May 28, 2022
10:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT
Virtual
The Accelerator pairs emerging Arab-Canadian filmmakers with emerging producers where they will attend an intensive day of workshops presented by industry professionals on: development, pitching and distribution.
Ten participants will be selected in total to form 5 teams – 5 directors, and 5 producers. Participants can either apply as a team comprised of a producer and a filmmaker, or they can apply individually and be partnered with someone. TAF will partner participants based on their applications detailing their experience, goals and content interests.
Speakers:
Sherien Barsoum
Sherien Barsoum is a producer with the National Film Board of Canada. As an independent filmmaker she directed and produced Cynara, Ride for Promise and Player Zero, winning the Hot Docs Short Film Pitch and Best Canadian Documentary at NorthWest Fest. She was the producer of Dreams in Vantablack and Babe, I Hate To Go, which played top festivals internationally and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. Sherien was also the story consultant on the Oscar-shortlisted Frame 394 and co-produced House of Z, the first feature bought and distributed by Condé Nast, now on Netflix. Sherien is a founding member of the Racial Equity Media Collective, which uses research to advocate on behalf of racialized creators in Canada. She is also the former Director of Programming for the Reelworld Film Festival and served as a board member of the Documentary Organization of Canada.
Christina Piovesan
Christina Piovesan is the founder and principal of First Generation Films, a film and tv production company based in Toronto. Past films include the Cannes Winner Amreeka directed by Cherien Dabis; The Whistleblower directed by Larysa Kondracki, Mouthpiece directed by Patricia Rozema, Paper Year, written and directed by Rebecca Addelman and American Woman directed by Semi Chellas which had its Canadian premiere as a Gala Presentation at TIFF 2019. Her collaboration with Elevation Productions, the production arm of Elevation Pictures, has Christina in post-production on The Exchange directed by Dan Mazer and French Exit directed by Azazel Jacobs. Most recently, Christina was producer on The Nest directed by Sean Durkin which had its premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival
This program was made possible by the generous support of Ontario Creates
