Mentors
Mentees
Ann Bernier
she/her
With more than three decades of experience in the Canadian screen industry, Ann has garnered a reputation for producing high-quality award-winning films.
Ann served as Director of Operations and Development for imX Communications, known for award-winning films such as Margaret’s Museum starring Helena Bonham Carter, Love and Death on Long Island starring John Hurt and Jason Priestly, and while there produced Thom Fitzgerald’s The Wild Dogs and the Canada/France co-production Folle Embellie. Ann has worked closely with Ruby Tree Films where she has produced numerous documentaries including the multi-award-winning feature documentary Fanarchy. She has a long-standing partnership with acclaimed filmmaker John Walker and has been producer on his last three feature documentaries including Assholes: A Theory which was nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards and a WGC Screenwriting Award. Recent work includes two one-hour documentaries for CBC TV, including The Mill which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary.
She is a member of Screen Nova Scotia, Women in Film and Television Atlantic, and the Documentary Organization of Canada and sits on the Board of Directors for FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and the Canadian Media Producers Association.
Louise Lalonde
Lousie Lalonde is a producer of both French and English screen-based entertaiment content. She has written. directed, and produced several short and long-form films and documentaries through her company, Louise Lalonde Productions, as well as several audio books by Atlantic Canadian writers. She is a member of the board for Women in Film and Television – Atlantic (WIFT-AT), the Doc Atlantic Board, and Past President of the Charlottetown Film Society.
Prior to working in the film industry, Louise’s work experience was in education and hospitality. In 2006, she initiated and continues to coordinate a popular annual series of workshops: the PEI Screenwriters’ Bootcamp in partnership with FilmPEI. Five years ago, she initiated The Writer’s Edge, an annual screenwriting retreat for women.
Presently, she has two documentary series in production: Threading the Needle and Summer Camps PEI for Bell Five TV1. When Louise is not on set, she is developing two tv series:The Bowl & Spoon Café, a half-hour comedy, and one-hour bilingual dramedy tv series, Ç’est la Vie/That’s Life. She is also working on a final draft for a feature film, Caroline and Maria. Needless to say, life is never boring in PEI.
Becky Parsons
Becky Parsons is an award-winning cinematographer (Rhonda’s Party), fine art photographer (Kodak Achievement Award) and nominated director (Le Coeur Qui Bat – best music video – Music NB). A graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, she has 20+ years of experience in the photographic and motion picture arts.
She is Director of Photography and/or camera operator on a number of well-known productions, for e.g. ‘À la Valdrague’ tv series, Bruce McDonald’s feature film ‘Weirdos’ and feature documentary ‘Carmine Street Guitars’.
Ashley Finney
she/her
Ashley is a filmmaker with a passion for cinematography. She has a degree in Media Arts and Cultures (Film Production) from the University of New Brunswick, is an active NB Film Co-op member and has been volunteering and working in the NB provincial film community for the past few years. Ashley has been involved in outreach projects promoting film and education in the community including the ‘Cyber Violence Research Project,’ ‘What’s Up Doc?,’ ‘Youth Fusion,’ and ‘Young Citizens’ programs.
Bosede Williams
she/her
Bosede Williams is a Toronto-based filmmaker. Currently, Bosede is directing a block of KINGS OF NAPA for Warner Brothers/OWN. Her other directing credits include DESIGNATED SURVIVOR for ABC/NETFLIX, TRANSPLANT CTV/NBC, HUDSON REX, FRANKIE DRAKE, PRETTY HARD CASES, MURDOCH MYSTERIES and the New York Times 2019 top ten romantic comedy pick MERRY LIDDLE CHRISTMAS. Bosede has written, directed and produced independent short films and has worked as a script supervisor on many award-winning film and tv shows.
Jennie Cyril
she/her
Director, Producer and filmmaker Jennie Cyril is a native of The Bahamas. She is passionate about film and storytelling. Jennie had the opportunity to produce and work on stage plays, short films, commercials and music videos.
She studied digital filmmaking at the New York film academy where she directed her first short “Unforgiven” which won the awards for best director in the Bahamas. Later Jennie entered a film competition sponsored by HBO and Cable Bahamas for Games of Thrones that won. Her film “The Dates” which she produced and directed was broadcast locally in the Bahamas.
In 2015, Jennie moved to Nova Scotia to pursue Television Production at NSCC, where she made a short film that she wrote, produced, directed, shot and edited called “Random Numbers” which won the audience choice awards at the Emerging film festival. Currently, Jennie is in the early stages of pre-production for another short called “The Flip Side”, the script won a small grant from AFCOOP (Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative) that goes towards production.
Deanne Foley
she/her
Deanne Foley is an award-winning Canadian feature film & TV director/writer. She is best known for the critically acclaimed feature film, AN AUDIENCE OF CHAIRS. The film picked up four awards at FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival 2018 including Best Director & Best Picture and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award 2020 for Editing. Her sophomore feature, RELATIVE HAPPINESS, was nominated for Best Picture at the 2015 Directors Guild of Canada Awards, and the ‘Borsos’ Best Canadian Feature at Whistler Film Festival. BEAT DOWN, her debut feature film, garnered three Canadian Comedy Award nominations including Best Direction.
She has directed on CBC’s one-hour procedural drama, REPUBLIC OF DOYLE and the Lifetime TV Movie CHRISTMAS RESERVATIONS starring Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) on location in the USA. She is a member of the Directors Guild of Canada & Writers Guild of Canada. Deanne was awarded BMO Artist of the Year by Arts NL in 2015. She received the 2020 WAVE award for Vision & Leadership by Women in Film Television-Atlantic.
Nadine d’Entremont
she/her
Nadine d’Entremont is the Volunteer and External Relations Manager at FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, where she manages the festival’s volunteer program and coordinates grant proposals. She is also a writing instructor in Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development.
Nadine has written several screenplays, including a short that she produced in 2020. She currently has a feature-length script in Acadian French in development.
Donna Davies
Donna Davies is an award-winning writer, producer and director. Her films that have
toured festivals internationally and aired on CBC, Bravo, The Movie Network, IFC, HBO, Netflix, Hulu, Starz and EPIX.
Donna’s long list of credits includes the dramatic shorts Monster Proofing, Seven Crows and A Space for Sara and numerous documentaries and documentary series. Feature docs include A Sigh and A Wish, a popular foray into Maritime music folklore, Nightmare Factory, winner of numerous international awards including Best Documentary Feature at the Atlanta Horror Film Festival, Award of Excellence at Indie Fest and Fanarchy, winner of Best Documentary at the prestigious Boston SciFi.
Davies is a member of the Canadian Media Producers Association, Women in Film and
Television Atlantic and Screen Nova Scotia. She is the recipient of a 2018 Women in
Film and Television Award for Best Director and a 2017 WAVE award for outstanding
leadership and vision in the Atlantic Canadian Film industry.
Terri Lynn Kearsey
Terri Lynn is originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and moved to Nova Scotia in 2010 to attend the Radio and Television Arts program at the Nova Scotia Community College. She graduated in June of 2012 with a specialization in Television Production and was hired by Chuck Calder at 45 North Broadcast as producer and host for a new series “Atlantic Journal”; a magazine-style show that allowed me to meet and talk to the people, visit the beautiful places and promote the ideas from the 4 Atlantic provinces. During her 4 years with 45 North, she also developed a fitness show and specials to promote the local filmmakers and coverage of FIN, the Atlantic Film Festival.
Terri Lynn spent 2 seasons as the Segment and Research Producer on The Curse of Oak Island; Production Co-Ordinator for numerous doc-style shows and music videos. Most recently she has gotten into the scripted world in the AD department- specifically as a 2nd Assistant Director.
When she’s not on set, Terri Lynn is likely found on a hike, creating in the kitchen or mastering the art of curly hair!
Emily Bridger
Emily Bridger is a writer, filmmaker, and actor from St. John’s, NL. She has written six short films and directed five short films which have screened at various festivals nationally and internationally. Emily is the recipient of the 35th Annual ArtsNL CBC Emerging Artist of the year award, 2016 RBC Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award, the 2018 WIFT-AT All Access Pass Award, and is an alumna of the Women in the Director’s Chair (WIDC). Emily received the NL Arts & Letters Award for her stageplay Our Hell is a Good Life (2018). Emily was co-writer on the six-part romantic comedy feature, Hopeless ‘Romantic’ (2018).
Emily’s feature film screenplay, Little Orphans, was selected for the 2017 Whistler Film Festival Praxis Screenwriters Lab as well as the 2018 Telefilm Talent to Watch Program. Directed by Ruth Lawrence and produced by Jenny Hawley, Little Orphans premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival 2020. Little Orphans is the winner of the Borsos Award for Best Canadian Feature at the Whistler Film Festival 2020.
Megan Legere
Megan Legere is an emerging writer and director based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia. After having graduated top of her class in the Screen Arts program at Nova Scotia Community College, she immediately threw herself into local film productions, getting work as an Assistant Director and Camera Trainee on several large projects. In
between working on productions as a crew member, Megan works on her own creative
projects; her short film “Grown Up” was selected for the FIN Festival in 2020, and most recently she created a series titled “Queen of Spades” which has been pitched at the EFM as part of the Canada Meet the Series and at the NS Content Market. She is most interested in telling honest and real stories from a woman’s perspective and looks forward to continuing to explore storytelling as a whole.
Heidi Brander
she/her
Heidi Brander is an award-winning writer for some of CBC’s most popular comedy series: This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Baroness Von Sketch Show, and Still Standing. In 2019 she was promoted to head writer of 22 Minutes. She has also written for MTV Live, CTV’s Spun Out, and the popular web series Just Passing Through.
Heidi has performed all over Canada and the U.S. as a stand-up comedian and has also appeared as a pop culture expert on Entertainment Tonight Canada, MTV Live, and Much Music’s Video on Trial. Her other accolades include a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for Best Stand-Up Newcomer, and a win over Ryan Gosling in an elementary school lip-sync competition.
Renée Hackett
she/her
Renée Hackett is an actor/writer and producer based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. As well as extensive acting credits over a 25-year career, Renée has spent the last five years delving deeper into the world of writing, producing and (very recently) directing. For television, Renée was the development story coordinator on “Little Dog” (CBC) and “Frontier” (Netflix/Discovery). This past year she wrote and directed the short film “For Deborah”.
Her short film “Some Saturdays”, which she wrote, produced, and starred in was an official selection of numerous film festivals throughout 2019. Renée is the recipient of the 2019 Arts NL Rhonda Payne Award, an alumna of the WIDC-CAM at the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, and a participant in the inaugural WIFT-Atlantic mentorship program and The LA Emerging Producers Mission.
Renée recently participated in this year’s PEI Screenwriter’s Bootcamp (Get Your Story Straight) with her feature “Valediction” and is currently developing her series, “What Odds”, a half-hour comedy-drama series for television.
Lea Marin
she/her
Lea Marin is the Director of Development, Drama, for the CBC, and is responsible for driving and overseeing the quality and diversity of the drama development slate.
A graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s Producers’ Lab, prior to joining the CBC, Lea was a Senior Producer with the National Film Board of Canada where she developed and produced several documentaries and interactive projects.
Some of her credits include Charles Officer’s Unarmed Verses, Astra Taylor’s What Is Democracy?, and Chelsea McMullan’s My Prairie Home.
Erica Meus-Saunders
she/her
A storyteller by ‘nurture’, Erica Meus-Saunders left the Bahamas and moved to Nova Scotia 6 years ago to attend film school. After graduating in 2017, she jumped quickly into the role of writer, director and most recent, emerging producer. She’s racked up a few good shorts that have played at various film festivals.
Her most recent short documentary, The Dreamers (9 mins) was produced in May 2019. Erica was both director and producer. It played at FIN: Atlantic International Festival (2019), The Emerging Lens 2019 and the Halifax Black Film Festival 2020.
Erica is currently in production of her first short doc with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as a writer and director, while also working on development of other projects, including scripted work. She’s employed at Screen Nova Scotia as Member Services and Operations Coordinator (part-time) AND runs an online platform, Story-Book Entertainment Inc. where she shares stories in various formats.
One of her favourite quotes, “If your dreams don’t scare you just a little, they’re not big enough.” For more information on her projects, visit: https://www.ericameussaunders.com/
Lori Lozinski
she/her
Lori Lozinski is an award-winning filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC and the President of Violator Films Inc, an independent production company that has been telling maverick stories since 2007. She is recognized for producing socially conscious character-driven stories with female creatives.
Recent and notable collaborations include the feature documentary Kimmapiyiipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy (Hot Docs 2021 World Premiere); the Canada/Norway Co-Produced feature film The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (Berlinale 2019 World Premiere, Rogers Award for Best Canadian Film, winner of Achievement in Cinematography, Direction, and Original Screenplay by the Canadian Screen Awards 2020); the feature film Sugar Daddy (Canadian Screen Award for Original Song and Supporting Actor 2021); the short documentary The Pilgrimage; the immersive 5000sq ft installation Transmissions; the documentary RETAKE ; the feature film Once There Was A Winter and as Executive Producer for the feature film Never Steady, Never Still.
Lori is an alumna of the Canadian Film Centre, Trans Atlantic Partners (TAP), Women In The Director’s Chair, the Rotterdam Lab and was nominated for the 2019 & 2020 CMPA Indie Screen Awards for Established Producer.
Kaitlyn Adair
she/her
Kaitlyn Adair is an actor, writer, director, and producer from Bathurst, New Brunswick. She started her career in film working as an actor in film and television in Vancouver, B.C. She attended Vancouver Film School in 2011 and has been pursuing her passion for film since. Kaitlyn won the Jane Leblanc Filmmaker Award for her first film on March 2.4 which also allowed her to attend a post-production residency at The Banff Centre For Arts and Creativity. She received the Short Film Venture Grant and the NB Joy Award for her second film Together We Move.
Kaitlyn is dedicated to feminist-based media and creating inclusive spaces for marginalized communities to partake in visual arts.
Maggie Thomas
she/her
Maggie has been a script supervisor for over twenty-five years. She trained under a programme run by ACFC a film union in Toronto but really began her career when she moved to Nova Scotia in 1989. Her first project was “Little Kidnappers” starring Charleton Heston and her most recent projects were Under the Weather a feature film with Bill MacGillivray, Trailer Park Boys and Moonshine, season one. In between, she has worked on feature films, TV series and MOWs, from large American productions to the small local productions of which she is most proud.
Maggie helped create the Set Etiquette Workshop which is the requirement for all new members of IATSE Local 849.
Margaret Donahoe
she/her
Margaret Donahoe has had a winding career path through facilitating, educating, recreation, and theatre but is looking to make the film industry her professional home permanently. Participating in the FILM 5 program at AFCOOP opened up a world of possibility and she has been pursuing work on set for the past two years. She believes in the power of storytelling and in her own creative work is interested in exploring ideas of self in relation to others. Margaret is fat and queer and an Aries sun.
Melani Wood
she/her
Melani is a Producer of documentary, narrative film, music video and commercial projects. She also works as a Production Manager and Assistant Director for film and television. When not in the office or working in the field, you will likely find her camping, canoeing or in a coffee shop. Melani’s first feature film “Bone Cage ” was nominated for two Canadian Screen awards in 2021, and is currently playing film festivals around the world. She has recently started pre-production on a feature documentary set to go to camera in the Fall of 2021.
Melani is an alumni of the Hot Docs Documentary Accelerator Program.
Danielle d’Entremont
she/her
Danielle Marie d’Entremont is an emerging Producer, Writer & Actress. Branching into international film territory, she has experience wearing multiple hats on film sets, behind the camera and on camera.
With a passion for social justice issues and appreciation for creative expression in all outlets, she is a multifaceted force to keep your eyes on in the scene.
Sarah Byrne
she/her
Sarah Byrne is a versatile and creative picture editor, best known for her work on the cult hit Trailer Park Boys. Over the past 20 years, she has honed her visual storytelling skills by editing a wide range of projects from broadcast documentaries and half-hour comedy series to low-budget feature films. She is an editor who enjoys the collaborative environment of filmmaking and sees the importance of staying technically adaptable in the ever-changing digital landscape. In 2017, she became an AFCOOP lifetime member and received Screen Nova Scotia’s Crew Excellence Award. Recent editing work includes Seals Of Sable Island for CBC’s Nature Of Things, Free Reins for CBC’s Firsthand and the feature-length documentary Radical Age for VisionTV. Sarah is currently editing a feature-length documentary for Jackie Torrens & Jessica Brown, based on their short film Bernie Langille Wants To Know Who Killed Bernie Langille.
Serena Rogers
she/her
Serena Rodgers started her career making sand on glass animations and experimental Art films that toured the film festival circuit in the UK & US. She then moved on to broadcast commercials and corporate videos in Canada. Having taught on a MA-Interactive Arts and Animation to BA Hons Illustration students, she brings a range of experience and knowledge of the history of Arts and experimental Video. She has been editing in various forms for 15 years.
She is passionate about pursuing narrative TV Editing as a new chapter within her journey in the multimedia field.
Shelley Thompson
she/her
Based in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, Thompson trained at RADA (UK); Canadian Film Centre (CFC2015); Women In The Directors Chair (2016/17); the NY Writers Lab (2018) supported by Meryl Streep/Nicole Kidman/Oprah.
She’s received and been nominated for Dora (Toronto), Merritt (Halifax) awards for stage work, and Geminis and ACTRA awards for film/TV work, including, TRAILER PARK BOYS, THE CHILD REMAINS, SPLINTERS, TRAILER PARK BOYS, and TWO PENNY ROADKILL. Also known for LABYRINTH.
As a writer/director, her short films (DAWG, BATS, PEARLS) have screened internationally with her most recent, DUCK DUCK GOOSE winning Best Atlantic Short at FIN (Halifax International Film Festival). DDG was selected by Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent at Clermont-Ferrand and was a finalist in CBC’s Short Film Faceoff.
The parent of a young trans man, the singer/songwriter T. Thomason, she is a champion of LGBTQ issues.
Her first feature DAWN HER DAD & THE TRACTOR shot in August 2020 in Nova Scotia and premiered (May/June 2021)at Canada’s premiere LGBTQ+2SP festival, INSIDEOUT.
Rebecca Tremblay
she/her
Rebecca Elmire Tremblay is a trilingual actor and voice actor (French, Spanish, English) passionate about telling great stories! On-screen credits include ‘Bad Therapy’ (StrongSide Entertainment – for which she was nominated for Best Performance), ‘Digi-Dating, Anyone?’ (Malley Films) and ‘It’s OK to be Awesome’ (Hemmings House Pictures). She’s acted in 9 commercials over the past two years and completed 10 voice-overs projects, including the animated TV series ‘Lil Glooscap & the Legends of Turtle Island’ (principal voice) and the ‘Fortune of Wolves’ Audiobook. Rebecca is also a singer/songwriter, dancer, screenwriter and content creator, and she’s represented by an agent in Toronto.
Tamara Dawit
she/her
Tamara Mariam Dawit is an Ethiopian-Canadian producer and director. Her most recent film is the award-winning documentary Finding Sally which premiered in 2020 at Hot Docs. She is currently producing the feature documentary Made in Ethiopia and two Ethiopian feature dramas.
In addition to producing Tamara works as an advisor in the screen sector on programming and policies to address equity and inclusion. In Canada, she is a founding board member of the Racial Equity Media Collective and in Africa of Ethiopia Creates and the East Africa Screen Collective. Tamara was a resident in Docs in Progress, the Logan Non-Fiction Residency and is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, Doha Producers Lab, Rotterdam Lab, Apost, and EAVE.
Liesl Mullholland
she/her
Liesl Mulholland is an emerging videographer and filmmaker based in Nova Scotia, Canada. In 2019 she was selected to participate in the Women in Film and Television Atlantic (WIFT-AT): New Waves program, which offers introductory workshops in key areas of screen- based media. In 2020 Liesl was then selected for the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative (AFCOOP) FILM1 program.
She is currently a member of AFCOOP, WIFT-AT and Screen Nova Scotia. In 2020, Liesl was the videographer apprentice and co-director on the documentary project “Artist in the Black”. This work is currently experiencing a successful festival run in North America and the United Kingdom.
Liesl was awarded the 2021 IOM Media WAVE Award from WIFT-AT and she continues to explore opportunities to develop her technical and practical skills in videography and filmmaking so that she can add her voice to the landscape of female, Black storytellers straddling the Caribbean and Canada.
Gabriele Schnutgen
Cyndi Levine
she/her
Cynthia, who usually goes by Cyndi in person, grew up in a small town in Massachusetts, went to college in Maine, and then lived in various other places- Arizona, San Francisco, Vermont, and the Hudson Valley of New York, before moving to Halifax after getting married 3 years ago. She has an undergraduate degree in Religion and Master of Fine arts degree in Painting, and has been employing both of these, doing work varying from animation and video editing to helping run meditation retreats.
To list some varied experiences: she has played in a band in SF, worked on 3D special effects on a Hollywood movie and a TV show for kids, showed her own paintings and Stop-motion animation in galleries, worked on many TV commercials in NYC, worked with Tibetan Buddhist teachers to create meditation hall environments, taught hundreds of meditators how to eat in the Zen oriyoki tradition, and taught college students
drawing skills.
She is interested in developing professional film and TV set skills, as well as her own art and craft in auteur film making, and is proud to be a new member of WIFT-AT.