2026 Screening Moderators

Anya Vagabova is a filmmaker based in Toronto and the Founder and CEO of ConneKt Film.
Dedicated to supporting film professionals at all stages of their careers, she is passionate about
strengthening the screen industry through community, collaboration, and shared resources.
Anya’s experience spans virtual production, program management, and producing, with
contributions to organizations such as Sunbelt Rentals Film & TV (formerly William F. White),
Frantic Films, the Canadian Film Centre, and xoTO Schools at NABET 700-M UNIFOR.
Through ConneKt Film, a community-driven hub designed to bring all film industry resources
and opportunities together in one place, Anya helps creatives spend less time searching and
more time creating by centralizing job listings, training opportunities, events, and funding
deadlines.

Driven by inclusivity, innovation, and global storytelling, Anya continues to champion diverse
voices and build spaces where filmmakers can connect, collaborate, and grow together.

Maxine Grossman is a producer, writer, comedian, and owner of eff-ewe entertainment with experience from Lionsgate Canada and New Metric Media on shows for CBC, CTV, Crave, and Netflix. She’s been selected for incubators and delegations at Warner Access Media, TIFF, CBC, Content Canada, and the Banff World Media Festival. Maxine challenges the status quo and strives to create authentic content that entertains, elevates, and inspires. She recently completed her first feature film as Producer, with support from Telefilm, The Talent Fund, Canada Council for the Arts, and Panavision.

An alumni of the Second City Theatre in Toronto, some of Naomi’s TV/Film credits include: CBC’s comedy,’Mr.D’, Pretty Hard Cases, Murdoch Mysteries, Disney Zombies, Work It, Murdoch Mysteries and The Madness on Netflix, My Dead Mom and Handmaids Tale. Two time ACTRA nominated, four time CSA

nominated and CCA winner. She co-created: ‘Doing it With Brian and Darla’ and ‘The Casting Room’ on CBC (LA WebFest and CCA winner). Winner of the CCA Award for Best Female Improviser and founding member of the five-time CCA winning ‘The National Theatre of the World where shows like: Impromptu

Splendor, The Carnegie Hall Show and the internationally recognized format of The Script Tease Project. Naomi appears as a guest host on The Social on CTV. She is the founder and host of the popular podcast and community Firecracker Department where Naomi interviews women and non-binary artists and has created a community of creative action artists with chapters in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and LA – with their first TV Series I’m Also Here for Bell Fibe. Naomi is nominated for the Webseries Canada Triple-Threat Auteur Award 2026. Firecracker Dept is celebrating its third year of the Firecracker Film Festival (presented by GEMS) and launching a regular live Comedy Cafe in Vancouver with local funny Firecrackers.

Big Stuff was nominated for 2 Dora Awards: outstanding production and Outstanding Performance by an Individual in a. Naomi and Matt received The List Award for Big Stuff at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 which comes with an Off Broadway run at the Soho Playhouse in Feb 2027.

@firecrackerdept @snieckus @imalsohereTVseries @baramsnieckus www.baramandsnieckus.com

Tricia Black is a Toronto-based actor, comedian, and filmmaker originally from New Brunswick, with a theatre degree from Mount Allison University and training from Second City Chicago, Second City Toronto, and iO. She’s a three-time Canadian Screen Award winner for performance, including wins for Best Supporting Performance in Band Ladies and Best Performance in an Animated Program for voicing the lead role in Summer Memories, with credits spanning The Miniature Wife, Wayward, Pretty Hard Cases, Suze, Dear David, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

Vanessa Magic is a Canadian Screen Award-winning director and Writers’ Guild of Canada-nominated writer who loves to tell stories about human connection, grief and loneliness, often through a surrealist lens. Drawing inspiration from her dreams, she fills her worlds with levity, strange beauty, and magic. She is an alum of Slamdance, WBD Access x Canadian Academy Writers Program, and Women in the Director’s Chair. Her films include The Future Above Us (2023), How to Stay Awake (2024), and I Am Pleased (2025). Her debut feature, Nadine Pick Up the Phone, will be released in 2027.

Zeynep Guler-Tuck is a Turkish-Canadian producer, writer, and director whose work spans scripted and unscripted films, digital series, and branded content projects with collaborators like NBC, Microsoft, Conde Nast, Rogers Media, Corus Entertainment, Time Out, Lonely Planet, and Muse Entertainment. She has directed interviews with global icons and produced impact campaigns that have raised awareness and over $1M in funds for the issues impacting our world. She is the congenial and curious host, director, and producer of the NO CREDIT video podcast, which debuted its first season on Telus Optik TV and Stream+, exposing 1 million subscribers to the overlooked stories of women+ innovators and creatives. As the founder of Radiate Media, she brings story and purpose together by producing cross-platform content, campaigns, and events for social change. Speaking of change, as the Firecracker Department’s Creative Director, she works to unlock industry access and professional development opportunities for over 4,000 women and non-binary creatives. Her latest producing credit, LAST NIGHT TOGETHER, is an award-winning short film supported by the Director’s Guild of Canada BC. She is currently developing a coming-of-age comedic short she will shoot in both Canada and Turkiye. Zeynep is an alumna of the Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices, Women in the Director’s Chair, and Telus STORYHIVE programs.

NICOLE STAMP is an award-winning Director, Writer, Actor, Producer, and TV Host. She’s been nominated for 6 Canadian Screen Awards across 4 categories, including Best Writing, Best Youth Series, Best Host, and Best Direction. Stamp created, wrote, & hosted the media literacy youth series MEDIA STAMPED, which won a Japan Prize Award of Honour and the highest International prize in educational TV, the Prix Jeunesse.

DIRECTING – Stamp has directed Family Feud Canada, City TV’s Inside Between, The Next Step (CBBC), Lockdown (YouTube Originals), Popularity Papers (YTV / BBC), Blue’s Clues and Odd Squad (PBS), and the North American reboot of Teletubbies (Netflix). She’s also a seasoned digital creator of brand content for clients like Alliance Films, Mazda, Gallo Wines, Toys R Us, & Disney Canada.

WRITING – During the #MeToo movement, Stamp wrote a Facebook essay that was shared 70,000 times in two weeks. It went so viral that CNN commissioned and published it- and in just six weeks, it made CNN’s top ten most-emailed articles of the year. Nicole is also a two-time Writers Guild of Canada Award nominee for Best Teen Screenwriting, and has written TV episodes for BBC, TVO, PBS, and AppleTV+.

ACTING – Stamp can be seen on The Handmaid’s Tale, The Expanse, Locke and Key, Hudson & Rex, and the Cannes Lion-winning webseries CARMILLA, with over 45 million YouTube views. She also voices dozens of cartoons & videogames for DISNEY-XD, Amazon Prime, Nickelodeon, PBS, Adult Swim, and UBISOFT.

UP NEXT – Stamp is developing her debut film: a rock musical about two teen girls who fall in love at Catholic school. Based on a play written by Toronto teens, Stamp’s adaptation will be Produced by 90th Parallel Productions, and Executive Produced by Academy Award winner Sarah Polley.

Unrelated, but also maybe important to know: Stamp once set a Guinness World Record by playing Dodgeball for 36 hours without sleeping, an accomplishment she does not recommend! You can find her (better rested now) at  www.instagram.com/stampnicole and www.nicolestamp.com.

Kalman Szegvary, PhD, is an internationally recognized director, producer, and educator. As a
voting member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, in the directing category, he
holds a PhD in Education (Niagara University), an MFA in Screenwriting (Hollins University),
and a specialized BFA in Film Production (York University). For over a decade, he served as the
Academic – Film Department Head at the renown audio-music-film school, Trebas Institute. He
continues to blend academic expertise with real-world entertainment business experience,
helping both new and established screenwriters polish their scripts for active film production.
As an accomplished filmmaker, Kalman has executive produced three globally distributed
features, including the cult hit Cannibal Rollerbabes and the action film Solid Cover. His recent
industry credits include key post-production roles on the thriller Red Pine City starring Eric
Roberts (Batman) and the holiday feature Cape Holly Christmas, starring Brian Austin Green
(Beverley Hills 90210). He is currently developing the new animated TV series Zombie Dad and
the teen adventure series, The Qwiggle Club. A seasoned international lecturer who has spoken at
the American Pavillion – Cannes Film Festival, Kalman specializes in screenwriting and
collaborative leadership, mentoring students who have gone on to achieve award-winning
success worldwide.