Speed Mentorship for Underrepresented Creatives
Meet over a dozen decision makers and leaders in Ottawa’s film and tv industry to ask questions and receive advice on your career. Click though to check out the mentors! RSVP required, limited spots so please reserve early.
This mentorship opportunity is reserved for those who have been traditionally underrepresented by the film and tv industry and identify as: BIPOC or racialized, Women+ (including trans and non-binary folks), LGBTQ2SIA+, Persons with Disabilities and Francophones.
Caitlin Delaney, 1Department Entertainment & UP LIGHT ACADEMY (Eng) - With over 17 years of dedicated experience in the film industry, Caitlin Delaney is a seasoned producer committed to nurturing talent and fostering innovation. As the driving force behind UP LIGHT ACADEMY, Caitlin brings a wealth of expertise, having produced an impressive portfolio of 15 films and movies each year. Her passion for storytelling and commitment to excellence have earned her recognition for delivering compelling narratives that resonate with audiences worldwide. Caitlin's journey in film production began with a deep-seated passion for cinema and a vision to empower aspiring filmmakers. Over the years, she has championed numerous successful projects, each reflecting her distinctive blend of creativity and business acumen. Her extensive industry knowledge and hands-on approach ensure that UP LIGHT ACADEMY remains at the forefront of film education, offering students unparalleled opportunities to learn and grow in a dynamic and competitive field.
Lauren MacKinlay, Bell Media (Eng) - As a Development Executive for Bell Media, Lauren works with independent production partners, writers, and creatives on the development of new scripted projects for Bell Media’s Original Programming slate. Prior to joining Bell Media, Lauren's career as an award-winning producer included tenures at Neshama Entertainment and Sphere Media, with producing credits on THE WAY HOME (Hallmark), TRANSPLANT (CTV/NBC), BAD BLOOD (Netflix), 19-2 (CTV/Acorn) and more. She was a co-founder of the non-profit organization, Women On Screen, and in September 2022, she was named one of ten women on the Canadian Power List of Women in Film.
Zainab Muse, Creatorland (Eng) - Zainab Muse is an award-winning entrepreneur, design strategist, author, educator and filmmaker. She is the founder of Creatorland Inc., a Canadian media company that produces scripted and unscripted film & television.
Some of her productions include documentaries and short films for Canadian broadcasters, along with feature-length films, television series, and a film and philosophy podcast. In addition, she supports many productions as a consulting producer and works on international co-productions with Canada.
In 2022, she was a fellow of the Netflix - BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative, and a fellow of the Black Screen Office (BSO) and Directors Guild of Canada (DDGC)'s Black Women Directors Accelerator. She currently sits as a Programming Committee member for the Black Screen Office (BSO).
Aishani Chakravarty, Creatorland (Eng) - Aishani is an independent producer and development executive at Creatorland Inc., an independent film/TV production company based in Ottawa. With a diverse background ranging from the dramatic arts to neuroscience, she approaches producing from a unique lens, providing creative strategies to partners and productions.
Through her work, Aishani aims to change the narrative of underrepresented communities and create more opportunities for diverse and authentic storytelling. Her credits include being an associate producer and co-writer for Creatorland’s Production of Afrosphere, a limited docu-series on Bell FibeTV1, and she is currently working on one short film, two series, and one feature film that is an international co-production between Canada and India.
Christopher Giroux, VORTEX Media (Eng) - Christopher Giroux’s career spans a multitude of productions, genres and over 50+ feature films.
A 2009 Sheridan graduate in the Advanced TV and Film program, Giroux moved quickly up the industry ladder, producing 10 back-to-back high concept genre features with Black Fawn Films and Breakthrough Entertainment.
Giroux joined Vortex Media in the fall of 2018, and is currently the SVP of Production.
In recent years he has produced and overseen production on such films as The Christmas Charade, Christmas Island, Learning To Love Again, Take Me Back For Christmas, The End of Sex, Anything For Jackson, The Voices of Her Mother, and the 2022 official TIFF selection, The End of Sex.
Giroux's produced work has aired on The Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, UPtv, Paramount+, Super Channel, W Network, Prime Video, Tubi, Roku, BBC, Shudder, Showtime, Hollywood Suite, Diva-Romania, TF1, StackTV, Hallmark+, Crave and more.
In addition to Giroux’s production work, he is also a member of The Producer’s Roundtable of Ontario. He was awarded a Certified Fresh Trophy from Rotten Tomatoes for producing Anything For Jackson (2020), and has received two Canadian Screen Award nominations, for his work on Christmas Island (2023) & Take Me Back For Christmas (2023).
Max McGuire, Director (Eng) - s a writer and director, Max's projects have been financed or distributed by; Netflix, Bron Studios, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Media Development Corp, Hallmark, Lifetime, Tubi, CBC TV, UPtv, Canada Council for the Arts, the Harold Greenberg Fund and multiple international distributors.
Foreverland, his most personal movie, about a young man with cystic fibrosis who goes in search of a miracle in the desert heart of Mexico was produced by Bron Studios and Screen Siren Media and was distributed theatrically by EOne. It screened around the world helping to raise over $250k for Cystic Fibrosis, which Max also suffers from. It stars Max Thieriot, Laurence Leboeuf and Oscar nominees Juliette Lewis and Demian Bichir along with Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Frewer and Thomas Dekker.
Max has since directed multiple thrillers, RomComs and Christmas movies for various networks, where his projects continue to garner top ratings, including Midnight at the Magnolia (CSA nominee for best TV movie) starring Natalie Hall and Evan Williams for Netflix, where it spent weeks as a TOP 10 most watched movie worldwide.
Max is actively developing, Wounded, a wilderness survival thriller which was invited to the International Film Finance Forum at TIFF and the IFP No Borders Market in New York, with development funding from the OMDC and Telefilm Canada.
Kristel Viduka, ATO Média (Fr/Eng) - Spécialisée en gestion des affaires et finances, Kristel évolue depuis plus de 18 ans dans l’industrie de la télévision et du cinéma. Elle est l’une des productrices d’un long métrage franco-ontarien avec Unis TV, Noël en boîte. Une vraie passionnée du contenu jeunesse éducative, elle est la productrice sur la websérie #écouteça pour Idéllo/TFO et une mini-série animée Jaxon and Song’s Maple Mystery/ Oh Canada avec Nadie et Félix pour CBC/TFO. En 2018, elle fonde sa propre compagnie de production ATO Media Inc, fièrement composée de femmes franco-ontariennes au sein de son équipe. En 2019 et 2020, elle a produit deux saisons de série hybride documentaire/ animation sur la culture métisse nommée Les Métis: notre culture, nos histoires pour TFO. En 2021 et 2022, elle a produit deux saisons de la série culinaire Petites Bouchées du monde qui a reçu une nomination aux prix Gémeaux dont la série a été son idée originale. Elle a également co-produite avec Attractions Images la série dramatique Love & Lajoie dont on parle de la dualité linguistique et produit la dernière série franco-ontarienne dramatique pour TFO nommée Gang de hockey où on met en avant-scène les filles dans le hockey dont le tournage de la deuxième saison vient d’être complété. Elle sera également la productrice du prochain long métrage Franco-ontarien qui se nomme Et maintenant? dont ATO Media vient de recevoir confirmation de financement de Téléfilm Canada.
Marie-Claude Canuel, Fibe TV1 (Eng/Fr) - Marie-Claude is a multidisciplinary creator with a diverse career in show and event production, media creativity production, styling and art direction. She has also written and self-produced two children's books. She joined the TV1 team as part of the promotional department and is now part of the French-speaking production team.
Marie-Claude est une créatrice multidisciplinaire avec une carrière diversifiée dans la production de spectacles et d'événements, la production de créativité médias, le stylisme et la direction artistique. Elle a également écrit et autoproduit deux livres pour enfants. Après avoir été responsable de la promotion à Fibe TV1, elle fait maintenant partie de l'équipe de producteurs francophone.
Jason Levy, Fibe TV1 (Eng/Fr) - Jason Levy has been a producer, editor and VFX supervisor, to name just a few of his exploits. His career in broadcast television spans three decades. He has been nominated for Canadian Screen Awards (formerly Gemini Awards) four times. He is currently a producer at Fibe TV1, Bell`s community access channel.
Jason Levy a été producteur, éditeur et superviseur de VFX, pour ne nommer que quelques-uns de ses exploits. Sa carrière dans la télédiffusion s’étend sur trois décennies. Il a été nominé quatre fois aux Canadian Screen Awards (anciennement Gemini Awards). Il est présentement producteur à Fibe TV1, le réseau de télévision communautaire de Bell.
Jocelyn Forgues, Director (Fr/Eng) - Jocelyn has been travelling across Canada for over twenty years as an actor, a producer, a scriptwriter and director in fiction, documentary, variety and youth programming for television, the web and the big screen. Trained as an actor at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles and later in screenwriting and directing through intensive programs at the Institut national de l'image et du son (INIS) in Montréal. Fluently bilingual (French / English), Jocelyn has a true passion for entertaining his audiences, regardless of the platform, the genre and the subject. His award-winning works have been presented at numerous festivals in Canada and abroad as well as on television, on the web and in theatres.
Jocelyn sillonne le Canada depuis vingt ans à titre de scénariste et réalisateur en fiction, en documentaire, en variété et en jeunesse pour la télévision, le web et le grand écran. Formé comme comédien à l’American Academy of Dramatic Arts à Los Angeles puis en scénarisation et en réalisation à l’Institut national de l’image et du son (INIS) à Montréal. Bilingue (français/anglais), Jocelyn travaille auprès de nombreuses maisons de productions francophones et anglophones d'un bout à l'autre du pays avec la véritable passion de divertir son public, qu'importe la plateforme, le genre et le sujet de l'œuvre. Ses œuvres primées ont été présentées dans de nombreux festivals au Canada et à l'international ainsi qu'à la télévision, sur le web et en salle sur grand écran.
Catherine Mensour, Agent (Eng/Fr) - Catherine Mensour opened Canada’s first bilingual talent agency nearly 40 years ago in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.
By uniting artists and producers, she’s played a key role in establishing Ottawa as a thriving hub for film, television, and theatre production. Her work in the industry has enabled her Ottawa-based clients to reside in the city while building successful careers across the country.
Catherine has worked with both Francophone and Anglophone actors and writers, negotiating contracts and bridging relationships between talent and producers. From her discreet position behind the scenes, Catherine has been instrumental in shaping arts policy in Ontario and continues to work tirelessly towards the creation of a formal status for artists in the province.
In addition to serving on the advisory board of the Ottawa Film Office, she sits on the boards for La Fondation pour L’Association des Théâtres Francophones du Canada, la Maison Marie-Louise. Catherine recently founded the Mensour Foundation to expand her influence in the arts, particularly in areas where support is most needed. She has also created awards and bursaries while supporting organizations such as The Ottawa Mission, La Maison Marie-Louise, The Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and the ATFC Foundation, reinforcing her deep commitment not only to the arts but also to her community.
Karen Magee, AMI-tv (Eng) - Content Development - Eastern Canada
Karen joined AMI-tv in 2012 overseeing the Ottawa office. She is now responsible for content development for Canada East and has developed several shows for AMI including Mind Your Own Business, The Squeaky Wheel and Got Game. Karen is responsible for screening pitches, show development, and ensuring that all content meets AMI’s standard bearing qualities with respect to disability storytelling and inclusivity in all areas of original production – both on camera and behind the scenes.
Karen has over 30 years of production experience, having previously worked at Rogers TV and Ross Video.