MENTORS
Jenn Brown
Jenn Brown is a respected leader in the arts with 20 years of experience driving sustainable growth in the not-for-profit cultural sector. In 2025, Atlantic Business magazine recognized her as one of Atlantic Canada’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Business. In 2024, Jenn was nationally recognized by Business / Arts as one of 25 leaders shaping Canada’s next wave of artistic development, and honoured with the Circle of Distinction—Equity at Work Award by YWCA St. John’s. As Executive Director of Canada’s longest-running women’s film festival, she has played a pivotal role in transforming it into a thriving platform for underrepresented voices. Under her leadership, the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival has received the inaugural Premier’s Medal for the Arts, the Boundary Pusher Award from the St. John’s Board of Trade, and was named by USA Today as one of the top ten film festivals worth traveling to.
Shailene Garnett
Shailene is an actor, director, and producer who grew up in Montreal and Toronto and is now based in Los Angeles. She made her film debut in Matt Johnson’s The Dirties in 2013. She has had supporting roles in several series including CBC’s Diggstown, the Freeform fan-favourite Shadowhunters, and the Netflix original series Between, and Amazon’s Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Shailene has an extensive background in early childhood education. She worked in an elementary school in Quebec as an English teacher’s assistant-turned-teacher prior to being discovered by her first agent.
Brittney Gavin
Brittney Gavin is a Nova Scotian filmmaker based in Halifax. She has worked on documentaries, narrative films, commercials, and corporate videos. Before entering film, she was a Health Promotion Facilitator in Nova Scotia and Alberta, focusing on health equity and population outcomes. Beginning her career as an editor, she has since expanded to producing and directing. In 2022, she co-founded A + B Roll Films with Amy Mielke, dedicated to advancing the perspectives of equity-seeking groups through storytelling. Brittney brings her passion for social change into every project.
Teresa MacInnes
Teresa MacInnes is a seasoned filmmaker and producer with 37 years of storytelling that highlights social justice and nature’s wonders. As co-founder of Sea to Sea Productions with Kent Nason, she has co-created impactful films including Norm, Conviction, Seals of Sable, and Dances with Cranes, which have resonated with audiences worldwide. Her work with the National Film Board of Canada includes acclaimed films such as Buying Sex and the award-winning short Mabel. She continues to collaborate with talented artists to make meaningful work, one frame at a time.
Arianna Martinez
Arianna Martinez is an educator and filmmaker based out of New Brunswick. She is a co-founding member of Strike Pictures, and with them has produced several short films that have screened internationally and have been licensed to CBC for broadcasting. Her short film Maya Eterna won CBC’s Short Film Face Off in 2021, and her debut feature film Do I Know You From Somewhere? premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, and had its international premiere at the 2024 Busan International Film Festival. Her filmmaking primarily focuses on identity, independence, and imagination, with her ultimate goal being to foster and promote a platform for women to share their stories through filmmaking.
Katelyn McCulloch
Katelyn “Katie” McCulloch is a Canadian Screen Award-nominated writer and director, and a multi-award-winning producer, director, writer and actor. She is the showrunner, co-creator, and director of the hit comedy series Everybody’s Meg (Bell Fibe TV1) and has written, directed, and produced four award-winning short films. Through her production company, Hey Old Friend, she champions funny, feel-good, female-driven storytelling. A passionate mentor, Katie believes in helping emerging artists find their voice and shine their brightest and is so excited to be mentoring Romi this year as a writer!
Emlyn Murray
Emlyn Murray is a costume designer based in Kjipuktuk / Halifax. Since graduating from Dalhousie’s Costume Studies program in 2014, Emly has amassed over a dozen costume design credits in television and film. Highlights include Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts) (Shut up & Colour Pictures), Lakeview (Fri Bands Inc), Wildhood (Runaway Films Inc), Splinters (Emotion Pictures), 8:37 Rebirth (Rebirth Films Inc), and Studio Black! (Picture Plant). Whether a project calls for hyperrealism or historical fantasy, Emlyn relishes the challenge of enhancing the story through the use of costume.
Lisa Rose Snow
Lisa Rose Snow is a queer Canadian Screen Award and Directors Guild of Canada Award-winning director, writer, and series creator passionate about timeless stories with strong visual style that smash stereotypes and raise the vibration. She has directed and written for companies including Netflix, CW, HBO Max, Prime, ABC, Lifetime, and CBC, and her original short films have played on four continents. She is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s Screenwriting Lab and the Reykjavik Film Festival Talent Lab. She was awarded the Telefilm New Voices Award and the WIFT-AT Women Making Waves Award. She definitely believes in magic.
Megan Wennberg
Megan Wennberg is an award-winning documentary filmmaker based in Nova Scotia. Her first feature documentary Drag Kids follows four brave young drag queens on a journey to acceptance and acclaim in their first group performance at Montreal Pride. Drag Kids premiered at Hot Docs in 2019, and went on to win awards and screen at top festivals around the world like Rotterdam, BFI Flare, and Inside Out. Megan’s second film The Killing of Phillip Boudreau explores the context around Nova Scotia’s infamous “murder for lobster.” It won the Screen Nova Scotia Award for Best Documentary in 2021, and Megan won WIFT-AT’s Award for Best Director. Megan’s second feature Unsyncable had its world premiere at Hot Docs and international premiere at DOC NYC in 2023. It follows six senior synchronized swimmers as they fight the forces of aging and prepare for the US Masters Championships. Megan learned how to animate during the pandemic, and completed her first short animated documentary Bloody Mess about her experience with fibroids. Bloody Mess screened in competition at Annecy and was nominated for best short documentary at the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival. Megan recently completed Dances With Cranes, a nature doc about the incredible recovery of whooping cranes from the brink of extinction, for CBC’s The Nature of Things, and she is in development on her second episode, Reconceived, about a long misunderstood protagonist—the uterus. Megan has a Bachelor of Fine Arts, a Bachelor of Journalism, and she is a screenwriting alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre.
Melani Wood
Melani is an award-winning filmmaker and producer who works across narrative film, documentaries, and commercial projects. Originally from British Columbia, she now calls Nova Scotia home and has been making films on Canada’s beautiful east coast since 2012. Most recently, she produced The Snake, the debut feature film from Jenna MacMillan, alongside Sharlene Kelly and Bill Lundy, with a script by and starring Susan Kent. Producer credits also include Katelyn McCulloch’s Everybody’s Meg (2024) and Taylor Olson’s Canadian Screen Award-nominated feature Bone Cage (2020). Her short documentary Twenty Eight Feet : life on a little wooden boat was featured by National Geographic, chosen as a Vimeo Staff Pick, and screened at top festivals like Hot Docs and Doc NYC. Melani is an alum of the Hot Docs Documentary Accelerator Program and currently serves on the boards of the Directors Guild of Canada–Maritimes and Screen Nova Scotia.
Heather Young
Heather Young is a filmmaker originally from Saint John, New Brunswick now based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She made the short films Howard and Jean (2014), Fish (2016), and Milk (2017). Her first feature Murmur (2019) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the FIPRESCI prize and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival. Her second feature There, There (2024) premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival and received a special jury mention at Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montréal. Her latest short film A Soft Touch premiered at TIFF 2025.
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MENTEES
Arena Alamino
Arena Alamino is an emerging Halifax-based filmmaker, whose documentary work uses a regional lens to explore themes of art, community, queerness, aging, and loss. Her first film Anita Louise and the Wild Women (2025) premiered at the Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival, and was an official selection of the Atlantic International Film Festival, Lunenburg Doc Fest, and the Vancouver Queer Film Festival.
Mallory Amirault
Mallory Amirault is a queer multidisciplinary artist whose practice moves between literary arts, performance, sculpture, and film. Her work is rooted in critical poetics, humour, and a love affair with the idiosyncrasies of the everyday. A recent participant in AFCOOP’s Film 5 program, they worked with producer Holly Stevens to create a quirky art-house short about a porcupine-human hybrid navigating an impossible task. As a director mentee in WIFT-AT’s Mentorship Match, Mallory is developing Clitigation, a surrealist feminist project that uses spectacle and satire to interrogate the litigation processes of sexual assault. Through bold and embodied storytelling, the project seeks to amplify the full force of women’s voices.
Jessica Brown
Jessica Brown is a proud Nunatsiavut Inuk from Labrador, now based in St. John’s with her two children. She is the founder of Ujarak Media and Inuit Nunangat Productions, both independent companies committed to amplifying Inuit voices. A documentary filmmaker, Jessica recently produced and directed a new Bell FibeTV1 series filmed in the Torngat Mountains, and her film Going Off will have its world premiere at the 2025 SJIWFF. She is the Newfoundland and Labrador representative for Doc Atlantic and a 2023 WIFT-AT WAVE Award recipient. While rooted in documentary, Jessica is also developing scripted projects, further expanding Inuit representation across screen storytelling.
Angela Gonzalez
Angela Gonzalez, born and raised in Ontario, discovered her passion for fashion and creativity early on, learning to sew, upcycling clothes and designing her own costumes. Her professional career started with retail buying for Mark’s then moved on to digital marketing for Cineplex Media in Toronto. In a desire to combine her love of fashion and film she pivoted her career and returned to school for Costume Production at Fanshawe College. She completed her work placement at the Charlottetown Festival, where she fell in love with the east coast and its vibrant arts scene. Now based in Halifax, she has worked in wardrobe departments at Blyth Festival, Neptune Theatre, short films, commercials, and music videos. She is also a sewing instructor in the community. Angela is committed to the art of storytelling through the medium of costuming.
Charlotte Siyi Lai
Charlotte came to Halifax from China in 2019, looking to experience new cultures and grow as part of the local community. Since then, she has completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Saint Mary’s University and discovered a strong interest in film and television. Volunteering at events like Making Waves gave her a first glimpse into this exciting world. She would love to start as a Production Assistant to learn about the different paths in the industry, find the role that truly fits her, and connect with mentors and peers who share the same passion for storytelling.
Ashley LeBlanc
Ashley LeBlanc is a video editor based in Halifax with over a decade of experience in the film and television industry. She’s contributed to a wide range of projects in roles spanning production management, post supervision, and editing. She’s passionate about comedic narrative and documentary storytelling, and thrives in collaborative environments—especially those led by and centered around women. Her recent editing credits include Everybody’s Meg (Bell Fibe TV1), This Hour Has 22 Minutes (CBC), Lakeview (Fri Bands), and various documentary series and commercial campaigns. Ashley is committed to shaping stories that feel honest, thoughtfully crafted, and true to their voice.
Lacey Lozier
Lacey Lozier is an Atlantic Canada-based actor who began her career in spring 2024 after holding back her passion for two decades. She quickly became active in the local film scene, participating in student films through the Black Above the Line program, including The Letter D and Voices We Heard from the Embers. She has landed roles with Divert NS, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and Trailer Park Boys, as well as background appearances in Hallmark Christmas films and the popular series FROM. Proud to be part of Atlantic Canada’s screen industry, Lacey brings authenticity, professionalism, and a collaborative spirit to every set.
Ashley Morehouse
Ashley Morehouse is a multimedia artist and filmmaker from Fredericton, New Brunswick. She has written and directed three short films, with her most recent, Never Got Back My Shirt, currently in post-production. With an interest in writing, filmmaking, and visual arts since childhood, she has developed a passion for developing and creating women and queer focused narratives. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Sociology at the University of New Brunswick, relating to her storytelling interests in human interactions and the complexities of relationships. Outside of film, Ashley enjoys painting, collaging, and spending time with her cat, Edgar.
Marie-Hélène Morell
Marie-Hélène Morell is a bilingual director, writer, and producer who has collaborated with multiple production companies in New Brunswick to create original content that reflects local voices and culture. Her CV includes a growing roster of film and television projects, including multiple TV shows for Bell Fibe TV1, a documentary for CBC, and commercial campaigns for brands such as Tourism NB, Envision Saint John, and JD Irving. Current projects include a documentary series about Acadian bluegrass band Moyenne Rig, and a short film on post-partum mental health thanks to a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Lynn Reicker
Lynn Reicker was born in the beautiful province of New Brunswick. She now lives in rural Nova Scotia where she is daily inspired by nature, nightly by the stars. She is a writer and filmmaker with two films under her belt: a Christmas short called The Earl of Santa, and the short documentary Don the Sausage Guy, both made through AFCOOP. Her non-film writing has been published occasionally throughout the years, including stories in Black Hare Press’ Dark Love anthology and Engen Books’ Chillers From the Rock. Lynn is on Twitter @LynnReicker_1 and has a Facebook page at Lynn Reicker – Author.
Romi Robinson
Romi Robinson is a queer, autistic filmmaker from Goulds, Newfoundland and Labrador. She is a graduate of the Paul L. Pope Centre for TV and Film. Since 2022 she has written and/or directed multiple short films that have played festivals in Newfoundland and across the country, and is currently in development on her first feature. She can also be seen as a background performer on shows such as Son of a Critch, Hudson and Rex, and Reacher.