BANFF NAMES 2023 DIVERSITY OF VOICES PARTICIPANTS
The program, now in its fifth year, offers emerging and established professionals
Kelly Townsend
Source - Playbackonline.ca
March 9, 2023
The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has named the 25 participants for the annual Diversity of Voices (DoV) Pitch Program, selected from the 2023 100-person cohort.
Now in its fifth year, the DoV program gives up to 100 Black, Indigenous and persons of colour-identifying professionals, ranging from emerging to established, the opportunity to network with senior industry decision-makers at the annual festival.
DoV is organized by BANFF in partnership with Netflix, and with the support of the Black Screen Office (BSO), the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), and la Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC).
The Pitch Program gives 25 DoV participants access to one-on-one industry mentorships, in addition to networking opportunities at BANFF.
The 2023 cohort includes Amar Wala of Toronto’s Scarborough Pictures, Montreal producer and director Patricia Chica of Flirt Films, Playback Hall of Fame inductee and Order of Canada member Dr. Shirley Cheechoo, and Mosaic Entertainment president Camille Beaudoin.
Among the producers selected for the pitch program are Fly Away Films founder and Playback 10 to Watch alum Asis Sethi, Sepehr Samimi of Vancouver’s Understory Films, Jordan Molaro of Winnipeg’s Nu-Media Films, Ambrose Okundaye of Vancouver’s Dlite Pictures Entertainment, Toronto’s Dayana Stanislaus, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut’s Navalik Tologanak of Tolok Productions, Anish Bhalla of Hamilton, Ont.’s Kavalry Productions, and Montreal’s Viveka Melki of Melki Films.
Rounding out the list are a number of creators, including Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont. director Angela Onuora, Toronto writer Lu Asfaha, Montreal writer-director Gavin Seal, Ardrossan, Alta.-based filmmaker Tai Grauman, actor-writer-director Helena Morgane, Toronto-based writer-director Raghed Charabaty, Toronto-based writer-actor Preeti Torul, Halifax-born actor-writer Alexandra MacLean, Haida Gwaii, B.C.-based director Patrick Shannon, Toronto writer Hisham Kelati, Saskatchewan-born writer Moniquea Marion, Toronto writer-actor-director Kat Khan, and writer and production coordinator Srishti Jaiswal.
The full list of all 100 DoV participants in 2023 is available on the BANFF website.
Jenn Kuzmyk, executive director of BANFF and VP and publisher of Playback, said that the DoV program “has resulted in development deals, funding, and distribution opportunities for some of Canada’s most talented producers and creators, ” in a statement, adding that participants have said the initiative “has been essential to accelerating their projects and careers.”
BSO executive director Joan Jenkinson said 2023 is “shaping up to be the best year ever with curated networking and pitching opportunities, and a stellar line up of international television professionals with up-to-the-minute global intel,” while SODEC CEO Louise Lantagne said DoV “will undoubtedly contribute to furthering the careers of talented film professionals from Quebec, stemming from various ethnocultural backgrounds.”
“Witnessing the professional growth of so many Diversity of Voices participants over the years is a testament to the strength of this program and the opportunities it provides,” added Stéphane Cardin, director of public policy for Netflix Canada.
ISO CEO Kerry Swanson said the organization looks forward “to welcoming Indigenous participants as they present their projects to the global market.”
The Indigenous Screen Summit (ISS) runs concurrently with BANFF, which will run from June 11 to 14. The ISS Pitch Forum, returning for its second year in 2023, recently opened up its eligible projects to include documentary and other unscripted genres, in addition to scripted projects in drama and comedy.
