DAY 1

MASTERCLASS: Impactful Pitching
Date: Monday, March 18, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Admission: $125 (includes a CFF Festival Pass)

Step into the world of compelling storytelling with Impactful Pitching, a masterclass designed to hone your skills in creating captivating film and TV pitches. This intensive session will provide participants with invaluable expertise and refined techniques essential for pitching film and TV to leave lasting impressions on decision-makers, getting them closer to the greenlight. Creative producer Lauren MacKinlay will demonstrate how to master the art of pitching with power, precision, and undeniable impact. Learn how to communicate your story, your way!

A wide range of topics will be covered from the basics elements to performance, confidence, research, and mock pitch meetings. There will also be an audience live feedback session.

Masterclass Presenter:

Lauren MacKinlay is an award-winning producer based in Toronto, currently operating as a Creative Producer with Neshama Entertainment. She recently served as an Executive Producer on season one of Neshama’s one-hour drama The Way Home (Hallmark), which concluded its run as the #1 most-watched program on entertainment cable in the United States. Other credits include Transplant (CTV/NBC), Bad Blood (Netflix), 19–2 (CTV), and This Life (CBC).

 For Neshama, Lauren is working across scripted development and production in Canada, the US and internationally, and is currently developing a robust slate of film and television projects. In 2022, she was one of ten women named on The Kit’s Canadian Power List of Women in Film.

DAY 2

Panel - Shorts to Features & Maximizing Your Calling Card
Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Outstanding 2024 CFF Filmmakers explore the strategic steps and creative considerations involved in adapting their short form concepts into career propelling feature films. Explore various ways to showcase your talent and transform your calling card into a stepping stone towards a successful career in feature filmmaking and beyond. 

Moderator:
Eric Bizzari, CFF Alum, Future of Film Showcase

Panelists: 
Ian Harnarine, Doubles 
Julia Lederer, With Love and a Major Organ
Rebeccah Love, Eve Parade, Fortescue

Panel - Making Your Soundtrack Sing
Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Time: 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Questions about collaborating with composers? Unsure about the role of a music supervisor? Is the notion of licensing stock music overwhelming? If you answered yes to any, this panel is your guide! Join us for an illuminating discussion that explores the art and business of music composition and licensing that culminate film scores that truly sing. 

Moderator: 
Richard Pierre, Canadian Film Fest programmer

Panelists:
Fraser Collins, The Tweetations Revue
Shervin Kermani, Bibi’s Dog is Dead

Cheers & Chats - Authentic Narratives: Exploring True Tales on Screen
Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Time: 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

How do filmmakers discern which stories serve as conduits for impactful storytelling? It is a fine art to delve into emotional realities while infusing fictional elements to craft a compelling storyline. These CFF filmmakers share insights on discovering the optimal medium to craft resonant, innovative, and sensitive adaptations of intricate subject matters.

Featuring: 
Aisha Evelyna, CFF Alum, Reelworld Film Festival Programmer, Alex
Taylor Olson, CFF Alum, Look at Me
Christopher Yip, CFF Alum, Fish Boy, Streams Flow From a River

DAY 3

WIV Presentation
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.

A special presentation of Women in View’s latest On Screen Report that builds calls to action to effect real, sustainable change for gender equity and diversity both on screen and behind the scenes. Presented by Tanvi Bhatia, Outreach Strategy Lead, Women in View.

In Conversation: Fearless Leaders; Limitless Futures
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.

In response to the latest WIV report findings, an enlightening conversation with visionary achievers who have built their projects and company mandates on actionable strategies towards a more equitable future. The celebrated panel will explore what it means to shift our practices and lean into our power as leaders outside of historical norms. This empowering session promises to inspire and mobilize audiences to champion equality in every facet of the cinematic landscape. 

Featuring:
Kadon Douglas, Executive Director BIPOC TV & FILM
Katie Bird Nolan, CFF Alum, Babe Nation Films
Lindsay Tapscott, CFF Alum, Babe Nation Films
Fonna-Tasha Seidu, Snail Mail Media
Tanvi Bhatia, Outreach Strategy Lead, Women in View
Anna Fahr, Morning Bird Pictures, Valley of Exile

*Sponsored by DGC National and Brookstone Strategy Group

The Canadian Comedy Film Igniter Showcase
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Time: 3:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

A special presentation showcasing the top selected creative comedies from The Canadian Comedy Film Igniter, a film challenge created by Canadian Film Fest and Firecracker Department, where female and non-binary filmmakers were invited to write, shoot, and deliver a comedic short film within a four week timeline. Each Igniter will present their film and receive feedback and advice for their callingcard shorts from a live panel of comedy and filmmaking professionals. 

Host: 
Naomi Snieckus, Firecracker Department

Panelists:
Allana Harkin, Nesting, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Carolyn Taylor, Baroness Von Sketch, I Have Nothing
Julie Bristow, Founder & CEO, Catalyst
Vanessa Matsui, Ghost BFF
Winnie Wong, Founder of Wonder Wong PR and Communications

*Sponsored by Scotiabank, Ontario Creates

DAY 4

Panel - Explore the Mysteries of Feature Film Financing
Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Ready to produce a feature film, but befuddled by Canada’s financing cycle? Do you wake up in a cold sweat while putting together your financial structure? Are tax credits the real monster in your movie? Join an eye-opening conversation with producing experts and funders themselves on the financing options available to indie producers. 

Moderator: 
Coral Aiken, CFF Alum, Aiken Heart Films, Carmen

Panelists:
Anna Newallo, Program Consultant (Film & TV), Ontario Creates
Carolyn Allain, Managing Director, Commercial Banking, Creative Industries, National Bank of Canada
James Luscombe, Content Analyst, Telefilm Canada
Jennifer Blitz, Director, Tax Credits & Financing, Ontario Creates

Cheers & Chats - Get Animated!
Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024
Time: 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Featuring amazing animators from the 2024 CFF. Gain valuable insights into the animation process, from initial conception to final fruition. Explore the dynamic relationship between content and form in the boundless world of animation.

Featuring:
Courtney Wolfson, Lakeside Animation
Sam Chou, Red Iron Road: In Heat
Kjell Boersma, Boat People

Cheers & Chats - How to Make a Microbudget Feature Film Right Now 
Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024
Time: 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Are you ready to tackle your first feature but keep hitting walls? Gain some wisdom from a delightful group of experts! A must-attend for any budding filmmakers navigating Canada’s grant system or considering embarking on a credit card movie. 

Featuring:
Ingrid Veninger, CFF Alum, pUNK Films, Porcupine Lake, The Animal Project, Modra
Andrew Chung, CFF Alum, White Elephant
Faran Moradi, CFF Alum, Tehranto
Jacqueline de Niverville, CFF Alum, Tehranto

DAY 5

Panel - Finding your Audience: Acquisition & Distribution
Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Featuring a panel of distributors and film market experts, learn what they look for in an acquisition and advice they have for filmmakers trying to get their work sold. They will also delve into how they tailor a distribution, marketing and outreach plan based on a film's content, style and reach.

Moderator:
Holly Pruner, CFF Alum and filmmaker

Panelists:
Tim Smythe-Bishop, Industry Consultant
Inga Diev, Ouat Media
Kirk Cooper, Founder of Film Market Access

Panel - The Programmer's Guide to Navigating the Festival Circuit
Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Featuring programmers from festivals across the city, this panel will provide an insiders guide to both programming and navigating the festival circuit. They will explore everything from leveraging premiere status to making the most of either an acceptance or rejection. They will also discuss how to hone in on your goals so that you can maximize your festival experience. Hint: it starts with attending this panel!

Moderator:
Laura Good, Tribeca, Seattle International Film Festival, Canadian Film Fest

Panelists:
Norm Wilner, TIFF
Andrew Murphy, Inside Out
Richard Pierre, Toronto Black Film Festival, Canadian Film Fest
Marina Hanna, Reelworld Film Festival

Making a Canadian Classic: Cube with Vincenzo Natali
Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.

Before there was Squid Game, and before Survivor, there was Cube. 

Join an intimate and in-depth conversation with acclaimed filmmaker Vincenzo Natali, taking a deep dive into his groundbreaking 1997 genre-busting film, Cube, and the journey it took from idea to screen and beyond, and the impact it had on Canadian and international cinema. Moderated by Resident Alien director and DGC National President Warren P. Sonoda. 

Vincenzo Natali is a writer-director known for science fiction and horror films such as Cube, Splice, and In the Tall Grass as well as the TV series Hannibal and the prescient adaptation of William Gibson’s The Peripheral. He resides in Toronto, Canada. www.vincenzo-natali.com

*Presented by the Directors Guild Ontario