Filmmaker turned audience development specialist and digital strategist, Annelise Larson is a passionate advocate for media storytellers, especially those with traditionally underrepresented voices. She was one of the first to recognize the power of audience in the digital context and what this could mean for creatives. She continues to champion and work with storytellers to develop a strategic audience-led approach to their work. She has worked with hundreds of creatives to get financing, generate revenue and impact, and build sustainable businesses. Her podcast STORY+AUDIENCE with screenwriter Jill Golick can be found on all major podcasting platforms. During the pandemic she launched an online digital marketing course for media in conjunction with the National Screen Institute – Canada and released two studies with Telefilm Canada entitled “Thanks COVID! 15 Lessons for Film Distribution from the First Wave” and “Futureproofing Canadian Film: Working Towards a Sustainable Film Ecosystem.”

She is currently working on a major research project for Heritage Canada.

Pendant plus de 30 ans, Claire Dion a occupé des postes stratégiques dans le développement et la production d’émissions de télévision, de films, de webséries, de la convergence et du transmédia au Québec. Elle a occupé le poste de directrice générale adjointe du Fonds indépendant de production, premier fonds dédié à la websérie dès 2010 .Elle a eu la chance d’être au cœur de la création de projets innovants au Fonds Bell. À titre de gestionnaire de fonds, elle a soutenu et encouragé le développement de nouveaux talents tout au long de sa carrière. Elle est détentrice d’une maîtrise en cinéma de USC (University of Southern California).

Elle agit maintenant à titre de consultante auprès des jeunes pousses.

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Claire Dion held strategic positions in the development of the film/tv and digital industries in Quebec for 30 years. She was the associate director of the Independent Production Fund (IPF) in Quebec, dedicated to the development and funding of webseries, for 15 years. She was also central to the interactive innovation and creative processes at Bell Fund as its Quebec Director. As a manager of these Funds, she fostered the emergence of new talents throughout her career. She holds a Master’s degree in film studies from USC (university of Southern California).

She is retired from the Funds and now acts as a consultant and mentor for emerging talents.

Daniel is an award-winning writer and director from Toronto, Canada, creating engaging, humorous, and touching works. He co-created and directed the CBC Gem comedy series The Ninth as well as developed & directed the comedy series Cam_Girlfriend.

Daniel has directed scripted and unscripted programming airing on CBC, A+E Networks, FYI, HGTV, MTV, Much Music, and AMI. He recently directed season 2 of Cam_Girlfriend and the hit musical comedy Less Than Kosher.

Daniel was also a finalist in the 2023 Just For Laughs CBC Comedy Pitch program. He got his start directing music videos, where he won an iHeartRadio MMVA for Rock Video of The Year, as well as a JUNO nomination for Video of The Year.

Eric Piccoli est un réalisateur, scénariste et producteur connu pour les séries de fiction Temps mort (International Emmy Awards), Écrivain public (Prix Gémeaux de la meilleure réalisation) et Je voudrais qu’on m’efface (gagnant de huit Prix Gémeaux, sélection à Canneséries). Il propose un cinéma social, sensible et naturaliste dans lequel il s’intéresse aux laissés-pour-compte et aux failles du système.
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Eric Piccoli is a writer, director and producer behind the series Time out (International Emmy Awards), Public writer (Prix Gémeaux for best director) and Wipe me away (8 Prix Gémeaux and World Premiere at Canneséries). He’s known for social oriented stories told through a naturalist and an empathetic approach.

Fab is an award-winning producer-writer-director-showrunner. Most recently he wrote, directed and was co-showrunner for SORT OF, half-hour for CBC/HBOMAX (Sphere Prodco) — making top ten lists from Vanity Fair to Rolling Stone as well as winning a Peabody Award. He just directed three eps of Small Achievable Goals for CBC and is currently developing an hour-long with FX. Before that he wrote, directed and showran the critically acclaimed and award-winning shortform series Save Me, which was nominated for over 20 international festival awards and a Webby. As an actor you might also know him from such projects as Lives Of The Saints starring opposite Sophia Loren, indie hit waydowntown, or as Ethan Gold in the groundbreaking Showtime series Queer As Folk. He is often recognized for an acting stint on the hit Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

As the driving force behind Marketing and Administration, Henry excels in orchestrating global distribution operations and pioneering sponsorship strategies. With 34+ years of direct sales expertise, he has honed his skills in managing sales teams and spearheading marketing initiatives.

His entrepreneurial spirit led him to establish “H. Gagnon Distribution Inc.” in 2006, aimed at showcasing independent producers’ works internationally.

Recognized by Telefilm Canada, HG Distribution now boasts a diverse catalogue featuring 100+ producers and 250+ programs. Backed by a dedicated team, Henry ensures unparalleled service, prioritizing client needs while upholding integrity and honesty.

Trust HG Distribution for unmatched success in achieving your objectives.

James Genn is a film and TV director and producer from Vancouver, Canada. He grew up in a family of painters, writers and musicians, making Bolex and Betamax movies as a teenager in his parent’s basement. By his twenties he was subsidizing an expensive film making habit by working in post production, mainly sound design, until his films began to take him to festivals around the world.  

He’s now directed over 100 episodes of series television (Wild Cards, The Good Doctor, Ginny and Georgia, Turner and Hooch, Charmed, The Hardy Boys, Ransom, Kim’s Convenience), as well as half a dozen TV pilots (Wild Cards, Rabbittown, Fancy, House Party).  He has applied his unique style and exceptional quality of work to almost every genre, and he’s been recognized critically by the CSA, Genie, Gemini, and DGC awards for work ranging from comedy half hours to science fiction, horror and procedural series TV.  

A self-proclaimed 80s film nerd with a penchant for comedy, drama, thrillers and sci-fi, award-winning international filmmaker Jason Bourque has written, directed and produced a combined portfolio of over 80 features, television movies, series episodes and documentaries. Feature docs include co-writing and co-directing the ground-breaking “Shadow Company” narrated by Gerard Butler. An in-depth look into the global soldier-of-fortune industry, the festival hit (SXSW, Hot Docs) was reviewed favourably in the New York Times, Variety and has been used as a teaching tool for the US Senate. Jason co-directed “Darwin’s Brave New World” for CBC and ABC Australia, an award-winning docudrama series shot in five countries.

A prolific genre screenwriter, Jason has written over thirty produced scripts and has several high-profile projects slated for 2025 including the recently wrapped horror sci-fi “Night Comes” starring Dafne Keen (Deadpool and Wolverine). Jason served as story editor and writer (2 episodes) on the high-octane thriller series “Insomnia” on Amazon Prime. Jason’s theatrical feature “Black Fly” (writer/director) premiered at VIFF and received nominations for Best Canadian Film as well as 10 Leo Award nominations. It won for Best Male Lead Actor. Accolades include Best Feature at the Arizona Underground Film Festival. Jason’s award-winning theatrical feature “Drone” is an indie success story. Starring Emmy-award winner Sean Bean, it was released theatrically in the US and was the #1 Indie and #2 thriller on iTunes. Recent director releases include Hallmark’s “Game Of Love” (2024 Leo-award for Best Director) and “A World Record Christmas” (2024 Christopher Award for the Highest Values of the Human Spirit). Recent sci-fi releases include two episodes of the award-winning “Medinah” (34 Telly Awards) shot in Qatar.

Jason recently produced the romantic comedy “The Right One” through Lionsgate Entertainment and exec produced “Mercy” for Paramount+. This was followed by the award-winning theatrical drama “When Time Got Louder”, made in association with his production company Gold Star Productions Inc.

Jay Ferguson is an Emmy Award winning writer, director, and cinematographer whose cutting-edge online work has garnered him acclaim across the world. His digital series Guidestones – won 77 international awards including an International Emmy and a Canadian Academy Award.

Jay has contributed as a writer, director, producer and cinematographer on many digital series as well as over 15 feature films. He has also directed and shot commercial spots for CIBC Wood Gundy, GolfTown, Nike, Spalding, The Shaw Theater Festival, Sail, and BCS.

This past year Jay wrote the screenplay for the adaptation of the beloved European comic book series Blake and Mortimer; The Yellow ‘M’. He also just wrapped shooting the upcoming Disney+ series Sasha Reid and the Midnight Order.

These days Jay works across all platforms.

Jeremy is a writer/director/producer born and raised in rural Prince Edward Island. A graduate of Sheridan’s post graduate Advanced Television and Film program, he has created award winning shorts, web series, documentaries and feature films. He has over 10 years of experience creating content specifically for the web. His web series credits include the trail blazing Profile PEI, the Vimeo Awards shortlisted Ponderings, the foul-mouthed and popular sport series Leafs Beefs, and two seasons of the IPF funded, Canadian Comedy award winning series Just Passing Through. He made his feature film debut with the 2019 Canadian Comedy Award winner for Best Feature film Pogey Beach. His sophomore feature was the theatrical hit Who’s Yer Father?, which was nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards and has worldwide distribution. His projects have received funding from Telefilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund, The Bell Slate Fund & The Independent Production Fund. He currently has a number of projects in development. He lives in Prince Edward County with his wife and three kids.

Jill Golick is an award-winning writer-showrunner-producer with substantial experience in children’s, drama, soap, and interactive.  She is best known for the internationally-acclaimed digital detective series Ruby Skye P.I. which she created, financed, wrote, produced, promoted and distributed for three seasons. Currently, Jill devotes a portion of her time to helping a new generation of storytellers to tell their stories. Fascinated by how streaming, bingeing and fan culture are changing how we watch, Jill works one-on-one with writers, producers and creators, helping them develop series for modern audiences. Jill is particularly interested in unheard stories and her coaching clientele includes Indigenous, Asian, bi-racial, neurodivergent and nonbinary writers.

Kevin Leeson is a Producer and Writer with more than 20 years of experience in the film and television industry with over 50 producing credits in a wide variety of genres. His productions have been distributed by Netflix, Sony, Disney, Lionsgate, and NBC/Universal.

He has collaborated with acclaimed talents such as — Bob Nelson (Academy Award-Nominated Writer of Nebraska), Paul Tamasy (Academy Award-Nominated Writer of The Fighter), Casey Affleck, Clive Owen, John Travolta, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Duhamel, Thomas Jane, and Molly Parker.

Kevin wrote and produced the feature film Scorched Earth, directed by Peter Howitt (Writer / Director of Sliding Doors). He co-wrote the award-winning graphic novel Acts Of Violence. As well, Kevin co-wrote and hosted more than 300 episodes of the critically-acclaimed podcast CAUSTIC SODA, a 5-time finalist for the Podcast Awards in the “Best Educational” category. Caustic Soda still maintains a perfect 5-star rating on Apple’s iTunes, with over 2 million downloads from all platforms.

Kevin is a current member of the DGC, CMPA, PGA, and Television Academy.

Currently, Lisa is the Development & Production Executive for Rockhead Entertainment, where she manages the unscripted and scripted development and production slate. Recently, she was the Director, Scripted Development at Cineflix where she developed original scripted features and series. Prior to Cineflix, Lisa was the VP, Scripted at iThentic, where she oversaw the development and production of multiple award-winning original series, including For the Record (CBC, Universal Music), the Canadian Screen Award-winning series Save Me S1-2 (CBC) and Space Riders S1-2 (Bell Media, Hulu, Funny or Die), Epic Studios (Disney), and the Emmy Award® and Canadian Screen Award-winning branded series Guidestones S1-2 (Bell Media, Hulu). Previously, Lisa was the Program Manager for the Bell Fund, the Independent Production Fund, and the COGECO Fund, supporting the production of hundreds of linear and interactive projects. She has also participated in collective bargaining talks between the CMPA and ACTRA, DGC, and WGC.

Robert Randall is an award-winning BC based filmmaker and the creative force behind of one of Canada’s most popular YouTube channels – YAP TV – which boasts over 1/2 a billion views and nearly 2 million subscribers. His short films and web series have appeared on CBC, Crave, and in numerous film and web festivals. Over the past two years his projects have won 4 Leo Awards – including Best Web Series for the viral hit “The Girl Without a Phone” and multiple Best Performance Leo Awards.  His series “Clickbait” aka “Fame-ish” was given the “Best of BC” award at the TO WebFest. Prior to starting his YouTube journey Robert spent 15 years working in the Vancouver film industry, primarily as a DGC First Assistant Director on various US and Canadian film and tv productions. He is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts as well as the UCLA Extension Film and TV Program.

Shabnam founded Big Bad Boo Studios to produce and distribute quality family programming. Shabnam has produced and directed Hulu Original Series The Bravest Knight, winner of 2020 GLAAD Award. She has also created and directed original shows such as 16 Hudson (Amazon Prime/TVOKids), climate change series Galapagos X (TVOKids, Knowledge Kids, Radio- Canada, Mediacorp), mini-series Lili & Lola (Oznoz/ICI TV), and musical series ABC with Kenny G (TVOKids, Radio-Canada).

Wendy is a lawyer-turned-award-winning writer and producer.

She’s the creator of the Crave original series My Dead Mom, inspired by her mother’s persistent commentary from beyond the grave, and the CBC original series How to Buy a Baby, a comedy rooted in her own struggle with infertility. How to Buy a Baby was nominated for an International Emmy Award and drew festival acclaim worldwide, including HollyWeb, U.K. WebFest, Seoul WebFest, Copenhagen WebFest. At home it won two Canadian Screen Awards for Best Writing and Best Series. Wendy was also excited to direct for the first time on My Dead Mom. Wendy has further worked on a number of shows including: The Beaverton, Children Ruin Everything, Pretty Hard Cases, Run the Burbs, and the Popularity Papers. Wendy’s essays have appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Huffington Post, xoJane, Today’s Parent, SheWrites, and McSweeneys, among others.

Wendy is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and the Richard Ivey School of Business and is now happily dedicated to telling sharp, funny, heartfelt stories.

Amanda is a former children’s Production Executive, where she used her passion for children’s programming to assist in the production and development of live action and animated series for Corus Entertainment’s YTV, Cartoon Network Canada, and Treehouse networks. Previously, she has held other roles at Corus Entertainment on the Kids Original Content team as well as the Kids Programming team. In her Programming role, she assisted in content curation for YTV, Teletoon, Treehouse, and Disney Channel Canada among others. In addition to her children’s content expertise, Amanda was also actively involved with the launch of the first ever 24-hour Adult Swim network. Some of her Production Executive credits include Popularity Papers, The Hardy Boys, and Builder Brothers Dream Factory.

Charlie David is president of Border2Border Entertainment which produces and promotes a unique brand of award-winning, critically acclaimed film, television and digital projects for diverse, underserved audiences made by people with lived experience – 2SLGBTQ+, women, and people with disabilities as key participants in what Border2Border Entertainment creates.

Border2Border Entertainment short form series include Avocado Toast, Dating Unlocked, Womb Envy, and Settle Down which have been nominated for eleven Canadian Screen Awards and won eight Telly Awards.

Charlie values community building and mentorship and has been a business mentor through the Centennial College TV & Film Business program for four consecutive years and Border2Border Entertainment has ongoing work placement and training opportunities through strategic alliances with Centennial, George Brown and Sheridan colleges. 

Charlie has been selected as the Canadian Filmmaker in Focus by the Kashish Film Festival in Mumbai, India, an invited guest of the Canadian embassy in South Africa to share his documentary on HIV+ youth, and executive produced the documentary film Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride; a global look at pride celebrations and winner of multiple awards including the HBO Best Doc award at the Miami International LGBT Film Festival. 

Border2Border Entertainment is a certified supplier and member of the Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the Canadian Media Producers Association and a signatory producer with ACTRA. Charlie has volunteered on the REDIAC (Restructuring, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action) committee with the CMPA and as a board member with WebSeries Canada.

A content producer born and raised in Toronto, with a passion for supporting the independent creator community, and expertise in animation production. Working with leading industry houses including DHX, Cuppa Coffee, and Marblemedia, she coordinated several animated series for major television networks before moving on to manage the productions of interactive projects. She then joined AIC Studios as a Production Manager and managed VFX and animation pipelines of several feature films including “Arctic Dogs” (2019), and later ‘’Ollie’s Pack” (Nickelodeon, 2020) and other series for Nelvana. Leading a double life, in 2009, she began producing live action web series of and obtained funding in the first round of the Independent Production Fund.

In 2014 she joined the board of directors of an arts organization Webseries Canada, and began co-producing the annual multi-day event T.O. Webfest, Toronto’s premiere web content festival, where she consistently implemented efficient budgeting and scheduling to maximize results for 4 consecutive years. Now focused on producing in the animation industry, she uses her business-savvy experience to foster partnerships and create meaningful content for all audiences as the Head of Production at Lakeside Animation, on international and domestic co-productions of features, short films and series.

A storyteller at heart, Daniel Hogg’s award-winning projects have been screened around the globe. A finalist in the Praxis Screenplay Competition, and a semi-finalist in Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope Screenplay Competition, Daniel’s stories have screened around the world and on Amazon Prime Video, The Movie Network, Superchannel, MuchMusic, Bravo, PBS, and more. In addition to his freelance story editing, Daniel is associate faculty for the National Screen Institute, and teaches screenplay and film production workshops at the post-secondary level.

As a producer, his first web series, Freshman’s Wharf, won the inaugural Best Web Series award at BC’s Leo Awards. The first feature he produced, Two 4 One, was also the first transgender romantic comedy ever produced, and played over fifty festivals on five continents, picking numerous awards on the festival circuit. His second feature, The Devout, earned a nomination for the John Dunning Discovery Award from the Canadian Screen Awards and won seven Leo Awards, including Best Picture. His second webseries, Esluna: The First Monolith, was supported by the Telus Storyhive $100k edition, which spawned his third feature, Esluna: The Crown of Babylon, for he was named to Telefilm Canada’s inaugural Talent to Watch program.

Julian Stamboulieh, born and raised in Montreal, began his media career as an actor and a freelance video editor in 2004. After receiving his BFA in Photography from Concordia University, and starting his company Beanduck Productions, he soon found himself in his directorial debut.

In 2013, Julian created and directed the digital series LARPs, with both seasons acquiring 10+ international awards and 4+ million views. He has gone on to direct several short films, including Dystonia (written and starring Transplant’s Kenny Wong), The Forest (co-written alongside Frank Marrs) and Okay Boomer (in collaboration with Theatre Ouest End).

Through Beanduck Productions, Julian prioritises fan integration and engagement; the success of LARPs demonstrated the importance of not simply telling a story to a community, but with a community. With social awareness central to its beliefs, all Beanduck productions aim to have gender parity and diversity on its productions, and high environmental standards on its sets.

Over the past several years, Julian has developed and taught several courses on filmmaking and photography and is currently sitting his fourth term on ACTRA Montreal Branch Council.

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After graduating from L’inis in 2014, Johannie founded SPORT, a production company focusing on works arising from creative strength and audacity. She produced the award winning short film Just me and you (Iris for best short fiction film, Ours de Cristal at the Berlinale, National Grand Prize at the REGARD Festival), as well as three seasons of the successful web series Mouvement Deluxe. (Numix and Olivier prize for the best fictional web series, nominations and prizes at Gémeaux, selection at the Annecy international animation festival). Over the past 8 years, she has specialized in fiction by producing content for television, web and cinema.

Alicia Read is an actor, writer, and producer whose screen work has reached 300M+ viewers across leading vertical platforms including ReelShort, GoodShort, and Dramawave. Known for her emotionally intelligent performances and creative range, she has become one of the defining faces of vertical storytelling. She recently co-produced/co-starred in the first ReelShort Original developed in Canada.

With more than 20 years in the luxury beauty industry, Alicia is a seasoned executive who has led major campaigns with Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Neiman Marcus, and goop. A storyteller at heart, she now channels that expertise as co-founder (with Monika Dalman) of the VFSSA (Vertical Film and Short Series Alliance) supporting a sustainable entertainment ecosystem in Canada that bridges artistry, innovation, and opportunity.

Mariah Owen is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate actor, director, writer & producer who founded her Webby-honoree, production company GTE Productions, at the age of 21, and has had films play at some of today’s top festivals; SXSW (2017 & 2023), Sitges, Cannes & can be found on Amazon, Hulu, Crave, Apple, CBC Gem & more.

In 2024, she produced and acted in Lionsgate’s Scrambled (SXSW), which now streams on Hulu & Crave. She was also on the producing team for Gracie & Pedro: Pets to The Rescue, starring Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon & Danny Trejo, to name a few. Her next feature is I’ll Fly Away, set to begin filming in Spring 2025. More importantly, she is a proud dog Mom.

To connect online: @mariahowen

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Avocate en droit du divertissement et en droit littéraire

Maude-Isabelle Delagrave est une avocate spécialisée dans les services de représentation de créateurs multidisciplinaires. Elle détient un baccalauréat en beaux-arts de l’université Concordia ainsi qu’un baccalauréat en droit civil et en droit de l’université McGill. Elle a occupé des postes de vice-présidente aux affaires commerciales et juridiques dans des entreprises de production internationale et de vice-présidente et d’agente dans une agence d’artistes bien établie.

Dédiée, attentive et pragmatique, Maude-Isabelle a su créer sa propre voie et son réseau. Elle utilise une approche bienveillante et personnalisée, ce qui convient très bien aux artistes  multidisciplinaires qui ont besoin d’accompagnement.

After decades as a top commissioner of scripted content at Canadian broadcasters, Tara transitioned into independent producing with her first show, Hey Lady! – a short-form comedy series directed by Adriana Maggs and Sarah Polley which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Festival, and on CBC Gem. Her recent comedy series Nesting, premiered on Crave in December of 2023.  Select shows Tara backed as a programmer and commissioner of content include the series Slings & Arrows (for Showcase) New Yorker TV critic Emily Nussbaum’s “favorite show of all time”, audience faves Lost Girl, Continuum and Vikings, History Channel’s top-rated series The Kennedys (for which Tara received an Emmy nom) and the Global series Rookie Blue. At CBC, Tara oversaw all comedy, drama, kids and digital series scripted content including Anne with an E, Kim’s Convenience and Alias Grace.

The Toronto Globe & Mail named Tara as one of the 40 Most Influential People in Canadian television for her efforts in bringing new talent to Canadian airwaves. Tara has been honoured with the Women In Film & Television Crystal Award for Creative Excellence. Raised in Stratford, Ontario, and currently living in Toronto, Tara’s first “real” job was as a reporter/photographer in Espanola, Ontario’s mid-north.

Zach Feldberg is a Toronto-based, International Emmy-winning producer and media executive with a range of experience across TV, digital media, radio, publishing, and music, and is co-president of Cut & Paste Pictures. Previously, Zach held a number of roles at CBC, including Head of Scripted Gem Originals and Director of Current Production, Comedy, overseeing the teams responsible for delivering a slate of acclaimed comedy, drama, and documentary series. Prior to his time at CBC, he launched Shaw Media’s first-ever original digital programming slate with such titles as The Second City Project (Global TV) and Super Snack Bros. (Food Network), and held positions at Alliance Atlantis and Canwest, where he produced original content for hit series Trailer Park Boys, Vikings, and Big Brother Canada. Feldberg came up through music, running an indie record label, ‘zine and radio show under the name Ductape in the ‘90s/early 2000s.