SpringBoard Industry Event:

Susan Alexander 

As a Production Executive with Corus Entertainment for over ten years, Susan has overseen the development and production of numerous dramatic series for Corus Entertainment including The Love Club, Family Law, Mary Kills People and Private Eyes.  

Prior to becoming a broadcaster Susan worked on the production side of the industry, as a Producer and Development Executive, and has strong relationships with the Canadian independent production community.  

Equally important to her is the work she has done nurturing emerging talent through her role as a Mentor at the Canadian Film Centre, of which she is a proud alumni, and through many industry sponsored programs.  

Susan is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, and WIFT-T, where she served 4 years on their Board of Directors. 

Heather Williamson

Senior Development and Production Executive, Original Programming, Factual & Reality, Bell Media

As Development and Production Executive for Bell Media’s Original Programming, Factual and Reality,  Heather Williamson oversees a production and development slate that includes the Discovery Canada hit series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, HEAVY RESCUE: 401, and UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: SECRET HISTORY, as well as KINGS OF COKE for CRAVE.   Past projects have included JADE FEVER, LAST STOP GARAGE, MIGHTY CRUISE SHIPS, WILD BEAR RESCUE, DR. KERI PRAIRIE VET, and OSCAR PETERSON: BLACK & WHITE

Williamson has previously worked as Program Development Manager for Discovery Canada, where she was responsible for all incoming proposals from Canadian and international production companies.

Working closely with producers, Heather continues to advise on how to best tailor their projects to suit Bell Media’s audience and scheduling needs for both broadcast and digital formats.

Heather came to Programming in 2004 after successfully serving as Manager of On-Air Promotions producing award winning promos for the Discovery Networks. As well, Heather has over 25 years of Production and live event experience.

Georgia Shearman

Georgia Shearman is a Development Executive for Bell Media’s Original Programming department in Toronto, Canada. Georgia works with industry writers and partners on the development of new scripted projects for Bell Media’s Original Programming slate. She is also responsible for digital and social-world initiatives with a focus on developing talent and IP into new scripted and unscripted series.

Prior to joining Bell Media, Georgia worked in the TV and film industry in a variety of roles, including as the lead development and production executive for the award-winning production company, Circle Blue Entertainment. She has also done freelance contract work on television, films and commercials, including credits as an associate producer and development consultant.

Jackie Pardy

As Super Channel’s Chief Content Officer, Jackie leads the company’s domestic and foreign program acquisitions for the network’s four channels (Fuse, Heart & Home, Vault and Ginx) and oversees the pre-licensing of Super Channel’s Canadian productions. 

Super Channel is a national premium pay television network, offering subscribers exceptional entertainment value with four diverse channels – Super Channel Fuse, Super Channel Heart & Home, Super Channel Vault and GINX Esports TV Canada – plus, access to Super Channel On Demand where available by service provider. 

Paige Murray 

Paige Murray has worked at the CBC for over eleven years within the television content areas. She is currently Executive in Charge of Development, Drama on the Scripted Content team. In this role, Paige oversees the development of one-hour drama series and actively looks for creators and stories that reflect the spectrum of the Canadian experience to entertain and enlighten CBC audiences. Additionally, Paige currently sits on the board of Breakthroughs Film Festival and the advisory board of The Future of Film Showcase. 

We are interested in hearing about ongoing, procedural dramas to air in our prime time schedule. We are also interested in developing relationships with Canadian creators and learning more about the work they are doing. 

Jordana Ross

As Production Executive at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Jordana focuses on feature length documentary films for which she oversees both development and production. Some of her recent commissions include: The Colour of Ink (TIFF 2022); Toxic Beauty (International Emmy nom 2021); No Ordinary Man (TIFF 2020); The Walrus and the Whistleblower (Hot Docs 2020;) and The Oslo Diaries (Emmy nomination 2018).  Prior to joining CBC, Jordana spent close to a decade producing and directing at Discovery Channel Canada.

Jennifer Chen

Jennifer Chen is the Head of Studios, VP of Content managing development and content investment for Channel Zero Studios. She was formerly the VP of Programming for the suite of Channel Zero broadcasting services including acquisitions and original programming for CHCH, Silver Screen Classics and Rewind. She began her Channel Zero career as the General Manager of Ouat Media, managing one of the largest distribution companies specializing in the acquisition, distribution and sales of short form content internationally. 

Lauren Whitelaw

Lauren is the Head of Programming for OUTtv, currently with services in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  With servicing multiple territories, she has successfully negotiated contracts with companies worldwide.  Lauren is part of the development team at the network and continues to work closely with Producers globally to find the best LGBTQ+ programming. 

OUTtv is an LGBTQ2+ network and streamer. We look for content of all genres as long as it is strongly based in LGBTQ2+ storylines and characters. 

Danelle Granger 

Based out of Treaty 1 territory, Danelle Granger is proud to be reclaiming and reconnecting to her Métis roots. She began her career in the broadcasting industry upon graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in Winnipeg, Man. There, she majored in journalism while focusing on developing her production skills. Danelle was inspired to pursue journalism and production after seeing the documentary Food, Inc. She continues to be motivated by the passion of those involved in the industry and their commitment to telling the stories that need to be heard. She brings this motivation with her to all of her work. Danelle worked as an editor and assistant editor on Passage à l’âge adulte and seasons 2-4 of Comment devenir adulte. She also combined her editing and directing skills on a short documentary about the history of the Rainbow Resource Centre, a centre in Winnipeg that offers support to the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The documentary premiered at Reel Pride Film Festival. Danelle joined APTN in 2020 as the programming coordinator for the Central Region. In 2022, she took on the title of executive in charge of development and scripted production. Danelle is excited to continue working with emerging and established producers to bring Indigenous content to screens across Turtle Island. 

Patrice Ramsay  

Executive Producer, Independent Productions – Knowledge Network Corporation.  

Patrice Ramsay is the Executive Producer of Independent Production at British Columbia’s Knowledge Network. Her portfolio includes the pre-licensing of documentary productions and managing Knowledge Network’s annual funding envelope from the Canada Media Fund.  Recent Executive Producer credits include Part of the Pack, Dancing with Mom, Search and Rescue North Shore, Dogsville, and Building Bastille. 

Kim Hsu Guise 

Kim Hsu Guise (she/her/elle) is the Feature Film Executive, Western Region for Telefilm Canada. Kim has over 20 years of experience in the film and television industry as a lawyer, business affairs advisor and production executive. She has a full spectrum of experience including negotiating production-related deal terms, assessing project pitches for financing, setting strategic direction, and building and leading a diverse team of industry experts. 

Teri Snelgrove

Producer of The National Film Board of Canada, BC & Yukon Studio  

Teri Snelgrove is a producer at the BC & Yukon Studio. Most recently, she produced Unarchived (Hayley Gray and Elad Tzadok), A Motorcycle Saved My Life (Lori Lozinski) and Into Light (Sheona McDonald). With Shirley Vercruysse, Teri co-produced Someone Like Me by Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor, and the animated projects Two Apples (Bahram Javahery) and Zeb’s Spider (Alicia Eisen and Sophie Jarvis).  Teri is a Newfoundlander, and a graduate of the film/video program at Emily Carr University. She holds a master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University.  

Mathew Parry 

Manager – Creative Industry Programs. Creative BC  

Mathew’s primary responsibilities lie within the Development Team where he oversees a number of programs including the Project Development Fund, and other partnership programs with external organizations supporting film and TV development. Mathew has a Master’s degree in history, and is also a graduate of the Documentary Film Production program at Langara College. 

Masterclass Instructor: Raynor Shima

Raynor Shima is a Vancouver, BC based Producer and creator. He arose from commercial film to become an emerging independent producer to lookout for. He started his transition through a partnership, co-founding the award winning company, Luchagore Productions as an outlet for story driven content, specializing in the horror genre. His films have gone to screen all over the world from Sitges to LaLiff, winning multiple awards, and being recognized for a unique style of films produced, that are heavily influenced with a Latino mix. In 2017 he collaborated with Warner Brothers and Stage13 network in producing a 7 episode mini series called “La Quinceañera”, a coming of age revenge story. Raynor has worked with Blumhouse and Amazon in developing and executive producing “Bingo”, one of the final four “Welcome to the Blumhouse” anthology series, released in 2021. His most current endeavor has taken two projects to Mexico City filming a new horror anthology called “Satanic Hispanics”, with Epic Pictures and Dread Central. Along with the newly announced and final franchise series VHS85,with Shudder, slated to come out in 2023. 

Masterclass Instructor: Luke Bramley

Born in Vancouver, BC but raised in Victoria, Luke developed a passion for horror cinema at a young age after viewing the films The Shining and A Nightmare on Elm Street. After a stint as a cook, he decided it was time to pursue his passion and went to film school, which opened his eyes to the world of cinematography. Upon graduation he co-founded the production company Luchagore Productions alongside director Gigi Saul Guerrero and producer Raynor Shima, and since then they’ve created frightening stories that have played around the globe. His credits include the short film El Gigante, the web/TV series La Quinceañera, and most recently the horror anthology Satanic Hispanics and the upcoming VHS 85. When he isn’t working on movies, Luke’s hobbies include film photography and watching schlock films.  

Composing Panelist: Mychael Danna 

Mychael Danna is an Academy Award-winning film composer recognized for his evocative blending of non-western traditions with orchestral and electronic music. He composed the transculturally inspired 2013 Oscar and Golden Globe-winning score for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Danna also composed scores for Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm and Ride With the Devil. Other noted credits include Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films such as his long time collaborator Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter and Exotica, Moneyball and Capote with director Bennett Miller, Monsoon Wedding, Little Miss Sunshine, (500) Days of Summer, Being Julia, Deepa Mehta’s Water, Girl, Interrupted, and Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater. Often collaborating with his brother Jeff, they have scored The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus for Terry Gilliam, The Breadwinner, The Addams Family 1 and 2, and Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, and Onward. He won an Emmy Award for outstanding music composition for the mini-series World Without End. Other television scores include Alias Grace (Emmy Nomination), Tyrant, (3 Emmy Nominations), Camelot, (Emmy Nomination) and Return to Space (Emmy Nomination) directed by Oscar-winning directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, co-scored with his friend Harry Gregson-Williams. Recent film scores are for Where the Crawdads Sing directed by Olivia Newman, and My Father’s Dragon with director Nora Twomey. 

Among Mychael’s other awards are the Frederick Loewe Award for Film Composing (2013), the World Soundtrack Awards for Film Composer of the Year, and Best Score of the Year (both 2013), and the Hollywood Film Award for Composer of the Year (2016).  

Composing Panelist: Wayne Lavallee

Wayne Lavallee is a Metis multi-disciplinary artist based in Vancouver.  

By 2000 Wayne released his first studio solo album, by 2010 Wayne was a 2 time Juno nominee and multi-award-winning recording artist signed with an international record label in France.  

In 2014 Wayne composed his first film score “Ballads Not Bullets: Tom Jackson” a short film written and directed by Marie Clements produced by the NFB, since them Wayne has composed 4 other feature films for Marie Clements, the award winning musical documentary “The Road Forward” produced by the NFB, “RED SNOW” and the latest feature in collaboration with co-composer Jesse Zubot, produced by Screen Siren Pictures “Bones of Crows” which made its world premiere at 2022 tiff festival… “Bones of Crows” will also be featured as a 5 part mini-series for CBC in 2023. Wayne has 3 Leo Award nominations for his scores and a 2022 Leo Award win for Best Musical Score for the lifestyle reality series “Dr.Savannah: Wild Rose Vet”. 

Composing Panelist: Jesse Zubot 

Jesse Zubot is a multiple JUNO award-winning musician and an in-demand record producer and film composer.  His album productions include Tanya Tagaq’s Polaris Prize and JUNO award winning album ‘Animism’.   In his career he has recorded and performed with an extensive range of artists such as Steve Reich, Dan Mangan, Hawksley Workman, Saul Williams, Destroyer, Marc Ribot, Pura Fé, Stars, Darius Jones, Mother Mother and he is part of Tanya Tagaq’s main touring trio.  In recent years, Jesse has delved heavily into the world of film scoring. He has been nominated for multiple Canadian Screen Awards, Leo Awards and recently received a SOCAN Award for Achievement in Feature Film (Indian Horse).   His scoring credits include the upcoming powerful feature film and 5-part CBC series Bones of Crows, Ever Deadly, Monkey Beach, Indian Horse, Two Lovers and a Bear, Hector and the Search for Happiness, The Whale and the Raven, and Koneline: Our Land Beautiful. 

Screenwriting Panelist: Sophie Jarvis 

Sophie Jarvis is a Vancouver-born writer and director whose first job in film was reading fan mail for THE L WORD. Later, she studied at Simon Fraser University where she made her short film THE WORST DAY EVER, which premiered at TIFF in 2012. Since then, Sophie has gone on to direct many short films, including MEDICAL DRAMA (Clermont Ferrand 2019) and ZEB’S SPIDER, a stop motion animation co-directed with Alicia Eisen for the National Film Board. Her feature debut UNTIL BRANCHES BEND premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and won the award for “Best BC Film” at VIFF the same year. Sophie’s background as a production designer deeply informs her practice as a director. Sophie currently resides on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territories (aka Vancouver).

Screenwriting Panelist: Chandler Levack 

Chandler Levack grew up in Burlington, Ontario and lives in Toronto, where she studied cinema at the University of Toronto and screenwriting at the Canadian Film Centre. She has directed numerous music videos, earning two JUNO nominations, and is a veteran journalist and a current film critic for the Globe & Mail. In 2017, her short film We Forgot to Break Up premiered at TIFF and went on to play SXSW. In 2022, her debut feature film I Like Movies premiered at TIFF and went on to play VIFF, Taipei Golden Horse and was selected for Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. 

Cinematography Panelist: Kurtis David Harder 

‘Kurtis David Harder is a prolific director and producer from Canada who’s work has played across the world at such festivals as SXSW, Fantastic, Busan, Fantasia, Sitges, Rotterdam, among many others. He directed his feature film debut at the age of 18, ”Cody Fitz”, which went on to play across the world at various film festivals picking up several awards. His second feature film ”Incontrol” debuted internationally at FrightFest UK, to rave reviews and was released internationally. His two most recent directorial films ”Spiral” and ”Summerland”, were both released to critical acclaim.  

As a producer he’s produced 13 films. ”Still/Born” was awarded “The Scariest Film” at The Overlook Film. What Keeps You Alive, which debuted at SXSW, was named one of the top 10 horror films of 2018 by Rolling Stone Magazine. in 2019, ”Harpoon” was the second-best rated horror film on Rotten Tomatoes, gaining certified fresh at 97%. His most recent producing credits include ”Superhost” and ”V/H/S/94”, the latter of which was Shudder’s most successful release at the time. His latest directorial film Influencer is now on the festival circuit and will come out in 2023.’ 

Cinematography Panelist: Jeremy Cox 

Jeremy Cox is an award-winning cinematographer based on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations. 

Jeremy’s cinematography is defined by an exacting awareness of detail, structure and style while remaining rooted within a tradition of realism. Working in 16mm, 35mm and digital formats across features, shorts, series and music videos, his work has screened in festivals around the world. 

State of the Market Panelist: Ari Wise 

Ari Wise is the owner and director of Core Music Agency, Canada’s largest talent agency focussing on film, television and games composers. Before establishing his agency, Ari Wise was himself an award-winning film composer, with over 200 features, TV Movies, live and animated episodes of television, documentaries and short films to his credit. Some highlights include: “The Conclave” starring Brian Blessed and James Faulkner, “Police Academy, the Series” and “School of Life”, starring Ryan Reynolds. A graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Music Composition program, and of the University of Southern California’s world famous, “Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television” Advanced Studies Program, Ari has spent the last 15 years representing a stellar and exclusive roster of talented and successful screen composers. To date, he and his fellow Core Agents have negotiated well over 1000 composer agreements. 

State of the Market Panelist: Sara Canning

Sara Canning’s film and television career spans 15 years. Select credits include The Vampire Diaries, War for the Planet of the Apes, Big Sky, the Emmy nominated A Series of Unfortunate Events and Remedy, a series for which she won UBCP/ACTRA and Leo Awards. She was also nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for her work in the web series Hospital Show. Last spring, she played the role of Annie in Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes at the Belfry Theatre, and will soon be seen in Sweetland, a feature set in her home province of Newfoundland. A frequent director for the Vancouver Film School, Sara is also developing and writing her own scripts, including a feature selected for the Whistler Film Festival Screenwriting Program in 2019.

Art in Motion Panelist: Alfonso Chin

Alfonso Chin is a cinematographer and visual artist based in Vancouver, Canada.  

His journey to Vancouver began in Mexico where he was born.  His multicultural background sparked a desire to experience stories from various cultures, which he found through world cinema and painting.  He would later move to Los Angeles before his passion finally led him to Vancouver where he studied film, interactive arts, and graphic design at Simon Fraser University.

Alfonso has filmed with different formats from 35mm, 16mm to the latest digital emulsions. His work captivates using harmonious visual language to stimulate profound emotion that is unique to each story. From commercials to engaging narratives and documentaries, the story and characters always come first and are always the primary motivation for his approach to lighting and camera movements. He also has a passion and understanding for non-traditional storytelling.

Alfonso has garnered nominations and awards at the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, Canadian Screen Awards, Ariel Awards (Mexican Academy Awards), and other prestigious international festivals. He’s also a member of the International Cinematographers Guild 669.

Alfonso’s work is best known for filming episodes for the Netflix series, VOIR, which is produced by David Fincher.

Darlene Naponse

Nava Rastegar

For the last four years, Nava has been a Business Analyst at Telefilm Canada, where she assesses a portfolio of CMF funded projects.

Prior to Telefilm, Nava was an award-winning producer who supported filmmakers in all aspects of financing, production planning, and business affairs. Her work has showcased at international film festivals including TIFF, Rotterdam, SLIFF, and Sundance among others. She has a BA and MA in History from the University of Toronto.

Vince Arvidson

Vince Arvidson csc lives in Vancouver Canada and has worked around the world for 20 years as a cinematographer. Vince is passionate about the way light interacts with life. Above all else he prizes collaboration with the director and celebrating the creative process. His work has appeared in major festivals TIFF, VIFF, BUSAN, and shown on Netflix, CBC, Discovery.  He has worked on feature films, mini series, documentaries and commercials. He’s the father of two kids and in a previous life he played water polo at a national level. When he’s not working he takes refuge on Texada island or anywhere else he can paddle. 

State of the Market Panelist: Brian D. Johnson

Brian D. Johnson is a Canadian writer, filmmaker and cultural commentator. He is best known from his three decades as the longtime film critic and senior arts writer at Maclean’s magazine, where he remains a Contributing Editor. He is also past president of the Toronto Film Critics Association (2006-2017), and created the annual TFCA Awards Gala, with its $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. He has worked professionally over the years as a journalist, author, musician—and, most recently, a filmmaker. In 2015 he produced and directed Al Purdy Was Here, a documentary feature about the legendary Canadian poet, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where was runner-up for the TIFF Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award. The film played theatrically in some 70 towns and cities, aired on the CBC Documentary channel, and is now available on iTunes Canada.