Jan Miller
Consultant, Co-Founder
Jan Miller is an international consultant and trainer specializing in film and television co-production and co-venturing
She also continues to present one of the world’s top pitching and content development workshops.
In Canada, her unique brand of training has been presented across the country from TIFF and the Academy to Yellowknife and Newfoundland for major festivals and film coops.
Globally her workshops have been featured at Berlin’s Talent Campus, Cuba’s Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV, Poland’s ScripTeast, Cannes, China and Iran. In great demand, Jan’s workshops have also crossed sectors into the music industry where, for almost a decade, she has been offering, through the East Coast Music Association, export-ready training for musicians to present their work to the screen industry and travel internationally.
A talent that makes things happen, Jan collaborated 11 years ago with the Erich Pommer Institut to design the hugely successful Trans Atlantic Partners (TAP), a unique two-module international training program for established film and TV producers. Jan is director of the TAP initiative.
Jan has also served as an international consultant for many organizations including Creative BC and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), leading and supporting Canadian delegations to Hong Kong’s FILMART, Rio Content Market and Berlin. She launched and served as director of Halifax’s Strategic Partners, one of the world’s pre-eminent international co-production markets for 15 years.
Jan was one of the driving forces behind setting up Canada’s first film school, the National Screen Institute, serving as executive director for seven years introducing NSI Features First and the Local Heroes International Screen Festival which she ran for 13 years.
From 1999 to 2001, Jan was vice-president of development for imX Communications, responsible for moving forward numerous features, television and animation projects including her role as associate producer for Lynn Johnson’s acclaimed comic-book strip, For Better or For Worse.
Committed to supporting women working in the industry, Jan established Women in Film and Television-Atlantic (WIFT-AT), serving as the founding chair for six years. During this time Jan launched the annual Women Making Waves Conference, WAVE Awards, Shadow Project for Atlantic women directors and the first collaboration with the Centre for Women in Business, designing the screen version of its Advanced Management and Mentoring Program. Jan continues as a mentor and Women Making Waves program chair for WIFT-AT.
Jan has also been very active in presenting two versions of Five in Focus training opportunities for Women in View. Jan presently serves on the Women in View board and recently completed a term on the AFC board.
Ophira Calof
Program Co-Lead
Ophira is a multi-award-winning Disabled writer, performer and facilitator who works to “crip the script,” centering disability knowledge and experience.
They recently worked as the inaugural creative director for the Accessible Writers’ Lab, a national initiative experimenting with accessibility in TV writing rooms, and have taught workshops and provided mentorship internationally on storytelling, creative process and disability narratives.
Michelle Asgarali
Program Co-Lead
Michelle Asgarali is a Canadian writer and producer known for her work in documentary and TV development.
She made headlines as the first openly-disabled showrunner of a Canadian docuseries, Breaking Character (AMI/Winterhouse Films) before becoming lead story producer for CBC’s hit docusoap PUSH (Fenix Films and TV/Small Army).
Her latest project, The Squeaky Wheel: Canada (AMI/Hitsby Entertainment), is a Disabled news satire blurring the lines of fact and fiction, poking fun at the absurd and ableist world we live in.
Michelle is an advocate for inclusive storytelling, consulting and leading workshops in disability storytelling and accessibility.
Amy Reitsma
Program Manager (she / her)
Amy is a program manager for the National Screen Institute and a professional actor and voiceover artist who cares deeply about the film and television arts, and their capacity to create a more equitable world.
Amy worked in the film, television, theatre and radio industries in the Maritimes for 10 years before moving to the UK to pursue her MA (acting) from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She then lived and worked in London for seven years before the pandemic drove her home to Mi’kma’ki / Nova Scotia.
As any actor or arts worker will attest, it’s helpful if you wear ‘many hats.’ Amy has worked as co-director of a theatre company, volunteer coordinator for the Atlantic Film Festival (now FIN), a legal assistant and a drama teacher for inner-city children.
She has also sat on boards where she instigated and ran networking events and professional development workshops for fellow actors.
The feeling of getting her hands dirty in the pursuit of positive, progressive change is something close to Amy’s heart and she is honoured to be working with the National Screen Institute.
Dennie Park
Peer Support Coordinator
Dennie Park (they/them) is a disabled genderqueer settler based in Tkaronto, or what is currently known as Toronto.
Originally starting out with a focus on digital accessibility projects, their work now includes accessibility support, coordination, and consultation roles in the arts.
Dennie firmly believes in the role of disability justice and wisdom in shaping our collective liberation and future, and hopes to have their practices reflect that.
Meet the students
Deydra Baptiste
Montreal, Quebec
Deydra Baptiste is a Montreal-based writer, director and producer with roots in Toronto.
Holding a BA in political science and a diploma in arts management and marketing, she brings a unique mix of global insight, lived experience and versatile skills honed over a 15-year career in the arts.
Known for her fresh, multi-genre storytelling, Deydra amplifies voices from unique and underserved perspectives. With past development support from Telefilm, Hot Docs and the Canada Council, her works explore complex narratives through the lens of her experience as a Black, neurodiverse, woman creative.
As a freelance consultant, she also empowers fellow artists to bring their projects to life.
Guided by the National Screen Institute’s mentors, Deydra is eager to refine her short script, channelling her talents into bold, impactful storytelling.
Sarah Barzak
London, Ontario
Sarah Barzak (she/they) is an autistic eldest immigrant daughter, writer, cultural worker and producer of Malay-Palestinian descent.
Sarah’s lived experience as a mixed-race diasporic femme fosters her passion for cross-cultural exchange, intersectional storytelling and culture critiques.
Sarah was a youth critic under TACLA (The Asian Canadian Living Archives), an outreach coordinator, member of the screening committee (2021-2023) for the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and industry coordinator for Inside Out Film Festival’s International Finance Forum (2022-2024).
Sarah’s equity advocacy and written work have been featured in CBC London, CTV and TVO The Agenda.
Currently, Sarah is developing their debut written and directed short film, Fractions & Ratios.
Violet Elliot
Toronto, Ontario
Violet Elliot is a Canadian producer, director, disability activist and social and digital media manager based near Toronto, Ontario.
Over the past few years, she’s focused on sharing disability-led stories and supporting disabled voices through her filmmaking and advocacy work.
She recently associate produced her first broadcast series, The Squeaky Wheel: Canada. She is the digital media manager at 1IN4 Coalition, an organization of disabled creatives working in Hollywood, focusing on increasing accessibility, authentic representation, and employment in the entertainment industry.
In her spare time, you can find Violet on TikTok, educating the masses on all things disability!
Shay Erlich
York, Ontario
Shay Erlich (they/them) is an emerging multiply disabled and non-binary filmmaker.
Their work focuses on telling stories that challenge our perception of what it means to be disabled with richly complex disabled characters set in worlds that promote thriving. Their award-nominated dance short Landscapes: Love Letters to Willow (2003) has been included at the Together! Disability Film Festival (2023), Dance Camera West (2024) and Festival of Recorded Movement (2024).
They are currently in post-production on Pushmakers, a short documentary highlighting Canada’s first manual wheelchair dance curriculum development project.
They have worked as a story and production accessibility consultant for film productions, including The Next Step, and offer production consultation and training services through their firm Ready For Access. They have worked with several industry organizations as a disability consultant including the Canada Media Fund and the Writers Guild of Canada.
They have been a part of notable training programs for disabled filmmakers including Access CBC – Scripted. They have also presented on disability inclusion within the screen industry for industry conferences such as Prime Time and the Reel Abilities Film Festival.
Mily Mumford
Vancouver, British Columbia
Mily Mumford (they/them) is a queer, trans and disabled writer and director in film and theatre.
They are passionate about advancing diverse voices in sci-fi and horror. They have written and directed over 20 short and full-length stage plays and multiple award-winning short films and music videos.
They are a recent alumnus of the Women in the Director’s Chair Career Advancement Module 2022 and the Warner Brothers Discovery Canada Access Writer’s Program 2022 where they developed their sci-fi series Nostalgica.
Their horror feature Terrible Thing was developed with the GEMS Genre Lab 2024 and won a pitch award at the Frontières Film Market 2024. They are also a recent alumnus of the TIFF Series Accelerator in 2024 with their mystery / thriller series Phantom Pass.
They were recently a playwright associate (2021-2024) at Playwrights Theatre Centre with their immersive horror play it lives in my bedroom.
In addition to creative work, they hold a BSc. in neuroscience and an MSc. in interactive technology.
They are represented for writing and direction in film and television by Andrew McCann Smith at Play Management.
Program Partners
