We are very grateful to our wonderful sponsors for helping to make this event possible.
Friday, March 9th 7 pm
See who’s attending Women Making Waves and start networking on our LinkedIn Event page.
Opening Reception
Kickstart the weekend at our marvelous mezzanine meet-n-greet as colleagues from all four Atlantic provinces gather to gab, giggle and nibble while rendezvous-ing with old friends and discovering potential project partners. Great company and a good time guaranteed. Bien sûr.
Saturday, March 10th 8:15 amRegistration and Continental Breakfast
Seton Hall, MSVU, 166 Bedford Highway
Start the day with a cup of java, a fruit kabob, a croissant and lots of conversation as the program warms up for…
9:15 am A Conversation With Kari Skogland
>Join TV and radio journalist Christine McLean in a candid conversation with award winning director, writer and producer Kari Skogland. Skogland’s versatile and varied film and TV career has taken her all over the world, working with remarkable actors (Sir Ben Kingsley, Ellen Burstyn, Ellen Page, Jim Sturgess), in production situations large and small, series and features – the full gamut of our challenging industry. A longtime advocate for women in film, Kari will share her experiences and insights as a leading Canadian filmmaker, and the choices she’s made and continues to make as a working mom in the industry.
Kari Skogland
Kari’s remarkable career began with directing award-winning commercials and music videos. In 2002, Kari was named by Hollywood Reporter as one of its “Ten Directors to Watch” for her debut as writer-director of Liberty Stands Still. Kari quickly made her mark in television joining the successful series Traders (nominated for 9 Geminis). Her films The Size of Watermelons, Men With Guns and Liberty Stands Still have all screened and won awards at major festivals around the world. She won the DGC Best Director for her work on the miniseries Terminal City. Kari’s film, Fifty Dead Men Walking, premiered at a gala at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008, won Critics’ Top Ten and the Vancouver Film Festival’s top prize, plus a Genie for best adapted screenplay. Most recently Kari was nominated for a Gemini for her directing/showrunning work on the series pilot Shattered which was nominated for 3 Geminis.
HOST: Christine McLean
Christine is a Fredericton-based broadcaster, writer and educator, a frequent host on CBC Radio in New Brunswick and for three seasons was the New Brunswick panelist on the regional CBC-TV show Short Film Face-off.
Christine is the Chair of WIFT-AT’s Membership Committee.
10:30 am Coffee Break
10:45 am Panel
Re: Unions – Getting Our Dues
They rep above-the-line pros, below-the-line pros, in front of the camera and behind. From prep to post, there’s no getting around it – our unions and guilds are a major force. They provide training and skills when and where no one else can or will, advocating for all of us working in the biz. They also play one more key role – fighting for gender parity in the workplace. Without question, there is NO business like show business. And when you’ve got a problem, who are you going to call? YOUR rep. And here they are, face to face.
Guests: Ferne Downey (ACTRA National), Richard Hadley (ACTRA Maritimes), Tim Storey (DGC), Gary Vermier (IATSE) Host: Amanda Coles
HOST: Amanda Coles
Amanda Coles is a lecturer at the Centre for Labour Studies at Brock University inSt. Catharines, Ontario. Her current research examines the role of unions in the development of cultural policy for the Canadian independent film and television production sector. Amanda is also the union and public policy research consultant for Women In View, a national network that monitors women’s access to and participation in the Canadian screen-based industries.
Ferne Downey
Now based in Toronto, Ferne Downey is a graduate of Dalhousie University’s theatre department. Beginning right here in Halifax, Ferne has worked for more than 30 years as an actor in theatre, radio, television and film. Since 1991, Downey has been active in governing ACTRA and advocating for performers’ rights. She is currently serving her second term as ACTRA’s National President and her first term as an Executive Vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress. She is a very recent graduate of the Harvard Trade Union Leadership Program. She is also ACTRA’s representative on the ACTRA Fraternal Benefit Society Board of Governors.
Richard Hadley
Richard trained as an Actor in his native England and was part of the National Youth Theatre Company for three years. After several years living in the Netherlands he immigrated to Canada. Richard worked in the arts management and not-for-profit sectors in Toronto and Halifax before moving to ACTRA Maritimes. ACTRA is a national union with offices coast-to-coast. Each branch is governed by a local council with representation on ACTRA’s National Council.
Tim Storey
Tim Storey has been involved in the motion picture industry in Canada for over 20 years. Working principally in Toronto, Tim rose through the ranks to become a top production coordinator with experience in all formats, from feature films to docu-dramas. Since 2003, Tim has been a union business agent, first with IATSE Local 411 in Ontario, and currently for the Directors Guild of Canada, Atlantic Regional Council. Working with executive boards and dynamic memberships, Tim is responsible for negotiating contracts and conditions for members engaged on motion picture productions in Atlantic Canada.
Gary Vermeir
Gary is the business agent of IATSE Local 849, motion picture studio production technicians. Previously, he spent thirteen years as the Branch Representative of ACTRA Maritimes and before that, was an actor on stages and film sets throughout Atlantic Canada. He has served as Chair of the Film Advisory Committee, the Chair of PAL Halifax and as the Treasurer of the NS Motion Picture Industry Association. With his wife Angela, he has written several hours of documentary, magazine and children’s television.
12 Noon LUNCH
1:30 pm Workshop
The Permission Slip: Avoid Wrong Turns With Copyright
Learn the latest on how to obtain, reduce costs and limit risks using stock footage, stills and recorded music. Where to go, how much it will cost, how long can you use it and what’s the deal with YouTube—Elizabeth Klinck will help you navigate the cluttered waters of copyright.
Elizabeth Klinck
Elizabeth Klinck has worked as producer, researcher and clearance specialist on numerous award-winning Canadian, American and British documentary films that have garnered Emmy, Gemini, Peabody and Academy awards. Elizabeth serves as a board member of FOCAL International and History Makers International. She is a founding chairperson of the Visual Researchers Society of Canada and a member of WIFT Toronto and DOC.
1:30 pm Digital Media Workshop
Hi-Tech/Hi-Touch: Building a winning audience engagement strategy
Learn how to build an audience for a film, TV, transmedia or web project with digital marketing and social media expert Julie Giles. Julie will introduce her approach via case study examples from two very different projects: teen detective series Ruby Skye, P.I. and the nature documentary Vine of the Soul. Julie will also examine the role of content (a lot of it), search (how to make yourself Google-able), social media (Twitter is not going anywhere, just give in) and publicity in developing a winning online strategy.
Julie Giles
Julie is a marketer, publicist, producer and filmmaker—not necessarily in that order. She is Chief Madhatter at GreenHAT Digital, a digital marketing agency that identifies, builds and strengthens audience engagement around original and branded film, TV, video, transmedia and web content.
1:30 pm Workshop
Kari Skogland Workshop: Candid Insights from a Writer/Director In Action
How does the director begin in adapting a novel to write her script? How does she make the transition from writer to director on the finished script? How does she interact and direct actors? This workshop gives a ‘fly-on-the-wall” perspective as Kari shares with the audience her approach to writing and directing and working with actors using scenes from her award winning film Fifty Dead Men Walking.
3:30 pm Coffee Break
Grab a coffee or a juice as you gab and ponder all that’s been filling your brain with ideas, information, inspiration. Up next, no decisions needed for where you should be but in the audience for…
3:45 pm Women In Comedy Panel
For a Funny Time, Call…
In the wake of the highly successful Bridesmaids, are hilarious women finally being recognized in the industry and by the public as legitimate performers, rather than – um, dare we say - ‘periodic’ anomalies? These four fabulous comics would’ve begged to differ years ago. Featuring a comedy gamut of seasoned TV vets to the latest viral sensations—and the sticky stages in between—this all-female panel will address heckling, hemlines and ‘hackery,’ and how to make your way in one of entertainment’s most unforgiving landscapes.
Guests: Cheryl Hann, Cathy Jones, Nikki Payne, Christine Taylor Host: Nancy Regan
HOST: Nancy Regan
For most of her adult life, Nancy Regan had a conventional job to which she would go daily…and because her work as the Host of CTV’s Live at 5 was televised to 300,000 people, she never had to answer the question, “what do you do?”. Now she is confronted with that query constantly, and her answers change according to the day. Here are some the frontrunners: Chauffeur, Chef, Speech Coach, Dog-walker, MC, Tutor, Writer, House-keeper, Actress, Errand-runner, Child-Psychologist, Grocery-procurer, and Painter. Admittedly, only a few of these responsibilities are accompanied by financial remuneration, but Nancy considers them all important and even, occasionally, fulfilling!
Cheryl Hann
Cheryl Hann is a comedian with the sketch troupe Picnicface. In her work on their eponymous television show, she tries to spread a message of female empowerment and hopes to prove that women are in fact VERY funny.
Cathy Jones
Master of a thousand voices, Cathy Jones is a Canadian television icon and an audience favourite for an unprecedented 25 years. She’s a founding member of the award-winning comedy troupe CODCO, past member of the Wonderful Grand Band, and has starred in every season of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. A brilliant stage actress, her one-woman shows include Wedding in Texas and Me, Dad and The Hundred Boyfriends. Cathy’s film career includes the lead role in the Mike Jones classic, Secret Nation. Cathy is as popular with her peers as she is with the fans, winning an incredible 18 Gemini Awards for her work as a writer and performer. Cathy is a passionate advocate for the environment, a Buddhist, mother and a proud grandmother.
Nikki Payne
A lot sure has happened for Nikki Payne since moving west from her trailer park in Nova Scotia. Her sharp tongue, engaging charm and trademark lisp has won her multiple Canadian Comedy Awards and Gemini nominations. Nikki performed at major comedy festivals such as Kilkenny’s Cat Laughs, The Las Vegas Comedy Festival and Montreal’s Just For Laughs. You may have seen Nikki on your television in Made in Canada, Video On Trial, Comedy Now and Nikki’s Funtime Show. Nikki has also branched out to television in the good ol’ U. S. of A, making it to the semi-finals of season five’s Last Comic Standing. You can also see her on Showtime’s Hot Tamales.
Christine Taylor
Christine (Tiny) Taylor’s party trick is impeccably mixing the sacred with the profane. Her first play Man On The Moon Woman On The Pill and its B&W short, The Last Supper (starring 12 topless female disciples), won her a bomb threat. Too Little Too Late Too Loaded, The Pink Show, Happyland and The Juicy Danger Show followed. Christine’s brand of rash burlesque, vulnerable puppet shows and asinine shadow plays leave her audience feeling prepubescent. Her aptitude for combining sexually astute banter with outrageous costumes has caught the attention of very diverse publications from Playboy to The Prague Post.
6:30pm Dinner in the Georgian
Georgian Room, Lord Nelson Hotel, 1515 South Park Street
After such a full day, let’s have a great big dinner party and refuel! Settle into the beautiful Lord Nelson Hotel in downtown Halifax, dish up some great Indian food and capitalize on the connections you’ve been making all day long. Or pass the naan and make some new ones!
9pm Saturday Night Screening
Regency Ballroom, Lord Nelson Hotel, 1515 South Park Street
The Cake - Director: Ester Richardson (WFTV)
Mrs. Anderson is a stubborn woman who cannot let go of the past, even in the face of desperate pleas for her help. (United Kingdom, 9 min.)
Menisus – Director: Mari-Elana Doyle (WIFTNZ)
An experimental journey into human nature where we learn what some would say our souls already know: the spirit is more powerful than the flesh. (New Zealand, 8 min.)
AWOL – Director: Deb Shoval (WIFLA)
Disappointment in love can send someone AWOL in the heart. The front lines are the only defense. (United States, 12 min.)
Flush – Director: Megan Wennberg (WIFT-AT)
A daughter’s long time rage at her father’s life choices finally comes to light as she wants to take his ashes back home with her. (Nova Scotia, 11 min.)
The Lost Garden: The Life and Cinema of Alice-Guy Blaché – Director: Marquise Lepage
Alice Guy-Blaché was a filmmaker before the word even existed. She made her first film at the end of the last century, when cinema was still new. After directing, producing and/or writing more than 700 films, she slipped into oblivion. The Lost Garden rescues the story of one of cinema’s most fearless pioneers. (Canada, NFB, 53 min.)
Sunday, March 11th
10:15 am If The Show Fitz: A Conversation with Award Winning Sheri Elwood
How To Get Your Own Hit Television Series in Fifteen Years or Less
Ela! Greek Taverna, 1565 Argyle St.
Veteran writer Sheri Elwood jumped around the industry, successfully writing comedy for all manner of shows and networks. But now she’s living the dream: writing and running her very own show. In this revealing conversation, the creator and showrunner of the Gemini award-winning series Call Me Fitz, (airing on HBO in Canada and DirecTV in the US), will discuss all the elements that comprise a television series, from pitch to development through casting and shooting (in Nova Scotia!). You’ll find out what the term “showrunner” really means.
Sheri Elwood
Sheri is a graduate of Ryerson University and recipient of the National Apprenticeship Award from the Academy of Canadian Film and Television, which launched her to many seasons of comedy writing for networks including Disney, Fox, The Family Channel and YTV. Her first feature film, the romantic teen drama Deeply, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was also nominated for four Genie Awards. In 2010, Elwood created the edgy cable series Call Me Fitz, starring Jason Priestley, for TMN/Movie Central, now in its third season.
HOST: Noreen Golfman
Noreen Golfman is professor of English and Dean of Graduate Studies at Memorial University. She is founding Director and Chair of the Board of the St John’s International Women’s Film Festival, has been Director of the MUN Cinema Series for almost 20 years and is Vice-Chair of the Newfoundland Labrador Film Development Corporation. She has served as a writer and commentator for CBC radio and television.
12 Noon The WAVE Awards Brunch
After a weekend of talk, it’s time for action— celebrating women making real waves in their world. WIFT-Atlantic has created the Wave Awards to salute outstanding women in the region doing outstanding things in or in support of our industry. Instead of strict and limiting categories—nominations are made by the public for any woman who shows excellence in leadership, mentorship, dedication, vision or straight-up awesomeness. Awesome.
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