Access BIPOC Producers

Alicia Petrusa is a relationship manager in the media and entertainment team at RBC, with 10 years of industry experience across business affairs and producing. Additionally, Alicia is an independent producer and head of FourFront Pictures Inc. She has experience in business affairs at Circle Blue Entertainment and IGP Productions. She is a graduate of the radio & television arts program at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University).

Alicia’s focus on business and producing has allowed for her to marry the creative and innovative skills she holds in order to create content that puts diverse voices in the forefront of media creation.

Through her producing experience, her previous credits include associate producer on CBC’s Street Legal, associate producer on the Radio-Canada documentary Hymne Migratoire, and business affairs manager on the CBC drama Diggstown.

In her current role at RBC, Alicia provides client-focused strategic advising and works alongside producers and creative professionals with a focus on the nuance of supporting the media industry through methods such as interim financing, cash management and foreign exchange solutions.

Amanda Roy is a citizen of the Anishinaabek Nation from the community of Buzwah, a part of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island.

She has worked with the National Film Board as an associate producer for their Hothouse Animation Apprenticeship program and is currently an associate producer for the Quebec-Atlantic English documentary studio.

She has worked on various film, TV and digital media projects in multiple roles with several Indigenous production companies that have screened worldwide.

Amanda is also a Hnatyshyn Foundation REVEAL Indigenous Art Awards laureate and a Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Fellow. Her artwork has been exhibited in spaces such as the Smithsonian Institute, the Berkeley Art Center, the Royal Alberta Museum, the Whyte Museum, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, the Textile Museum of Canada and She:kon Gallery.

She recently completed an eight-week artist residency with Centre Clark.

Amar Lohana is a filmmaker and co-founder of Akelo Media, a documentary film production company dedicated to telling stories that shed light on complex issues and under-reported stories with a commitment to journalistic integrity.

He edited and produced the feature documentary The Devil’s Advocate (2021) which was funded by ITVS and The Firelight Media.

Amar serves on the board of the Documentary Organization of Canada and was part of a BIPOC producers’ think-tank created by DOC Institute. He has written a forthcoming report that draws upon the insights of the think-tank participants, offering recommendations on addressing issues of equity and representation within Canada’s filmmaking industry.

Prior to filmmaking, Amar spent 15 years working in technology and finance. He also did a two-year stint as a stay-at-home dad to a special needs child, which gave him valuable perspective and deepened his commitment to creating work that resonates with a diverse range of audiences.

Habiba Nosheen is a Peabody and a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and filmmaker. She is the host of the new investigative podcast Conviction: The Disappearance of Nuseiba Hasan, with Gimlet Media and Spotify.

Her film Outlawed in Pakistan premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it was called “among the Standouts” of Sundance by The Los Angeles Times.

Her This American Life radio documentary, What Happened at Dos Erres? was dubbed “a masterpiece of storytelling” by The New Yorker. In 2022, she was selected to be part of HBO documentary film’s inaugural cohort for the Documentary Development Initiative.

Previously, she was also named DOC NYC’s 40 under 40. Her films have been supported by PBS FRONTLINE, JustFilms, The Firelight Media, ITVS, The Center for Asian American Media, CBC, National Film Board of Canada and others. She often teaches filmmaking at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Anam Abbas is a Pakistani / Canadian filmmaker. She runs Other Memory Media. As a producer and director of photography, her first feature Showgirls of Pakistan, winner of the best pitch award at the 2016 Hot Docs Forum, premiered in competition at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2020 and was released globally by Vice in 2021. It has over 1.2 million views.

Anam’s first feature documentary as a director This Stained Dawn, supported by the Canada Arts Council in 2020, follows the feminist activists who organize the Aurat March in Pakistan. It premiered in international competition at the 2021 Sheffield DocFest and in the New Asian Currents competition program at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021.

Anam is an alumna of Locarno Film Festival, Open Doors Hub 2017, 2018 Berlinale Talents, 2019 Film Independent Global Media Makers, 2020 Berlinale Talents Project Market Fellow and 2020 Cannes Producer’s Network and has been invited as a selection committee member for Berlinale Talents Doc Station and Sheffield Meet Market.

Her first fiction feature, the Telefilm Talent to Watch and Canada Council of the Arts supported In Flames, directed by Zarrar Kahn, will have its world premiere at Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival 2023.

Anam is also one of the founding members of the Documentary Association of Pakistan.

Baljit Sangra is a Vancouver-based filmmaker who uses documentaries to explore social and cross-cultural issues. Her films shine a light on underrepresented and marginalized voices and stories an award-winning, six-time Leo Award nominee. Sangra’s films have routinely premiered at festivals worldwide.

Currently, she is in post-production on a hockey documentary following the journey of elite players and a team owner for Telus Originals & TVO.

Her highest profile film is the National Film Board (NFB) produced feature documentary Because We Are Girls, exploring the impact of sexual abuse on a Punjabi family living in BC.

Because We Are Girls had its world premiere in May 2019 at Hot Docs Film Festival and was the opening gala film at DOXA Documentary Film Festival. After sold-out shows at DOXA, Because We Are Girls had a theatrical run in several Canadian cities and is available on Amazon clocking in over 18 million minutes viewed.

Other documentaries include the award-winning Many Rivers Home, a personal story about seniors living in assisted care at the end of life (Omni TV); Have You Forgotten Me, which shines a light on North America’s oldest-running Sikh temple in North America (Knowledge Network); Warrior Boyz, examining the long-running gang scene unique to the Indo-Canadian enclave of BC’s lower mainland (Co-Produced by the NFB, broadcast on Global/Knowledge Network/PBS) and Hockey United, which looks at hockey dreams within the South Asian community of Surrey, BC (Omni TV).

Baljit runs her own production company Viva Mantra Films Inc. and has a slate in development. Viva Mantra Films also line-produced several international projects including Bollywood features shot in BC for leading companies such as Yashraj Films, Ramoji Rao and T-Series.

Viva Mantra Films got its start producing an A&E TV series VIVA!  for City TV & Omni/Channel M for four seasons.

Sangra is currently a co-chair of the BC chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC). She also sits on the National Board of DOC, Hot Docs and Story Money Impact.

Brishkay Ahmed began her career as an Afghan / Canadian filmmaker by writing and directing episodic dramas for Tolo TV and Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) in Afghanistan. In Canada, Ahmed is recognized for her documentary, In the Rumbling Belly of Motherland, nominated for a 2021 DGC award, and the CBC short documentary Fatima In Kabul, nominated for the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards and a 2022 Banff Rockie Award.

Through Digital Warriors Productions, Ahmed is developing the feature drama Sama’s Here There, the drama series Afghan Smoke and the feature documentary PMDD a Half-Life. Ahmed enjoys collaborating with other producers and is also producing the TV hour documentary A Ballad for Judi with Viva Mantra Films for Knowledge Network.

Whether writing or directing, Ahmed is drawn to stories that raise questions about framed and formed identities, the conflicts arising from our obligation and allegiance to these identities, and our struggle to break free from them.

Ahmed is a 2022 CFC Writers’ Lab alumna and a 2023 Netflix – Banff Diversity participant. She studied film production at New York University through their year-long intensive production program.

She has a diploma in journalism from Langara College and a bachelor of communication from Simon Fraser University. Ahmed is a Directors Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Canada and Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television member.

Cole Vandale is a Disabled Métis actor, writer, director and producer. He has worked professionally on a variety of union and non-union productions both in-front and behind the camera.

He began working in the film industry as a professional actor earning roles on Alejandro Iñárritu’s feature film, The Revenant and on the AMC series Hell On Wheels. He then expanded his skills to behind the camera working as a grip, electrical, camera assistant, associate producer and assistant director on multiple indie features, pilots and movies of the weeks.

His short film Starlight was nominated for best live short at the 45th American Indian Film Festival and was a finalist for the Sundance Ignite Fellowship. Since then, he was a participant in the 2020 Whistler Indigenous Filmmakers Fellowship with his script Indian in the Child and was a member for the Vancouver International Film Festivals emerging filmmakers catalyst program.

In addition, he was a participant in the inaugural 2022 CBC Access Scripted Stream. He has since produced the Crazy8s film CRUMBS and was a field producer for the Telus documentary Precious Leader Woman. He has also worked with Mosaic Entertainment on the television series Bears’ Lair as an associate producer, co-writer, second unit director and co-director of select episodes. Recently, he produced Rylan Friday’s film Terror/Forming and Andrew Konoff’s short film Plaansh A Roo.

Currently, he is producing Mily Mumford’s sci-fi short film A Void and their queer summer camp horror feature film Terrible Thing.

He hopes to help make filmmaking sustainable, diverse and welcoming.

Diana Dai is a multiple award-winning independent filmmaker, having received prestigious honours such as the Gemini Award and Platinum Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.

She has produced and directed documentaries for CBC, TVO, Doc Channel and Bell Media. Her films have been shown around the world and included in the collections of many renowned international universities and libraries.

Diana was one of the founders of the mandarin program for OMNI TV in Canada. She has also taught courses in television and film and video at Ontario Tech University, where she co-authored the textbook Television in its Social Context.

Diana earned her master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Leeds in the UK.

Émilie Martel is a Franco-Ontarian writer, director and producer with mixed French, Huron-Wendat and Irish ancestry. Émilie has spent years directing short documentary content for organizations worldwide, such as The Guardian, Great Big Story, Univision, New York Post and more.

She has directed and produced two seasons of the animated documentary youth series called The Métis (19 episodes of 13 minutes, TFO), created, co-wrote and directed a non-scripted tween cooking series called Petites bouchées du monde that was recently nominated for a Prix Gémeaux (29 episodes of 13 minutes, TFO), directed several episodes of the documentary series of 180 (13 of 23 minutes, TVA), directed and produced a documentary film called Alias Marie-Soleil (1 x49 min; TFO, Radio-Canada) and a documentary series called Au coeur du Yukon (7 of 48 minutes, Unis TV).

She co-directed a fictional teen series about girls in a hockey league called Gang de hockey, a concept she created and co-wrote (8 of 13 minutes, TFO).

Her independent projects have received support from various organizations such as HotDocs, the Canadian Council for the Arts and the Ontario Council for the Arts. She has received the 2018 Canadian Women Artists’ Award from the New York State Council on the Arts, is a beneficiary of the Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative and in 2019, she was a recipient of the Youth Media Alliance’s Thérèse-Pinho Scholarship.

Whether it’s a documentary or educational series, Emilie is passionate about exploring new forms of visual storytelling, loves working with a variety of artists and has a desire to tell stories that highlight cultural diversity and environmental themes.

Émilie works in English, French and Spanish.

Farhad Pakdel is an Iranian / Canadian filmmaker whose work explores identity (de)construction, liminality, absence, place and memory. He holds a master of fine arts in film from York University in Toronto and a master of arts in cinema from the University of Art in Tehran, where he experimented with film form and taught film courses.

Farhad is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre’s Norman Jewison Film Program and a member of Iran’s National Elites Foundation. He has produced, written and directed several short films that have screened internationally.

As a producer, Farhad is currently developing a dramatic feature film The Tears of Things, which has received support from Telefilm Canada’s Development Program, and a short form series titled Double Exposure. He is also working on his debut feature film as a writer and director: The Riddle of the Sphinx.

Leila Khalilzadeh is an Iranian / Canadian filmmaker based in Montreal. She has written, directed and produced short fiction, animation and documentary films that have been showcased at international festivals, such as Berlinale and Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.

A Berlinale Talents 2021 alumna, Leila holds a master of fine arts in film production from Concordia University, Montreal and a master of arts in cinema from the University of Art, Tehran.

Leila is currently developing a feature film supported by Telefilm Canada’s Development Program, a short fiction funded by Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and a short documentary for National Film Board of Canada

Gavin Seal is an Indian Québécois Canadian filmmaker whose artistic mission is to dissolve otherness using the universal language of cinema.

Gavin is currently developing his first feature film Laughing with God with support from the Toronto International Film Festival Filmmaker Lab, the Fiction Toolbox Programme at Berlinale‘s European Film Market, Netflix Diversity of Voices Pitch Program initiative, Reelworld E20 Emerging Writers program and the Nouveau Marché competition at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma.

His previous work as a writer / director includes the fiction films, Followers (Fantasia, Reelworld) and Case Claus’d (Montreal International Black Film Festival, CBC Short Film Faceoff) as well as the documentary Good Luck Have Fun (National Screen Institute, Just for Laughs).

Gavin has also served as a producer on films such as The Long Way Home (HotDocs), directed by Oscar-nominee Ariel Nasr and Aisha Jamal, and as a segment director for the Emmy and Canadian Screen Award-nominated TV series Interrupt this Program.

Israel Ekanem is a Nigerian-born award-winning storyteller and the founder of Ubuntu Media. At a young age, his grandmother introduced him to the art of storytelling and it quickly became his passion.

His writing, directing and producing credits include the award-winning Drown the Lovers, Kill Your Masters, Dearg, Good Earth: The Pots and Passions Of Walter Ostrom and A Walk In The Sun.

He believes that a story properly told can change the world, one person at a time. He hopes to keep telling stories for as long as he lives.

Kathy-Ann Thomas is a seasoned film professional with experience working on feature films, television and documentaries including the Academy Award-winning Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve and Transformers: Rise of The Beasts.

As one of the few Women of Colour and an English language minority working in the Quebec film industry, she is passionate about creating character-driven content with distinct voices.

Her passion for telling authentic stories and bringing diverse perspectives to global audiences compelled her to start her production company, Cotton Bush Productions.

Kathy-Ann’s short films RedRuby, A Late Thaw, Snow and The Cradle have played and won awards at international festivals, including Fantasia International Film Festival, LA Short International Film Festival and Cannes Short Film Corner.

The short Crocus is a psychological drama about a mother’s imminent death that threatens to dismantle her family home is in post-production with a grant from the Canada Council of the Arts.

She is also in development on three feature-length films: the multi-genre anthology Moving Day with development funding from Telefilm and ISO, the horror Hegemon with a grant from the Canada Council of the Arts and the drama Finding Mercy as well as two series: Voices of The Dead and Finding Oppa.

Lanette Ware-Bushfield is a member of the Academy of Cinema and Television Arts, Canadian Media Producers Association, is a London Academy graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in drama, has studied cinematic language at the Toronto Film School, is a licensed Red Cross instructor, published writer and certified basic Spanish teacher.

Born and raised on Manhattan’s upper east side, Lanette was hired for her first commercial at age three, began studying piano at age six and violin at age 13. Although a music major at the High School of Music and Art, NY, it was during her drama courses at Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY and London, England, that she would discover her passion for writing, classical literature and theatre.

Lanette has also studied image consulting at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NY and received her earliest training in music theory, writing and directing from the Fiorello High School of Performing Arts and Diller Quaile Music School, NY.

In 2017, Lanette earned a certificate of entrepreneurship from the MaRS Entrepreneurship: Cohort, a course based on Stanford University’s Genome Report, which defines the framework for high-growth, experiment-driven entrepreneurship based on data from thousands of startups recorded over the past decade. In this course, Lanette learned to build and measure progress while isolating problems that serve audiences, thereby identifying, serving and validating customer service business models.

Lanette is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio, NY/LA, women in film and acting unions: SAG, AFTRA, AEA, ACTRA/UBCP, plays Coach Carter in the 2023 American biographical sports film Flint Strong written by Oscar-Award winning screenwriter Barry Jenkins and directed by Rachel Morrison in her directorial debut, based on the documentary T-Rex starring opposite Ryan Destiny and 2022 Oscar-nominated Brian Tyree Henry.

Lanette plays DA Claire Wilson in 2023’s Fox series Accused starring Michael Chiklis and Superintendent Lewis in the 2023 Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award winning series Hudson and Rex. She can next be seen in the Netflix series The Madness executive produced and directed by Clement Virgo, starring Coleman Domingo and Enchanted directed by Atom Agoyan and starring Amanda Seyfried as well as real life character Carrie Everett in Apple TVs 2022 series Five Days at Memorial based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name by producer Sheri Fink, showrunner Carlton Cuse and Oscar Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley.

Lanette’s published writing can be found in The Globe and Mail, Tales from the Forest, The Chillfltr Review, Urban Mediamakers, Reno / Tahoe, The Hobson Foundation, Dreamers, Aaduna and Mothering Magazines. She has taught public speaking, self-empowerment and drama in Toronto, Vancouver and some of New York’s most at-risk schools.

Laura Friedmann is a Colombian-born / Toronto-based producer with a deep passion for exploring themes related to gender equality, human rights, intergenerational trauma, diaspora and healing. Laura’s portfolio of work has been featured globally.

Her productions include the award-winning Glimpses into the Spirit of Gender Equality (UN Commission on the Status of Women), Tenaya (TIFF’s Big Pitch Audience Award) and the short film Braided Together (ImagineNATIVE & VoxPopular Audience Awards).

She was selected to the HotDocs Deal Maker program, the Whistler Film Festival Doc Lab and is a fellow of the Netflix / Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative, the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media and the BIPOC TV & FILM Showrunner Bootcamp.

Laura was awarded a scholarship and graduated from the WIFT Toronto / Bell Media Leadership Program at the Schulich School of Business.

Laura is co-founder and executive of Wrapped Productions where she oversees the development and production of diverse and BIPOC film projects. She is a dedicated advocate for the advancement of women and creatives of colour in film and has participated in several initiatives aimed at promoting their growth and development (Creative Sovereignty Lab, Native Film & Storytelling Institute and Breakthroughs Film Festival).

Laura focuses on bringing to life powerful stories that inspire and transform audiences.

Kyle Schmalenberg is an award-winning writer and director. His work includes commercial, dramatic and documentary broadcasting on television, streaming platforms and in high-level international discourse spaces like the United Nations.

He is presently developing a robust slate including feature dramas and documentaries, limited series and comedy series with Wrapped Productions.

Kyle is a fellow of the Banff / Netflix Diversity of Voices program (2022), is a recipient of the Rogers x Black Screen Office Script Development Fund and was a recipient of the CFC Netflix Calling Card Accelerator program. He was a co-creator and facilitator at the Native Film & Storytelling Institute (2017) and the Creative Sovereignty Lab (2022).

Coming from early projects involving grassroots media initiatives and accompaniment processes, Kyle continually seeks to bring into his work elements of mentorship, training, capacity building, community, equity and justice.

His work often amplifies the voices of marginalized communities and underrepresented perspectives. In addition to his creative pursuits, Kyle is also a licensed psychotherapist in Toronto.

Maria Kennedy is owner and co-founder of Little Engine Moving Pictures, an independent Canadian entertainment company that specializes in the development, production and distribution of original, innovative live-action and animated series for a global audience of kids and family.

Her expertise lies in creating strategic equity partnerships through financing and pre-sales of original series in development, as well as assembling world class creative teams to produce premium series like Tiny and Tall, Cutie Pugs, Now You Know and Canada Crew and to distribute award-winning series like The Gumboot Kids, Baby Baby, Space Kids and I Love.

Maria and the Little Engine team have forged strong partnerships with TVO, CBC, CBC Gem, TFO, Knowledge Kids and SRC Radio-Canada, and funding agencies Shaw Rocket Fund, Bell Fund, Rogers Telefund, CMF Canada Media Fund and Ontario Creates.

Little Engine has won Kidscreen, Youth Media Alliance, W3 Marketing, TIFF and Berlinale awards, and they’ve been nominated for Prix Jeunesse Germany and BANFF Awards. Their boutique distribution division has sold to networks, streamers and AVOD / SVODs like Starz Kids (US), VMe (US / Mexico / South America), SuperRTL (Germany), Daekyo (South Korea), Hop! TV (Israel), Hopster (United Kingdom), AMC Networks International (EMEA) and across Latin America.

Little Engine’s catalogue of titles has been versioned to French, Hebrew, Korean, simple Chinese, Spanish and German.

Maria is on the Youth Media Alliance board of directors, as well as the Centennial College Program Advisory Committee (PAC). BIPOC woman owned and led, Little Engine advocates gender, BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ equality and champions equity in the workplace.

Maytham Jbara is an Iraqi / Toronto-based film writer and producer from a family of filmmakers in Baghdad. He honed his skills studying cinema and television at the University of Baghdad and attending numerous workshops on various aspects of film production.

Maytham’s work includes the feature film Hanging Gardens by Ahmed Yassin, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, and several short and feature films, among them Ibraham’s Journey by Shaker K. Tahrer, MP3 by Essam Al-Shammri, The Great Method by Joshua David Pivato.

In 2021, he debuted as a writer and director with his short fiction film Qadr which premiered at the LA Shorts Film Festival.

Currently, he is working on the development of several feature films such as Madness and Honey Days by Ahmed Yassin, Red Bus in Baghdad by Ali Mohammed Saeed and his own feature.

Michelle Mama is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and veteran factual producer / director with over 300 hours of television under her belt and has been nominated twice as a producer and twice as a director by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Michelle was most recently the executive producer of Summer Qamp (2024) a feature documentary film about an all-queer camp for youth in the mountains of Alberta. She was executive producer on season three of Canada’s Drag Race– the country’s top-rated subscription video on demand series – as well as Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World.

Previously, she was showrunner on both seasons of In the Making, a prime-time CBC documentary series about ground-breaking artists as well as a writer on the iconic sketch comedy series Baroness von Sketch Show (IFC / CBC) and a director on the first season of History Channel’s hit series Lost Car Rescue.

In 2021, Michelle produced and directed an eight part documentary series for Fuse / OutTV called Shine True (8 x 30) about Trans and Non-Binary folks discovering the way they want to present in the world that was lauded by The New York Times, The New Yorker and Vogue.

In 2023, Michelle has launched Gay Agenda – a new production company designed specifically to develop and produce queer stories and continue her project of mentoring young queer and BIPOC creatives. Michelle is in development on the documentary feature Antidiva on the queer rock outlaw Carole Pope of Rough Trade, as well as the scripted series Well That’s Just Super, written and directed by Julianna Notten.

Julianna Notten (she/they) is a Toronto-based, award-winning queer filmmaker and co-founder of Switch Hitter Films. Currently, she’s developing her first television series Well That’s Just Super with Gay Agenda as well as her sophomore feature And I Feel Fine with funding from the Canadian Arts Council.

Their debut feature Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls recently had its festival premiere playing in prestigious festivals, notably Mill Valley where it won the audience choice for best family film, LA Femme where it won best feature of the festival and Raindance London which earned it rave reviews. The short of the same name has played in over 40 film festivals around the world, most notably Frameline42 which later picked it up for distribution. The feature was also chosen to take part in Inside Out’s prestigious Financing Forum in 2019.

Julianna is a graduate of the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) film program, where she received the Norman Jewison Award and Natalie MacDonald Memorial Award in her final year.

Their thesis film, Earth to Avery premiered at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival in 2016.

They’ve made it their mission to create stories with queer and gender diverse protagonists who break boundaries and challenge stereotypes.

Nach Dudsdeemaytha is a Thai / Canadian filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. He holds over a dozen producer credits on award-winning projects; select credits include David Fincher’s Netflix Documentary Series Voir (2021); the Gotham-nominated web-series Inconceivable (2017); Cypher (2017), which won best short film at Vancouver Short Film Festival; and Tokyo Lovers (2019), a collaboration with Mayumi Yoshida that was awarded with best short at Japan Film Festival LA.

Nach’s latest feature project Mongrels directed by Jerome Yoo, was picked as one of Telefilm’s Talent to Watch projects in 2020, and is currently in post-production. The film will be distributed in Canada by Game Theory Films.

Nach is also currently in development for the feature film Akashi with co-producer Tyler Hagan of Experimental Forest Films and director Mayumi Yoshida, based on the award-winning short film of the same name. It is slated to go to camera in fall 2023, with production in Canada and Japan.

Born in Japan and raised in three continents, Mayumi Yoshida is an actor, writer, director and producer based in Vancouver, BC.

As an actor, Mayumi is most known for her role as Crown Princess (The Man in The High Castle, Amazon Prime) which got her a nomination for best emerging actor at UBCP/ACTRA Awards. She is also recurring in the new series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies on Paramount+.

As an award-winning writer / director, Mayumi is a leading force in emerging Asian-Canadian cinema. She’s an alumna of Women in the Director’s Chair, Women in Focus Mentorship at Whistler Film Festival and currently a participant in the WarnerMedia x Canadian Academy Access Writers Program, TIFF Netflix Talent Accelerator Fellowship and TIFF Writer’s Studio.

Her directorial debut short film Akashi, which she wrote and acted in as well, won Outstanding Writer out of 4500 films at NBCUniversal Short Film Festival, best female director at Vancouver Short Film Festival and many more awards internationally. In 2019, Mayumi received the Newcomer Award at Vancouver Women in Film Festival’s Spotlight awards for her success in multiple fields.

The latest music video she wrote, directed and produced, Different Than Before by Amanda Sum, starring Tzi Ma (Mulan) earned a Vimeo Staff Pick, Jury Award at SXSW Music Video Competition, and screened at Oscar / BAFTA qualifying film festivals. In 2023, it also got nominated for Music Video of the Year at the JUNO Awards.

Mayumi also works with A24 / Apple / Netflix as a Japanese cultural consultant and is currently working on the TV series Sunny (AppleTV+) starring Rashida Jones (On the Rocks) and Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car) as an associate producer.

Patricia Chica is an award-winning Canadian producer and filmmaker with over 60 hours of content to her name.

Specializing in character-driven films that feature strong emotions and elevated stories, Chica’s work has been in official selection at over 300 international film festivals and numerous TV networks, earning her 60+ awards.

Her captivating blend of dreamy surrealism and introspective self-reflection creates a distinctive visual narrative that is fueled by higher consciousness.

Chica’s debut feature film Montréal Girls, funded by Telefilm Canada and Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), was released in 2023 in Canada and the U.S., while she preps for her other projects, including Soleil & Luna (TV Series) and Bougainvillea (LatinX/LGBTQ+ feature).

Originally from Montreal and now based in Los Angeles, Isabel Dréan is a screenwriter, producer and director with a focus on coming-of-age, romcom and holiday stories.

She received a placement in the Nicholl Fellowship for her first screenplay, which explored themes of women’s survival and overcoming the impossible. During the pandemic, Isabel shifted her focus to lighter-hearted narratives.

In 2021, two of her scripts were produced by Breakthrough Entertainment (Canada) and Vast Entertainment (USA). Three more holiday romcoms followed in 2022, leading to a total of five screenplays sold and produced within a 15 month period.

Isabel’s work often centers on female perspectives and contemporary themes, examining the complexities of human emotions. Her writing is influenced by her love for travel and her appreciation for diverse cultures.

As a screenwriter with a unique voice and the ability to adapt to different genres, Isabel enjoys contributing to various film and television projects, both by creating her own stories and by supporting other filmmakers in bringing their visions to life.

Sarah Kapoor was the host and co-creator of Past Life Investigation for CBC Television, which was nominated for a Gemini, won The Gracie Award by the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television and was also featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Credits include CBC senior producer for Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister and writer, producer / director and star of independent dramatic comedy feature The Bad Mother, now available on streaming platforms like Apple TV.

Half of her 20-year career in the industry was with the national public broadcaster, and the other half as co-owner of a small production company serving major public and private sector organizations.

She is currently developing a series concepts (Future Humans, The Soul Friend Journey), producing a documentary (The Dear Me Project / Telus) and serves as a creative consultant or senior producer on several other independent projects.

Situated in rural Creston BC, she spent a good part of the pandemic as an inaugural artist in residence with the Nelson Civic Theatre examining series production potential in the Kootenays.

Shyam Valera is the co-founder and producer at Dunya Media, a production company that empowers People of Colour to tell stories with purpose, and to do so with a sense of joy and wonder.

Shyam was named one of Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA)’s Next Generation of Producers to Watch. Shyam now sits on the CMPA’s Board of Directors and became co-chair of Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC’s diversity and inclusion committee.

Shyam has produced multiple short films and commercials for large global brands, local Canadian brands, non-profits and government agencies. Shyam’s recent projects include producing the SXSW Grand Jury Prize and audience award winning music video Meet You at the Light (2022), production managing Telefilm’s With Love and A Major Organ (2022) and the award-winning short film Desi Standard Time Travel which is currently on the festival circuit.

He has also co-created, co-wrote, starred in and produced season one of the digital series Welcome to Surrey, which gained over one million viewers worldwide and has won awards including best web series at the South Asian Film Festival of America and nominated for best web series at BC’s Leo Awards.

Shyam is passionate about Canada’s potential to serve the global demand for diverse original content, especially centered around diasporic communities on global and regional streaming platforms.

His slate of projects from a wide range of BIPOC Canadian talent demonstrates a commitment to promoting Canadian content around the world and offering international partners an opportunity to partner with Canada’s robust creative and structural support.

Kashif Pasta is a writer / director who makes BIPOC-focused genre films with a sense of joy, wonder and purpose.

A finalist for the Pillars Fund x Riz Ahmed inaugural Muslim Artist Fellowship, Kashif’s brand of grounded, heartfelt storytelling has resonated with audiences worldwide. He served as director and co-showrunner of the hit TELUS episodic series Welcome to Surrey, a South Asian-led comedy that earned over one million viewers and several best web series awards around the world.

His most recent short Desi Standard Time Travel is picking up awards at film festivals across North America, with a feature adaptation in development with Telefilm Canada. His debut feature Like Brothers is set to go to camera in 2024.

On television, Kashif has written in rooms for Paul Feig’s Powderkeg, WarnerMedia and CTV / Bell Media. He was an ABC Television Comedy Lab fellow for his pilot Long Distance and is currently developing the comedy-mystery series with Omnifilm.

Outside of film and television, Kashif can be found traveling the world obsessing over architecture, food anthropology and live comedy with his very patient family.