Thursday, June 2nd | (Open to Forum Participants Only)

Creative teams will hear stories from the trenches from past Finance Forum participants in this honest conversation about how it went vs how it’s going on current and future projects.  Films to be discussed include WILDHOOD, JUMP, DARLING, FRAMING AGNES, and RE-LIVE.

Panelists:

Karen Harnisch (she/her)

Shant Joshi (he/him)

Gharrett Patrick Paon (he/him)

Moderated by Jan Nathanson (she/her)

Panelist Info:

Karen Harnisch (she/her) is a feature film producer and Co-President of Film Forge, a production company she leads with writer/director Andrew Cividino. Karen produced Cividino’s SLEEPING GIANT which premiered at Semaine de la Critique (Critics’ Week) in Cannes and won the Best Canadian First Feature Award at TIFF. Karen has since produced Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis’ WHITE LIE, Antoine Bourges’ FAIL TO APPEAR, Drew Lint’s M/M and 13 MINUTES by Lindsay Gossling. Karen is currently producing Brandon Cronenberg’s third feature film INFINITY POOL, a Canadian-Hungarian-Croatian co-production, and is developing Amar Wala’s SHOOK and the limited series CUTBLOCK, written and directed by Cividino and Trey Edward Shults. Karen has also worked as a line producer and production executive on independent, studio- and streamer-backed films and television series. She is an alumna of TIFF Studio, the EAVE Producers Workshop and The Torino Film Lab, and a recipient of a SSHRC grant for her Master’s Thesis: “Today’s Film Students, Tomorrow’s Producers: The Role of Critical Media Literacy in Canada’s Future Cinema”. Karen is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Image Arts in Toronto, where she teaches creative producing and film production.

Shant Joshi is a queer Indo-Canadian producer based in Los Angeles and Toronto. His credits include the films Framing Agnes (Sundance, NEXT Audience Award, NEXT Innovator Award), International Dawn Chorus Day (Berlin, TEDDY Award Winner), Porcupine Lake (Toronto), and Noor & Layla (BlackStar); the hit web series Teenagers (CSAs); and the Dekkoo original series, I’m Fine (Outfest). Shant co-founded the Future of Film Showcase as a launchpad for emerging Canadian filmmakers, and he previously worked at the United Talent Agency, Buchwald, and Lit Entertainment Group (fka Madhouse Entertainment).  He is an alum of the Producers Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, holds a Certificate in Entertainment Law from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was named to York University’s inaugural Top 30 Changemakers under 30.Shant is currently Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors at BIPOC TV & Film, a sitting member of the Restructuring, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Action Committee at the Canadian Media Producers Association, and sits on the Advisory Board at the Future of Film Showcase.

Gharrett Patrick Paon is an actor/producer based in Nova Scotia. He has been in the industry for over 15 years, holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University (’17), is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre’s – Producer’s Lab (’17), and sits on the CMPA Feature Film Committee. Gharrett is the president of Rebel Road Films. Committed to creative excellence, his mandate for the company is: Build a landmark, not a slate. This hyper-focused approach drives Gharrett towards supporting emerging auteur filmmakers exploring socially relevant subject matter, with strong international market and awards potential. Rebel Roads first feature WILDHOOD (Mongrel Media/Wolfe) has become one of the most celebrated Canadian, indigenous, and queer films of the year. WILDHOOD world premiered at TIFF, followed by AFI Fest, and received a Special Mention from Palm Springs. In 2022, Rebel Roads projects earned 8 Canadian Screen Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture (WILDHOOD), and won the Best Supporting Actor Award for Joshua Odjick. Gharrett is also a producer on Charles Wahl’s THE MOHEL (Ouat Media, SXSW 2021), which won Best Live-Action Short at Palm Springs Shortfest.

Friday, June 3rd | (Open to Forum Participants Only)

In this closed session, creative teams will get the the hot take from our executives visiting in person about the state of developing, financing, production and distribution of queer film in our current climate. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and discuss. 

Participants:

Inuka Bacote-Capiga (she/her), Hotsauce

Ross Putnam (he/him), Verve

Joshua Foster (he/him), Cinetic Media

Miguel Berg (he/him), Gamechanger

Derek Nguyen (he/him), The Population

Gosia Kamela, CBC Films

Participant Info:

Inuka Bacote-Capiga is a recovering attorney with 10+ years of experience in the entertainment industry. Inuka’s producing credits include the Oscar award winning documentary SUMMER OF SOUL, and the feature film THE 40-YEAR- OLD VERSION, which garnered her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She executive produced the feature documentary BEBA, a 2021 TIFF Doc selection which was acquired by NEON. She also co-executive produced the Daytime Emmy winning LGBTQ series, EASTSIDERS. Currently, she is SVP Development & Production for Hot Sauce Productions which has a multi-year first look deal with Sony Pictures Television. Inuka also serves as an affiliate of The Blackhouse Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for diverse content creators. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

Ross Putman is a part of the Ventures team at Verve, with a focus on independent film finance & sales.  Before joining Verve, Ross was an award-winning independent producer, with audience award winners at the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals. At Verve, Ross has been a part of building and selling acclaimed films such as John Patton Ford’s Sundance-premiering EMILY THE CRIMINAL, which stars Aubrey Plaza and sold to Roadside Attractions and Vertical, as well as James Morosini’s SXSW Grand Jury and Audience Award-winner I LOVE MY DAD, starring Patton Oswalt, which sold to Magnolia Pictures.

Joshua A. Foster is a graduate of NYU Tisch MFA graduate film program and earned an IMBA graduate degree at the University of South Carolina. Joshua produced or directed sixteen short films while at NYU Tisch. He has over twenty years of experience in the financial sector trading futures contracts, M&A and managing high net worth clients’ assets. Currently, he resides in New York City with his family working as an executive for Cinetic Media in the film finance and production department. Cinetic has worked on such films as Boyhood, Parasite, Green Book and Summer of Soul.

Miguel Berg is a 1st Generation Colombian-American, Miguel first ventured into television in 2007 producing for Discovery’s Travel Channel where he earned his first accolades.  Over the next decade, he continued to champion diverse talent in entertainment globally: From uniting over 70+ countries worldwide by founding the Greenville International Film Festival in Southeastern US to working with heads of state in Latin America to lay the framework for international business opportunities for film & tv used by Hollywood today.  After graduating from Chapman University’s M.F.A Film & Television Producing program, he worked at NBC Universal across the spectrum of television, working on major theatrical and television marketing campaigns for brands like E!, Telemundo, Style Network, and Universal Pictures and later applied his experience in scripted drama development on international co-productions, limited series, and Emmy nominated programs. Prior to joining Gamechanger Films as Head of Development, he worked at Warner Bros. Television where he continued to champion diverse talent on major hit shows and amplified equitable access for talent from marginalized communities behind the scenes.  An ally and leader for authentic representation, he was recognized as one of the industry’s top 10 rising talents as part of Colour Entertainment’s 2020 Next Up 2nd Annual List, highlighting the next generation of diverse Hollywood leaders and has raised over $1000 annually since 2019 for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and pediatric cancer research as a USA Triathlon National Championship qualifying triathlete. 

Derek Nguyen is a refugee of the Vietnam war, Derek Nguyen is a screenwriter, director, and producer. His directorial feature debut The Housemaid was released by IFC Films in 2018 and sold to 22 different territories around the world. An American adaption called Grave Hill is heading to production in 2022, written by Oscar-winner Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious), directed by Deon Taylor (Black & Blue) and produced by CJ Entertainment (Parasite). He was a 2004 fellow at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab for his screenplay, Monster based on his award-winning play. He is the cofounder of The Population, which produced Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ Swallow (IFC Films), Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me (Sony Pictures Classics), and Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Catch The Fair One (IFC Films, executive produced by Darren Aronofsky). Derek was also on the producing team for Jennifer Fox’s The Tale, So Yong Kim’s Lovesong, Sarah Adina Smith’s Buster’s Mal Heart, and Hannah Fidell’s Long Dumb Road, among others. He recently won the inaugural Future Gold Film Fellowship presented by Tribeca Studios, Netflix, and GoldHouse for his script, The Resemblance.

Gosia Kamela is the Head of CBC Films. Gosia oversees the Original Scripted Feature Film slate for CBC and GEM. Previously, as an Executive at Bell Media, Gosia was responsible for the development and production of original scripted series across a large portfolio of channels and platforms including CTV and Crave. A few notable series credits include Orphan Black, Transplant, and Degrassi. In that role, Gosia also oversaw the Canadian Features slate for Crave with recent titles including Beans, Blood Quantum, and Night Raiders. Prior to joining Bell Media, Gosia was a Producer at True West Films working in both documentary and scripted features including cult classic It’s All Gone Pete Tong.

Friday, June 3rd | (Open to Forum Participants Only)

Ask a Casting Director

Creative teams will have the opportunity to ask questions and have honest conversations with casting director Alexa Fogel, drawing from her work on series such as Pose and Atlanta. 

Alexa Fogel (she/her)

Casting Director, Producer

ALEXA L. FOGEL has won three Emmy Awards for casting, with a total of thirteen nominations. She has also won eight Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America. Some of her numerous television casting credits include Atlanta, We Own This City, Ozark, Pose, The Politician, The Plot Against America, The Outsider, The Deuce, Warrior, Quarry, Banshee, Treme, Ripper Street, The Wire, Generation Kill, Show Me A Hero, and Oz. 

Additionally, Alexa has cast films such as Judas and the Black Messiah, The Prom, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Too Big To Fail, Our Brand Is Crisis, The Sitter, and Red Tails. Upcoming projects include FX’s The Sterling Affairs, Apple TV’s In With the Devil, and the feature films What If, directed by Billy Porter, and Creed III, directed by Michael B. Jordan. 

Through her Beech Hill Films banner, Alexa produced the Netflix original documentary A Secret Love, about former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Terry Donahue and her 72 year-long relationship with partner Pat Henschel. 

Her credits as a producer include One Last Thing, starring Wendell Pierce, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and Joanne Froggatt, This Is Where We Live, Helena From The Wedding, Run Fat Boy Run, directed by David Schwimmer and starring Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton, A Hole In One, starring Michelle Williams, Face, and Our Song. 

On Set Trans Film Mentorship

Drawing from the success of The Trans Film Mentorship training program created for Forum alumni Luis De Filippis’ feature film SOMETHING YOU SAID LAST NIGHT, and currently operating on season two production of CBC’s Sort Of, creative teams will learn how producers can think about turning their productions into pathway opportunities for underrepresented groups to catalyze their entry into the industry. 

Gabrielle Zilkha (she/her)

Gabrielle Zilkha is an award-winning independent film director with experience in documentary, scripted shorts and branded content. Most recently, Gabrielle directed the ballroom competition series CBX: A Canadian Ballroom Extravaganza (CBC Gem). Her other credits include writing and directing the essay-driven pop culture documentary feature Queering the Script (2019, Shaftesbury & Hollywood Suite), the feature documentary Doing Jewish: A Story From Ghana (2016, Vision TV) and her short comedy, Stop Calling Me Honey Bunny (2013), which was shortlisted for the Iris Prize and the recipient of multiple audience and jury awards. 

Passionate about equity and inclusion in the media industry, Gabrielle works as a freelance curriculum designer and media educator designing training programs for equity-seeking groups to break into the film/tv industry. 

Luis De Filippis (she/her)

Luis De Filippis is a Canadian-Italian filmmaker whose work has played at festivals such as TIFF, Rotterdam, and Sundance where her most recent work, For Nonna Anna, received a Special Jury Prize. She is currently in post-production on the feature, Something You Said Last Night, which is executive produced by The Florida Project’s Kevin Chinoy and Francesca Silvestri. 

Anna Daliza (She/Her)

Anna Daliza is an emerging writer, artist, and educator living in Toronto. Born in Southwestern Ontario to a Lebanese immigrant mother and Anglo-Canadian father, she describes her cultural upbringing as a marriage between oil and water. Anna has been published in Leste (Montreal), Silverfish (Toronto), and her forthcoming work, ‘Where Grape Leaves Grow,’ is her first book to be published independently. As a second generation immigrant and transsexual woman, Anna’s past work has explored themes related to her intersectional identity, but her first work of visual art, a public installation entitled ‘Artist Bio,’ spoofs the cultural obsession with identity, marking a departure from her past work. Anna’s second entry into visual art will be in a group exhibition with Silverfish at Gales Gallery in June 2022. 

Holding a degree in Drama in Education & Community from the University of Windsor, Anna is experienced in and passionate about creating educational opportunities and for diverse and marginalized communities. She works as a freelance program developer and facilitator as one of the founders of the Trans Film Mentorship. 

Sponsored by WarnerAccessMedia

Saturday, June 4th | (Open to Forum Participants, Accredited Filmmakers, Industry and General Public)

Alexa Vogel, Casting Director for hit shows such as Pose and Atlanta, and actor/producer Haillie Sahar (Pose), talk about contemporary issues in queer and diversity casting. Topics will include how they work with directors & producers, talent agents, streamers and broadcasters to find and support new and established actors for roles in culturally diverse narratives, how they see the industry changing, or not changing enough to allow these stories to come to the fore, and how diverse actors can find roles in mainstream and independent projects.

Panelists:

Alexa Fogel (Casting Director, Pose, Atlanta)

Hailie Sahar (POSE)

Sophia Clark (she/he/they), Moderator

Panelist Info:

ALEXA L. FOGEL has won three Emmy Awards for casting, with a total of thirteen nominations. She has also won eight Artios Awards from the Casting Society of America. Some of her numerous television casting credits include Atlanta, We Own This City, Ozark, Pose, The Politician, The Plot Against America, The Outsider, The Deuce, Warrior, Quarry, Banshee, Treme, Ripper Street, The Wire, Generation Kill, Show Me A Hero, and Oz. 

Additionally, Alexa has cast films such as Judas and the Black Messiah, The Prom, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Too Big To Fail, Our Brand Is Crisis, The Sitter, and Red Tails. Upcoming projects include FX’s The Sterling Affairs, Apple TV’s In With the Devil, and the feature films What If, directed by Billy Porter, and Creed III, directed by Michael B. Jordan. 

Through her Beech Hill Films banner, Alexa produced the Netflix original documentary A Secret Love, about former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Terry Donahue and her 72 year-long relationship with partner Pat Henschel. 

Her credits as a producer include One Last Thing, starring Wendell Pierce, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, and Joanne Froggatt, This Is Where We Live, Helena From The Wedding, Run Fat Boy Run, directed by David Schwimmer and starring Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton, A Hole In One, starring Michelle Williams, Face, and Our Song. 

Sponsored by Netflix

Saturday, June 4th | (Open to Forum Participants, Accredited Filmmakers, Industry and General Public)

Now in its 5th year, Inside Out’s Pitch, Please! Short Film Competition is back live in person after two years of online pitching! Pitch, Please! will see six competitors from across the globe present a short two-minute pitch to a jury and audience, with one winner taking home a $5,000 production grant sponsored by Netflix. Special thanks to our production package contributors Final Draft and Moondog.

 After the pitch, our jury will deliberate and announce the winner at the Closing Night Gala.

Jury:

Kelly Lui (she/her)

Allia McLeod (she/her)

Andrew Murphy (he/him)

Sponsored by Black Screen Office and OutTV

Saturday, June 4th | (Open to Forum Participants, Accredited Filmmakers, Industry and General Public)

Join us for the launch of  ‘Being Seen: 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities, Directives for Creating Authentic and Inclusive Content’ report to learn more about how the Directives can be used to improve authenticity of Canadian screen content for the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

The Black Screen Office conducted consultations across Canada, in English and French, with Black, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ and People with Disabilities communities working in the screen industries and with members of the general public. The goal was to identify what is needed to create more authentic and inclusive content. The resulting reports share the voices of the participants and aggregate their advice into Directives that creators, producers, broadcasters, funders and distributors can use to create and review more authentic content.  The Directives can also be used by members of these communities as a tool to help them in their efforts to improve the authenticity of content on Canadian screens.

Link to report: www.beingseen.ca 

Panelists:

Kelly Lynne Ashton (she/er)

JP Larocque (they/them)

Carolyn (Jay) Wu (they/them)

Sage Lovell (they/them)

Izaiah Dockery (he/him)

Moderated by Shant Joshi (he/him)

Panelist Info:

Kelly Lynne Ashton has worked in the Canadian film, television and digital media industries as a business affairs executive in television production companies, as a producer at a children’s web studio, as manager of an online youth research company and in government relations and media policy for a talent union. Kelly Lynne is currently bringing together the different strands of her career in the Canadian cultural industries – legal, business, marketing and research – to providing consulting services to clients. She has authored a number of public and internal research papers covering the film, television, interactive digital media and performing arts sectors both in Canada and in comparison to jurisdictions around the world. As a multi-racial Canadian, diversity and inclusion are a priority in her work and she brings that lens to everything.

Alongside recent work on CBC’s Sort Of, JP Larocque (They/Them) has written on Coroner (CBC), Diggstown (CBC), Jann (CTV), Another Life (Netflix), Slasher (Netflix/Shudder), and is creator of the OUTtv digital series Gay Nerds. As a journalist, JP has bylines in The Toronto Star, The Walrus, Maclean’s, Xtra, and Flare. A proud member of the 2SLGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities, JP is committed to diversity and inclusion in all their work.

Jay Wu is a non-binary writer, director, development executive, and community organizer working in Tkaronto of Hong Kong diaspora. As a development executive at Bell Media, they take pitches and develop scripted content for national broadcaster CTV and canadian streaming service Crave. Their short film TOE THE LINE is nominated for a Golden Sheaf for Scripted Short at Yorkton Film Festival 2022 and won Breakthroughs Film Festival’s 2019 Pitch Competition. Their short film IN MY MOTHER’S CLOSET has screened at Wicked Queer: Boston LGBT Film Festival and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Jay also started and co-organizes Colour Theory, an event that celebrates short films of all sizes, genres, and budgets made exclusively by Black, Indigenous, or people of colour filmmakers who identify as 2SLGBTQ. Carolyn strives to continue disrupting film industry and building space for racialized queers to heal, create, and thrive.

Sage Lovell is a Deaf queer nonbinary genderfluid femme artist who likes to work their magic, using different art mediums to shift perspectives and spaces. Their post-secondary experience at Gallaudet University made them realize that sign language accessibility is possible! After graduating, Sage returned back to their roots and focused on advocacy for the inclusion of Deaf Canadians. Sage’s work on advocacy included creative artistic approaches and found its place in the arts community. Since then, Sage has worked with various communities in several capacities, developing meaningful work that continues to evolve. With Sage’s many talents, they were able to incorporate their passions of media, language, theatre, and accessibility into works of art. These multitudes of experiences led Sage to establish Deaf Spectrum.  Most notable recent works include “Creative ASL Theatre Sessions,” a series of online improv classes in collaboration with The Hypernovas and InsideOut Theatre. In 2020, Sage won an award from ArtEquity for their advocacy in the arts community. In 2019,  Sage was a finalist for the Community Arts Award (Toronto Arts Foundation). In 2018, Sage won 2nd place Defty Award (Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf) for their ASL poetry production of “The Four Elements.”  Currently, Sage is working on a project called “Deaf, what?” alongside Deaf Artist & Photographer Alice Lo to document the stories of Deaf Canadians with the support of the Canada Council of the Arts.

Izaiah Dockery, actor and parkour athlete (he/him)

Shant Joshi (he/him) is a queer Indo-Canadian producer based in Los Angeles and Toronto. His credits include the films Framing Agnes (Sundance, NEXT Audience Award, NEXT Innovator Award), International Dawn Chorus Day (Berlin, TEDDY Award Winner), Porcupine Lake (Toronto), and Noor & Layla (BlackStar); the hit web series Teenagers (CSAs); and the Dekkoo original series, I’m Fine (Outfest). Shant co-founded the Future of Film Showcase as a launchpad for emerging Canadian filmmakers, and he previously worked at the United Talent Agency, Buchwald, and Lit Entertainment Group (fka Madhouse Entertainment).  He is an alum of the Producers Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, holds a Certificate in Entertainment Law from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was named to York University’s inaugural Top 30 Changemakers under 30.

Shant is currently Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors at BIPOC TV & Film, a sitting member of the Restructuring, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Action Committee at the Canadian Media Producers Association, and sits on the Advisory Board at the Future of Film Showcase.

Saturday, June 4th | (Open to Forum Participants, Accredited Filmmakers, Industry and General Public)

Fresh off the press, Inside Out has just released the Festival Guide to Access! Developed by industry representatives and disability advocates, the Guide is designed to assist festival and event producers to increase accessibility for audiences and artists with disabilities. Join the panel to hear more about the Guide and how you can implement it!

There will be an opportunity for the audience to ask questions.

Panelists:

Steen Starr (she/her)  

Jenny Hiseler (she/her)

Ken Harrower (he/him) 

Panelist Info:

Steen Starr (she/her) has worked for the past three years on accessibility issues in the film festival sector. She was the lead coordinator for the Reel Access project (Toronto) and project manager for the Industry Accessibility Advisory project, which produced the Festival Guide.

Jenny Hiseler (she/her) is an Accessibility Specialist and AODA Consultant with a background in the built environment and accessible media production. She was engaged as co-consultant/coordinator with the Industry Accessibility Advisory project.

Ken Harrower (he/him) is a film and theatre actor and, as a disability advocate, has been a lifelong campaigner for his own rights and independence. Ken participated as a committee member of the Industry Accessibility Advisory project.

Saturday, June 4th | (Open to Forum Participants, Accredited Filmmakers, Industry and General Public)

Join the star and creators behind CBC’s award-winning hit series Sort Of as they discuss its development, challenges and successes getting to camera. Folks will also share some stories from the set as well as discuss the significance of representation on screen in Canada and globally. And if we ask nicely, we may get a sneak peek into season two currently in production.

Panelists:

Bilal Baig (they/them), Co-Creator, Writer, Actor

Fab Filippo (he/him), Co-Creator, Writer, Director

Jennifer Kawaja (she/her), Executive Producer

Panelist Info:

Bilal Baig (they/them) — Co-creator, executive producer, co-showrunner and lead of the CBC original series Sort Of

Bilal Baig is a queer, trans-feminine, Muslim playwright, performer and workshop facilitator. Bilal’s first play, Acha Bacha, had its world premiere in 2018 and has been published by Playwrights Canada Press. Other written work in development includes Kainchee Lagaa, Kitne Saare Laloo Yahan Pey Hain, and I want that free mind! Bilal is a core team member at non-profits such as Story Planet and Rivers of Hope, where they develop and facilitate workshops for youth in under-resourced neighbourhoods in Toronto focused on creative writing and literacy (Story Planet), and combatting Islamophobia through the arts (Rivers of Hope).

Fab Filippo (he/him) — Co-creator, executive producer, co-showrunner, writer and director of the CBC original series Sort Of     

Fab is an award-winning actor, screenwriter, playwright and director. Most recently he wrote and directed the critically acclaimed and award-winning series Save Me, which was nominated for 20 international festival awards and a Webby Before that, he developed a new half-hour for 20th Century Fox. As a playwright, he was most recently nominated for a Dora Award for his play The Summoned. Before that he was on staff as writer and co-produced NBC’s comedy Working the Engels, co-wrote true crime indie Perfect Sisters and co-created and directed half-hour Showcase and ABC hit comedy Billable Hours in which he starred. 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 ground-breaking Showtime series Queer as Folk. He is often recognized for a recurring role on the hit Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Jennifer Kawaja (she/her) — President and Executive Producer of Scripted English Content at Sphere Media

Jennifer Kawaja is president of scripted content at Sphere Media. The company’s recent credits include: CBC series THE PORTER, airing on BET+ in the USA; the Hot Docs 2021 jury prize winner for the feature length documentary ONE OF OURS by Yasmine Mathrin, CBC series TRICKSTER (TIFF 2020, Official Selection), airing on platforms internationally including SyFy (UK), Canal +, CW and AMC Networks; award-winning Bell Media crime drama CARDINAL, which completed its fourth and final season in 2020 on platforms including Hulu, BBC2 and Canal+; and RANSOM for TF1/Corus/CBS with eOne, which aired 3 seasons in over 100 territories worldwide. Previous television includes Afghanistan-set 13 part limited series COMBAT HOSPITAL (Global/ABC/Sony Int’l); the Lookout Point, Julian Fellowes-penned mini-series Titanic with ITV; and South African/UK co-pro mini-series DIAMONDS (CBC/ABC). She started out making TV Movies such as ONE DEAD INDIAN, and feature films including HOW SHE MOVE, UK co-pro TOUCH OF PINK, and NEW WATERFORD GIRL which were celebrated internationally after their opening at Sundance.