During the PEI Screenwriters’ Bootcamp held in Charlottetown recently, sixteen emerging writers, including WIFT-AT members Eva Madden, Jodee Samuelson and Connie Littlefield, spent four gruelling days developing their various projects and had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a contingency of producers and broadcasters including a producer in Toronto, via skype!
Those who were available to take pitches and offer advice included the Head of Development for Whiz Bang Productions, owned by well known actor and producer, Paul Gross; Jamie Gaetz, Investment Analyst with Telefilm Canada; CBC’s Peter Hall, Executive Producer of Programming for the Atlantic Region; Cheryl and Harmony Wagner of Periscope Pictures; Mark Sandiford of Beachwalker Films; and Gretha Rose of Cellar Door Productions.
Gretha Rose of Cellar Door Productions listens as Julie Lewis from Newfoundland Labrador pitches her children’s series: Sassytuna Studios.
Thrilled with the face-to-face and skype-to-skype pitching opportunities, WIFT-AT Board member and Bootcamp Project Coordinator Louise Lalonde commented that “These face-to-face pitch meetings are opening doors for screenwriters and producers, thanks to Jennifer Podemski, who mentored the group working on web and television series. This is a brave new world and skype has become an effective and affordable means of conducting business.”
The event also included a panel with Jill Golick, President of the Writers Guild of Canada, successful television writer and, most recently, creator of the award-winning tween web series, Ruby Skye, PI; Chef Michael Smith, Host and Creator of Chef at Home, Chef Abroad, and a Food Country web and television series; Gretha Rose of Cellar Door Productions, Executive and Creative Producer of several television and web series, including the Chef series; and Adam Perry, Director of Food Country and independent filmmaker. The conversation explored the topic of marketing and producing screen-based entertainment.
And WIFT-AT PEI Board member, Cheryl Wagner, gave a rousing talk on Women in Film and Television – Atlantic and expounded the benefits of joining and supporting women working in film and television.
Bootcamp was made possible thanks to the generous support of Telefilm Canada and Innovation PEI.
Those interested in finding out more should visit the website www.peiscreenwritersbootcamp.net or www.imac.coop or contact Louise (902) 566-1353, youthinkyoucanwrite@yahoo.com.
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