BIPOC TV & Film

06/05/2024

We’re excited to unveil the extraordinary storytellers selected for the sophomore edition of the Unscripted Producers Lab, in partnership with Bell Media. Join us in congratulating this year's cohort:

🌟 Jermaine Bagnall
🌟 Jason Bailey
🌟 Kerriann Cardinal
🌟 Temo Primrose Gare
🌟 Jonah Lee-McNamee
🌟 Ryan Lindsay
🌟 Tamiko Potts
🌟 Matt Rubio
🌟 David Trang

Over the course of this week, participants will be strengthening their leadership skills and diving deeper into development and production workflows with the Bell Media team, as well as guest speakers Trevor Borris, Nicole Butler, Andrea Griffith and Boman Martinez-Reid. Following the lab intensive, industry mentors will support the participants for six months to strengthen their network and activate their career goals.

Learn more about the program, and this year’s cohort at bipoctvandfilm.com/unscripted-producers-lab

31/10/2023

📣CALLING ALL BIPOC-OWNED PRODUCTION COMPANIES

Applications are open for our recently announced new program ELEVATE, presented by Paramount+ Canada and National Screen Institute, with program partners Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada and academic partners Toronto Metropolitan University.

This 13-month, part-time program is designed to provide support, mentorship, resources, opportunities, and more to stimulate the growth and success of BIPOC producers with production companies.

The application deadline is November 30.

Learn more at the program page:

Serving content creators across Canada to tell unforgettable stories through industry-informed training and mentoring.

27/09/2023

11/08/2023

Join us for CREATING CROSS-BORDER CONTENT: How Hudson Yang went from Fresh Off The Boat to Food TV, a conversation and preview screening of the new Paramount+ series ORDER UP WITH HUDSON YANG.

After spending six years of his young life on television portraying an aspiring chef on Fresh Off The Boat, Hudson Yang has dedicated the past two years to culinary classes, restaurant work, and crafting his dream project: ORDER UP WITH HUDSON YANG. This unscripted food adventure takes him across the US and into Asia, learning from masters of haute and humble kitchens, embracing successes and failures, and always persevering.

Join Hudson and his father / fellow executive producer, journalist Jeff Yang, for a candid conversation. They'll delve into the show's origins in Hudson's college application essay, its journey from Asia partners to European platforms, and its upcoming premiere in Canada through Paramount+ on August 17. The discussion will include audience Q&A, followed by a sneak preview screening of an ORDER UP episode.

We're happy to announce that the event will take place in Toronto and Vancouver, see details below:

TORONTO
Thursday, August 17 from 6 to 9pm
CSI Spadina, Toronto
Hosted by BIPOC TV & Film
Moderated by Anita Li of The Green Line
Register via EVENTBRITE https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/creating-cross-border-content-screening-panel-with-hudson-yang-tickets-696168527807?aff=oddtdtcreator

VANCOUVER
Saturday, August 19 from 1 to 4pm
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver
Hosted by RESO Racial Equity Screen Office
Register via EVENTBRITE

Travel for Hudson and Jeff provided by Air Canada

We're back with another screening + panel event. This round we'll explore the culinary, cross-border journey of ORDER UP WITH HUDSON YANG.

11/07/2023

Happy to share the news of the 2023 Cohort of the Academy’s Executive Residency Program! As the Community Partner of the program’s second year, we are thrilled to celebrate this mentorship opportunity and to congratulate all the participants!

Big shoutout to our alumni:
✨ Laura Friedmann (Showrunner Bootcamp 2022)
✨ Jessica To (Whistler Film Festival Delegation)
✨ Abubakar Khan (Prime Time Delegation)
✨ Leandro Matos (Showrunner Bootcamp 2021)

Learn more about the program and participants by visiting academy.ca

04/05/2023

Join us for an intimate evening of celebration and togetherness!

BIPOC TV & Film + House of Arts invites you to a special in-person screening of the limited drama series Streams Flow From A River, created by Christopher Yip and produced by Fae Pictures.

🗓: 7-10PM ET, Friday, May 12th
📍: Society Clubhouse, 967 College Street, Toronto

The screening will include the first four episodes and follow with a short Q&A with the attending cast and crew.

Register for the screening here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/screening-talkback-of-streams-flow-from-a-river-tickets-630122773177

BIPOC TV & Film + House of Arts TO invites you to a special in-person screening of the limited drama series Streams Flow From A River.

03/04/2023

The Executive Residency Program is back for it’s second year, and applications are open until April 17 🎉

This initiative is dedicated to providing industry access for mid-career professionals who identify as Black, Indigenous, or persons of colour, in order to influence a change in the next generation of executives and decision makers. High-level Advocates will be matched with emerging leaders, to provide insight into how creative and business decisions are made on an executive level.

This program will support six to eight participants selected for placement with one of the program Advocates. Participants will have the opportunity to develop their creative, business, and leadership skills, and to make meaningful connections in the industry.

Applications will close on Monday, April 17, 2023 at 5:00 PM Local Time

Visit academy.ca/execresidency to apply today!
The Executive Residency Program is presented by our Supporting Partner Telefilm Canada; Collaborative Partners Bell Media, Pinewood Toronto Studios, Blue Ant Media, and Boat Rocker; and Community Partner BIPOC TV & Film.

17/03/2023

Announcing the launch of the Accessible Writers’ Lab 2022 Edition Case Study Report!

The Accessible Writers’ Lab was a national program experimenting with what an accessible TV writers room might look like, focusing on collective accessibility, knowledge sharing, and working to create pathways for disabled creatives to thrive in the Canadian television industry.

On March 30, 2023 at 12 PM EDT, you are invited to join a free webinar presentation focusing on key learnings from the Accessible Writers’ Lab report, led by Creative Director Ophira Calof, and made possible with the support of the Writers’ Guild of Canada. ASL interpretation and CART will be provided.

The 2022 Edition cohort included writers Carrie Cutforth, Connor Yuzwenko-Martin, Katarina Ziervogel, Kitoko Mai, M.C Cruz, and Wake Lloire.

A parallel French-language program, inspired by the Accessible Writers’ Lab and administered by l’Académie canadienne du cinéma et de la télévision, the Programme de scénarisation accessible has also released their 2022 Edition case study report.

Check out both reports - available in both English and French - and register for the webinar at https://raffto.ca/accessible-writers-lab-report/ .

If you have any questions about this program, please reach out to [email protected].

The Accessible Writers’ Lab was presented by the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm and Accessible Media Inc., in partnership with ReelAbilities Film Festival Toronto and the Miles Nadal JCC.

Accessible Writers’ Lab The Accessible Writers’ Lab is a national program, designed by Ophira Calof, creating space for 6 disabled writers to experiment with what an accessible writing process might look like for them. The Programme de scénarisation accessible 2022 Edition is a parallel French-...

13/03/2023

Our 2023 Episodic Lab is partnering with ACTRA Toronto to look for BIPOC performers to take part in the intensive's table reads.

The BIPOC TV & Film Episodic TV Writers’ Lab is an intensive, hands-on career development program designed to mentor and train BIPOC writers who are working towards getting their first job in a comedy or drama writing room. In partnership with ACTRA Toronto, we are looking for BIPOC performers to take part in table reads.

The table reads will take place over Zoom on March 25 & 26 and April 1 & 2 (performers must be available for all four dates).

Applications close March 17. Learn more and apply today at: https://airtable.com/shrSN9QPyPvFxOIzK

17/02/2023

TIFF is excited to host Catherine Hernandez for an intimate creator talk before From Page to Screen - Catherine Hernandez on Adapting Scarborough and The Story of Us on February 28th as part of Visa Sharing the Screen.

Participation is limited to keep the space intimate. All participants will receive a ticket to the in-cinema event and a complimentary copy of Catherine's new novel, The Story of Us, courtesy of the Visa Sharing the Screen.

Those interested in participating should sign-up by Tuesday February 21st at 5:00pm. Participants will be selected and notified by Wednesday, February 22nd. Sign-up via this form: https://forms.gle/MYXx3DUpXzKiq84L7

Event Details:
Tuesday, February 28th, 5:30pm to 6:15pm (doors open at 5:00pm)
Light refreshments will be served
Green Room, TIFF Bell Lightbox | 350 King Street

To learn more about From Page to Screen - Catherine Hernandez on Adapting Scarborough and The Story of Us, visit https://tiff.net/events/catherine-hernandez-on-adapting-scarborough-and-the-story-of-us

NOTE: It is recommend that all participants wear a mask, since Catherine is immuno-compromised.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

As part of Visa Sharing the Screen, we are excited to host Catherine Hernandez for an intimate creator talk before From Page to Screen - Catherine Hernandez on Adapting Scarborough and The Story of Us on February 28th. This will be an opportunity for emerging filmmakers and writers to interact with....

15/02/2023

Some fun news to announce!

Eight Black and racialized producers have been selected for BIPOC TV & Film’s inaugural Unscripted Producers Lab, presented by Bell Media.

The program aims to mentor and train mid-career and experienced producers and showrunners interested in developing and producing original unscripted series. Through high-impact interactive workshops, panels, and case studies, co-designed by Sphere Media’s content executive Andrea Griffith and Bell Media senior production executive Tina Apostolopoulos, participants learn how to produce an unscripted (factual, reality, competition) series from start to finish.

Please join us in welcoming our participants 🙌 :

💫 Amita Zamaana
💫 Camille Lawrence
💫 Vatsala Aron
💫 Oswaldo Quiro
💫 Jonathan Jude
💫 Priyanka Desai
💫 Derek Kwan
💫 Sabine Daniel

Read more about the 2023 Unscripted Producers Lab at www.bipoctvandfilm.com/blog/bipoc-tv-film-bell-media-unscripted-producers-lab-2023

Participants, please tag yourselves 👇

08/02/2023

Introducing the Directors' Masterclass with Warren P. Sonoda that will be taking place March 4th & 5th.

Filmmaker Warren P. Sonoda delivers a two-day intensive masterclass for emerging and advanced-level directors with an emphasis on practical techniques and tools, meaningful information and themes, and have-to-be-there anecdotal memories

The workshop will take place Saturday March 4 to Sunday March 5 from 10am to 6pm ET in downtown Toronto (TBD).

Though the workshop is at no cost, we ~highly~ suggest a donation of $50 per selected participant.

Please apply at the form here: forms.gle/HAQcYnjBAMXpz65C8.

**We have a mandatory indoor mask-wearing policy.

01/02/2023

We’re excited to announce the participants of the 2023 CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Catalyst!

Join us in welcoming and congratulating our 2023 participants:

📌 JP Larocque
📌 Amanda Joy
📌 Shannon Masters
📌 Robina Lord-Stafford
📌 Nelu Handa
📌 Vance Banzo

The Showrunner Catalyst offers a high-level on-the-job professional coaching opportunity – designed through an anti-racist, anti-oppressive and equity-focused lens—that provides mid-career to senior BIPOC writers with the tools, experience, support systems and best practices to succeed in the Canadian screen industry.

Some of the key features of the program include
- Master classes focused on the management of the creative process
- Leadership development training
- Core skills development training and wellness support
- Paid placement on a primetime comedy or drama series from writing room, production to post on a network or streaming series
- Monthly 1-1 check-in and advocacy support provided by BIPOC TV & FILM

To learn more about the program, visit bipoctvandfilm.com/showrunner-catalyst

The CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Catalyst, now in its second year, was designed in collaboration with the Canadian Film Centre.

31/01/2023

17/11/2022

We are excited to announce the participants of the BIPOC TV & Film x WBD Access Canada Episodic TV Writers’ Lab 2022 to 2023 cohort!

During this four-month program the writers will be paired 1:1 with an established writer/showrunner mentor to workshop their scripts to be industry-ready, and will experience a simulated writing room environment to learn the dynamics and unspoken rules of working in a writing room.

On top of that, up to 4 of the program participants will be selected for a paid 4-6 week Story Editor Trainee placement in the writing room of an existing series!

Congratulations to our participants, we can’t wait to get this program started!

Join us in welcoming our drama and comedy writers:

Drama Writers:
➡️ Bageshree Vaze
➡️ Helena Morgane
➡️ Kenny Wong
➡️ Linda St. Pierre
➡️ Raghed Charabaty
➡️ Wille Kaite

Comedy Writers:
➡️ Alayna Lafleur
➡️ Alice Wang
➡️ Darcy Waite
➡️ Haaris Qadri
➡️ Julia Rayanne & Mitchell Saddleback
➡️ Nikita Zhang
➡️ Sage Daniels
➡️ Serville Poblete

And a huge THANK YOU to our partners and sponsors: Writers Guild of Canada, Archipelago Productions, Regent Park Film Festival and King Catering

We could not pull off our programs without the support of our community members ❤️

15/11/2022

Congratulations to Natalie Pelletier, the recipient of the inaugural Nathalie Younglai Award for Emerging BIPOC Creatives at the Reel Asian Awards.

Natalie is an Indigenous middle school teacher who went back to school for filmmaking and is writing her first drama pilot.

Thank you to all who submitted. Your voices and life experiences are needed in this industry. We admire the courage it takes for you to make such drastic career changes to pursue your passions and dreams!

Watch the full Reel Asian Award Ceremony on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/NmUV5rULlVY?t=1433

Celebrate this year's filmmakers and tune in to the 2022 Reel Asian Awards Ceremony! Juried by industry professionals, journalists and filmmakers (including ...

11/10/2022

On Oct. 14th, REMC will present its Community Mapping Report. To attend this Reelworld Film Festival in-person event please register at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/launch-of-racial-equity-media-collective-community-mapping-report-tickets-429752058977

About the Report:
The ‘BIPOC Community Mapping’ project was created by the Racial Equity Media Collective (REMC) to start capturing the financial health of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) owned entities in Canada’s screen sector. The research surveyed racially diverse-owned production companies that produce screen content and the racially diverse-led non-profit organizations or associations that represent, showcase, or provide capacity-building services for these diverse creators. The stability of both types of entities is critical to a robust and growing sector.

Moderated by Lisa Valencia-Svensson , E.D. of REMC
Panellists include Filmmaker Amar Wala, E.D. Tonya Williams, Reelworld Screen Institute and E.D. Kadon Douglas, BIPOC TV & Film.

For info on all Reelworld industry panels presented go to https://www.reelworld.ca/industry-panels-2022

04/10/2022

Exciting news! Reel Asian and BIPOC TV & Film introduce the Nathalie Younglai Award which recognizes an emerging Canadian creator over 40 years of age in screen based industries (Film, TV, web series, etc).

We want to hear about what you dream of creating! Applications are due Oct. 24 and will be reviewed by a committee of BIPOC TV+Film members and Nathalie Younglai herself!

More info at ReelAsian.com/nathalie-younglai-award 🌟

16/09/2022

Coming this November: BIPOC TV & Film Unscripted Producers Lab, in partnership with Bell Media. Apply by October 14.

The one-week intensive will run from November 21 to 25 in Toronto, followed by mentorship opportunities, and will focus on how to produce unscripted series.

The one-week intensive will run from Nov. 21 to 25, followed by mentorship opportunities, and will focus on how to produce unscripted series.

22/08/2022

In solidarity with ACTRA National commercial performers in their fight for fair and equitable wages and safe working conditions.

In solidarity with ACTRA commercial performers across Canada in their fight for fair and equitable wages and safe working conditions.

18/08/2022

Toronto Life toasts to the New Hollywood North featuring BIPOC TV & Film founder, Nathalie Younglai and champions Anthony Farrell, Marsha Greene and Vera Santamaria https://torontolife.com/city/the-new-hollywood-north-the-citys-busiest-showrunners/

Meet the city's new crop of showrunners, including Nathalie Younglai, Anthony Q. Farrell, Vera Santamaria and Marsha Greene

12/07/2022

“We’re excited to announce that applications are now open for our 2022 Indigenous Production Assistant Training Program (IPATP) in partnership with Miziwe Biik, Warner Bros. Discovery, the DGC Ontario and the City of Toronto.

A full-time, six-week program, the IPATP provides Indigenous creatives with the skills and knowledge needed to successfully enter the screen-based industry as Production Assistants. Program sessions will take place via Zoom on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from July 26, 2022 to September 10, 2022 with some in-person workshops on weekends.

Training Topics Include:
Overview of Production Departments
Commercial PA, Locations PA, Set PA and Office PA work
Gear and Supplies Orientation
Production protocols, procedures and terminology
Set etiquette & safety
To apply, please visit povfilm.org/apply. Note: all applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (i.e. have received two doses of an approved vaccine) to participate in this program. Applications are due July 15!

12/06/2022

Today at the Banff World Media Festival, we announced our newest program, The CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Catalyst, developed in collaboration with the Canadian Film Centre (CFC).

Congratulations to the inaugural participants Ian Iqbal Rashid, MOTION, and Andrew Burrows-Trotman!
https://www.bipoctvandfilm.com/blog/cbc-bipoc-tv-film-and-the-cfc-launch-the-showrunner-catalyst

Designed for senior-level BIPOC writers, The Showrunner Catalyst is a career-accelerating experience offering master classes, mentorship, and shadowing opportunities on a CBC drama or comedy series.

10/06/2022

Happy Friday folks! TIFF is welcoming the world back to Toronto for its 11-day event that showcases the best in Canadian and international cinema, and they are looking for volunteers!

Volunteers will receive festival access, and also get the chance to make new friends and meet like-minded individuals.

Applications are now open at tiff.net/volunteer . Sign up soon, as orientation for the festival happens in July!

06/06/2022

RSVFX x BIPOC TV&FILM

Join Rocket Science VFX as we partner with BIPOC TV & Film to talk about Careers in VFX. How to get started, what to expect paired with firsthand career advice from RSVFX’s talented team panel. Moderated by Leah Bright, Global Head of People and Culture, panelists include Alek Yochkolovski, Head of CG, MacHalifax Enakadia, Asset Lead and Louise Au, Compositor.

Register Now: https://www.bipoctvandfilm.com/events/rocket-science-vfx-panel

28/05/2022

Working on a film and tv series can be challenging, and some of these challenges are nowhere close to the actual set. One fascinating aspect of the entertainment industry lies in the marketing team's work of finding target audiences for each project. In many projects, the marketing team's work starts far before the cameras begin rolling.

When a great campaign is created, audiences get drawn into the project. However, what happens if the project does not meet expectations? Or if something out of the ordinary interferes with the marketing plan?

What are the tools used to communicate a film or tv series to the general public?

Every movie or tv series has its target audience, and sometimes, finding them is not an easy task. This panel will discuss how these marketing teams work to create a connection between the audience and the project, sparking people’s curiosity and the desire to follow these unknown adventures.

27/05/2022

27/05/2022

The entertainment industry has attempted to deliver more diverse content to audiences. It is a necessary effort, but most of these projects still have white creators at the helm. They are praised for their representation, winning awards and development and production grants without including or consulting diverse perspectives behind the scenes.

16/03/2022

We’re hiring interns! Apply by March 24.

Exciting news: we've teamed up with Racial Equity Media Collective - REMC to offer paid internship placements for individuals interested in forging a career in arts management in the screen sector!

Two interns will be hosted at Hot Docs and two will be hosted at the Racial Equity Media Collective’s partner organization BIPOC TV & Film. More info here: ow.ly/46n730scNnO