Eats and a Universal/Last Gang Records Recording Artist, he is currently Founder and Creative Director at Shift, directing and producing content and a number of digital series with some of North America’s top brands. Peter-John specializes in bringing stories to life and creating engaging content for clients like RBC, YUM! Brands, Pepsi Co. and Mercedes Benz. He is a graduate of Ryerson University’s Radio & Television Arts Program, where he directed and produced Cuban-Canadian based documentary, “La Bicicleta”.
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Srinivas Krishna
President,
DivaniFilms Inc
A media artist, inventor and entrepreneur, Srinivas Krishna is the founder of the pioneering AR VR studio AWE Company and CEO of the spatial experience platform Geogram. His public art work has been applauded by The Globe and Mail, as “utterly breathtaking… genius.” His feature films have premiered at Toronto, Sundance and Cannes and have been distributed worldwide. Srinivas launched his career in 1991 with the international hit Masala, which was voted by the British Film Institute among the Top Ten South Asian Diaspora Films of the 20th Century.
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Patricia Bebia Mawa
Executive Vice President,
Silvertrust Media & Afroglobal TV
Patricia Bebia Mawa is the Executive Vice President of Silvertrust Media and Afroglobal Television. She has directed and produced over 15 television programs including The Visionaries and Standing Ovation. She is the Associate Publisher of Excellence, Envision and Destiny Magazines. Listed in the Who’s Who in Black Canada, she is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth 11 Diamond Jubilee Medal. Patricia and her husband Moses have been featured on CNN International in a half hour special. In March 2016, the duo launched Afroglobal Television, a 24-hour television channel. In 2018, they co-authored the 150 Extraordinary Canadians Legacy book.
Lisa Meeches
President,
Eagle Vision Inc
Anishinaabe filmmaker, Lisa Meeches, is a Member of the Order of Canada and Order of Manitoba. Lisa has produced critically acclaimed projects including The Sharing Circle, Ice Road Truckers, Tipi Tales, Elijah, and Jack. She was Executive Producer on the CSA-winning We Were Children and most recently on Finality of Dusk, Night Raiders, Burden of Truth and Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On. Lisa was honoured as a 2020 Trailblazer at the Reelworld Film Festival.
April Mullings
Director, Finance and Business Affairs,
HLP + Partners
A graduate of the University of Toronto, April has worked in the accounting field for over 20 years. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Specialist in Management and Economics. In 2003, she merged her background in financial management with her passion for film & television. For many years, she served as the Director of Finance & Business Affairs for a boutique Toronto-based production company. April is a natural lover of the arts. From time to time, you may also find this Jamaican-born island girl gracing the stage and captivating audiences with her other passion, dance.
Romen Podzyhun
Chairman & CEO,
Channel Zero
Romen Podzyhun is Chairman & CEO of Channel Zero Inc., a company he co-founded in 2000. He is also Corporate Head of News and Drama Programming for Movieola, Silver Screen Classics, REWIND, CHCH and Ouat Media, overseeing original program development, production, distribution and scheduling, and supervising program acquisitions. Romen had a distinguished 20-year career as a senior retail executive. He applies his knowledge of film by serving on film festival juries and panels world-wide.
Erica Shaw
Media Production Manager, Shaw
Communications Professor, Sheridan
Erica is an accomplished producer and production manager with over 20 years of experience in the film, television, media and education industries. Her commercials, for international brands such as Coca-Cola Ltd, RBC and Microsoft, have aired nationally on HGTV, Food Network Canada and other Shaw Media Inc properties. Erica currently works at Sheridan College as a professor and manager of the Creative Studio.
Deanna Cadette
MPPA Entertainment Executive
Deanna Cadette is an entertainment executive, dedicated to leading industry transformation and talent development through strategic partnerships, evidence-based initiatives and sustainable outcomes. Her expertise stems from a breadth of roles across the public policy, trade association, broadcasting and production sectors. Most recently, she served as talent and industry advisor with Warner Bros. Discovery for the Access Canada initiative, after launching the five-year office as its inaugural executive director in 2020. Deanna’s journey is supported by an MA in Public Policy, a BA in Journalism & Film Studies and a Certificate in Project Management.
Board of Directors
Reelworld Foundation
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Patricia Bebia Mawa, Chair
Executive Vice President,
Silvertrust Media & Afroglobal TV
Cheryl Hudson, Vice-Chair
Founder & CEO,
Dove Philanthropy Advisors
April Mullings, Treasurer
Director, Finance and Business Affairs,
HLP + Partners
Patricia Bebia Mawa is the Executive Vice President of Silvertrust Media and Afroglobal Television. She has directed and produced over 15 television programs including The Visionaries and Standing Ovation. She is the Associate Publisher of Excellence, Envision and Destiny Magazines. Listed in the Who’s Who in Black Canada, she is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth 11 Diamond Jubilee Medal. Patricia and her husband Moses have been featured on CNN International in a half hour special. In March 2016, the duo launched Afroglobal Television, a 24-hour television channel. In 2018, they co-authored the 150 Extraordinary Canadians Legacy book.
Through her philanthropic advisory practice Cheryl guides business owners, professionals, foundations, charitable and non-profit organizations in shifting strategies from short-term, less structured giving to sustained, focused, high-impact philanthropy directing large-scale philanthropic investments to organizations. After, a career driving profit and growth at TD Bank. Cheryl served as Director, Corporate Engagement, at World Vision Canada. She’s a director on the Boards of the Canadian Film Centre and The Art of Time Ensemble. A member of The Professional Advisory Council at SickKids Hospital Foundation and a volunteer on the fundraising committee for the Ontario Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
A graduate of the University of Toronto, April has worked in the accounting field for over 20 years. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a Specialist in Management and Economics. In 2003, she merged her background in financial management with her passion for film & television. For many years, she served as the Director of Finance & Business Affairs for a boutique Toronto-based production company. April is a natural lover of the arts. From time to time, you may also find this Jamaican-born island girl gracing the stage and captivating audiences with her other passion, dance.
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Ty Hyland
Production Planning Executive
and Comedy & Digital,
CBC Scripted Content
With over 25 years of film & television industry experience, Ty Hyland has held the positions of Producer, Production Executive, Line Producer and Production Manager on hundreds of hours of primetime TV series and feature length projects. Currently she utilizes her production knowledge working in-house at CBC as a strategist in Production Planning on scripted and digital programming. Ty has extensive experience working on behalf of Production with both broadcasters and funding agencies across Canada ensuring that policy and contractual obligations are properly executed and adhered to.
Anya McKenzie
Secretary
Anya Mckenzie is an accomplished producer/programmer with a global perspective thatstems from her roots in the Caribbean and humanitarian aid. She is passionate about access in the media having served as Managing Director of Reelworld Film Festival, and later launching multicultural content for TELUS. Anya is an Advisory Board Member for Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF), a landmark event she was instrumental in launching, and she currently works with the CBC Business & Rights team licensing digital originals/docs such as FAST HORSE, FARM CRIME, and THE 410 and HOW TO BUY A BABY to name a few.
Erica Shaw,
Media Production Manager, Shaw Communications
Professor, Sheridan
Erica is an accomplished producer and production manager with over 20 years of experience in the film, television, media and education industries. As founder of EpEc – Everyday People, Everyday Creativity, Erica designs and facilitates unique workshops for a roster of corporate and personal clients using Creative Problem Solving (CPS) and FourSight® frameworks. Erica currently works at Sheridan College as a professor and manager of the Creative Studio.