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GOOD-TO-GO

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SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

2 PM - 4:30 PM

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The Toronto Bahá’í Centre 

288 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1V8

Main Hall, 2nd floor

Made possible with the support of Actra Fraternal Benefit Society (AFBS).




Program Director and Facilitator, Lia Cavasotto

Closed-door session; by invitation only.

Good-to-Go is a vital part of FeFF’s Script Development program. It gives writers an opportunity to discuss their projects in intimate one-on-one sessions with a roster of stellar industry guests whose areas of expertise include distribution, casting, financing, production, and literary management, among others. It’s like speed dating, only you’re pitching your passion project!

ALBA FIERA

written by Nahyr Galaz Ruiz (USA)

 

A novelist’s idyllic life is turned upside down when she catches her husband cheating. After a visit from beyond the grave by her great-grandmother, she sets out to discover the truths hidden in her family’s long history in order to save herself from the mistakes of her ancestors.

 

Born in Querétaro, Mexico and raised in Sunny Southern California, Nahyr is a multi-hyphenate artist whose bi-cultural identity gives her a unique perspective in her storytelling. Raised on a healthy dose of telenovelas and Jane Austen novels, and raised by rich and complex Latine matriarchs, Nahyr is drawn to stories of impossible love with strong female leads. As an actress, writer and director, she is compelled to bring stories to the screen that reflect her upbringing and bi-cultural identity. For Nahyr, what is ultimately of the most vital importance is writing and creating from a place of authenticity and elevating Latinx voices and stories.

INVISIBLE

written by Shira Levin (USA)

 

Three kick-ass ‘senior’ women, fed up with being unappreciated and ignored, join forces to fight ageism and exact revenge on one of their offenders, becoming modern day Robin Hoods along the way.

 

Shira Levin, a native New Yorker, began as a theatre actor before segueing into screenwriting. Two of her screenplay adaptations were optioned and put into development. In 2012, Shira became a writer/director. Her short films, Last Day, Old Junk and Upside Down (winner Audience Choice Award), screened across the USA and in India and Scotland. Her feature film, Starfish, (winner Audience Choice Award), opened the Mystic Film Festival and screened at other American festivals. It’s currently on Amazon Prime. Shira’s second feature, a documentary, Forty Years In A Box, just premiered at the Big Apple Film Festival in New York City. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, Shira worked at Universal Pictures’ story department and was Director of Development for Martin Scorsese for six years. She was script consultant and associate producer on Deuces Wild and Brides (aka Nyfes). Shira also taught screenwriting at New York Film Academy for 11 years. Her most recent screenplay Invisible, will hopefully be her third feature film. Member NYWIFT. Emeritus member WGAE.

FEMININE: A REDEMPTION TALE

written by Roxana Chapela (Canada)

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The journey of a successful woman, a new mother, and a contemporary dancer are interwoven into three tales of deep transformation, self-empowerment, and love.

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Roxana Chapela is a Mexican/Canadian filmmaker. She is an Architect with a certificate in Fine Arts and a Permaculture Design diploma. She has walked the last 2 decades of her professional career in film and theater, by designing sets for different kinds of Universes. Leading her to win the award of Best Production Design for "Los Trashumantes". She has also Directed multiple-award-wining short documentaries, like: “Upcyclers: Fashion’s Climate Frontliners” and “The Peaceful Revolution". Currently, she is developing her first feature film as Writer and Director: "Feminine: a redemption tale".

THE TEST

written by Alyssah Richards (Canada)

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In a dystopian future where a mandatory test determines your eligibility to have children, Nova and her partner, Ziah, uncover a government conspiracy, forcing them to evade the law, join an underground community, and ultimately relearn the meaning of family.

 

Alyssah Richards is an emerging filmmaker who recently graduated from The Film and Television Production Program at Humber College. During their time at Humber, Alyssah specialized in writing and directing; honing their skills and developing their creative voice.  Alyssah has continued to work in the film industry in various roles. They enjoy collaborating with other like-minded creatives who have a passion for storytelling and the desire to have their voices heard. Alyssah intends to continue as a lifelong learner, gaining new experiences and sharing their stories along the way.

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written by KJ Carter (Canada)

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When an eclectic; attractive and eccentric group of thirteen converge for an animal role-playing therapeutic weekend retreat in the woods, little do they know of the deep primal urges that lurk within themselves and each other and which may leave them altered forever.

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KJ Carter has worked in film and television for almost two decades as a writer, director, and producer. Her work has been screened internationally at film festivals and on television. Notably, her short dramatic films have been shown at Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Montreal, London Film Festival (UK), Edinburgh Women’s Film Festival and other film festivals from Sydney to Sarasota.
KJ worked as a writer/director at the CBC and the senior environmental writer/producer at the popular independent Real News Network. Her work has been featured on the CBC, City TV, Bravo!, Global TV, Sun TV, BBC, European MTV, PBS, WTN and ZDF Germany. She has worked as an environmental writer and producer on documentaries broadcast by Comcast and other cable TV and web outlets across the U.S. and internationally. She received funding from: Bravo!, the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council, and the Arts Council of England. She received fellowships to attend the Banff Television Festival, Hot Docs, as well the Edinburgh TV Festival.

ANIMALISTIC

LIL

written by Virginia Abramovich & Katherine Andrews (Canada)

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After an ecological collapse, a feral orphan who is looking for a way out and the answers to her past takes a reclusive scientist hostage and slowly unravels his plans to convert her into a techno-human.

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Virginia Abramovich is an award-winning director and writer, passionate to tell compelling,

character rich stories. An alumna of the Meryl Streep’s The Writers Lab NYC; the Canadian Film Centre; and the Women in the Director’ Chair program, her work has screened in festivals world-wide and on such networks as Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Lifetime, Crave, CBC and TUBI. Virginia enjoys working as a director for hire as she continues to write and direct her own passion projects. Her own work always reflects strong female perspectives and underrepresented voices. Virginia’s most recent feature screenplay, LIL, co-written with Katherine Andrews, is an eco-feminist, sci-fi story which has won the Bronze Prize at PAGE International Screenwriting Awards (2022) and ranked in the top 10 Finalist in Final Draft's Big Break Screenwriting Completion (2022). Virginia also has several TV show concepts that she’s currently writing and developing. When she’s not directing or writing, Virginia's go to activity is pitching a tent in the forest and hiking for hours.

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Katherine Andrews was selected for the 2021 The Writer’s Lab, sponsored by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, for feature script LIL, which she co-wrote with Virginia Abramovich. Katherine wrote the MOW thriller screenplay MISSING AND ALONE for Lifetime Network, produced by Neshama Entertainment. Her dramatic sci-fi feature film BETWEEN WAVES (2020), also co-written with Virginia had worldwide festival and broadcast success. Katherine was a writer and story editor on season two of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning web series JUST PASSING THROUGH and wrote on two children’s programs: ROBOTIK and BOB! THE SLOB. In addition to graduating from writing programs at UCLA and The Second City, Katherine has a Master of Arts degree in Journalism. She wrote, produced, hosted and directed news and current affairs programs on CBC Radio & Television in four provinces over the course of seven years.

PEDIGREE

written by Maya Adam and Etan Muskat (Canada)

 

When a talented orphan mutt poses as a purebred, her dream of dancing in New Bark City’s elite ballet company suddenly seems pawsible, but could her double life end up changing things fur-ever?​

 

Maya Adam is a medical doctor and writer who spent 10 years as a professional ballet dancer in Germany before changing careers. She lives in New York City. Pedigree is her first feature script.


Etan Muskat is an alumni of the Second City Mainstage. Etan has taught classes in improv, sketch comedy, acting, and screenwriting, and currently serves as Artistic Director of the Second City Training Centre in Toronto, where he oversees faculty and curriculum. In 2021 Etan won the Screencraft Screenwriting Fellowship with his original comedy pilot Consume.

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AFGHAN SMOKE and AISHA

written by Brishkay Ahmed (Canada)

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Genre: Speculative fiction

An eye-for-an-eye dystopian tale of vengeance about a good girl who must become bad.

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When sinister corporate and religious institutions unite to change the face of an archaic town, a rebellious girl must plot her escape or risk becoming a pawn in a deadly power game. 

 

It's her 2nd project that was selected for GTG.

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As an Afghan - Canadian filmmaker, Brishkay Ahmed began her career writing and directing episodic dramas for Tolo TV and RTA in Afghanistan. She used the opportunity to insert story elements to entertain and educate Afghan women about their legal rights. Her feature film - In The Rumbling Belly of Motherland, was awarded Outstanding Feature Film at the 2021 Reelworld film festival. Her short - Fatima In Kabul - was nominated for the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards and won three 2022 Leo Awards. Ahmed is the writer of the speculative fiction feature Aisha and the suspenseful drama series Afghan Smoke. Ahmed is a 2022 alumna of the CFC Writers' Lab (Norman Jewison Film Program) and part of the 2023 E20 Reelworld Series Lab. Ahmed is a member of DGC, WGC, and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

THE LIFE OF COCKROACHES

written by Gillian Croft

 

A Jewish survivor of Nazi atrocities seeks healing and her sister’s forgiveness in South Africa, where she bonds with an independent-minded Xhosa woman who’s fighting a different oppressive regime.

 

Gillian Croft - I had a dream to write and won a university fine arts scholarship, which I used to study screenwriting. After I developed blood clots from a rare inflammatory disorder, I convinced myself I “didn’t have enough life experience” to be a good writer and switched to psychology. Ironically, I was told I was “a great writer” and was accepted into a master’s degree before I had finished my first degree. At the same time, I worked as a government research writer. My life changed dramatically when my baby daughter suffered blood clots during heart surgery, resulting in severe disabilities, deafblindness, 42 medical conditions, and immune deficiency syndrome. To keep her away from infection, I’ve stayed in almost constant isolation with her for the past 25 years. Becoming a writer had to take second place to home-schooling my deafblind daughter, and I refused to put her into care even when my university professor and subsequent professionals in the film industry told me I was “wasting my talent.” She needed her best chance, was given only nine years to live, and she is now 26, so I feel I have been a success in life. Nevertheless, I started to write again when my youngest daughter, Amelia, became an actress and encouraged me to join in her endeavours. I wrote “Emma’s Song,” and my writing partner and I won the Golden Palm Award at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. I have since worked as an actress and coached young people in acting and screenwriting, and two of my young students gained production deals for their short films. Following the death of my sister to clots and a blood clot in my lung, I wrote The Life of Cockroaches on my own. I was inspired by the thought that no matter what happens in life, there is always hope.

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INDUSTRY DELEGATES

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Byron A. Martin is an award-winning producer who develops independent film, television, and documentary projects. To date he has produced more than 100 hours of television, filming projects in over 30 countries. He has produced projects for Disney, Sony, Universal, Lifetime, Turner, Bell Media, DHX, Great American Country, and Crown Media. From The Chronicles of Riddick, Land of the Dead, and Resident Evil: Afterlife to America Pie Presents: The Naked Mile, Byron has a tremendous scale and scope of production experience. He has managed productions for some of Hollywood’s leading producers, including Jerry Bruckheimer, Sam Raimi, Raffaella De Laurentiis, Laurence Mark, John Singleton, Mark Canton, Lauren Shuler Donner, Dick Wolf, Ralph Winter, and Don Carmody. In 2021, he was honoured as the Best Canadian Film and TV Production Company by Corporate Vision at its annual Media Innovator Awards. Most recently, his feature project Something Like Truth was the Canadian winner at the 2022 JETS initiative during Berlinale.

BYRON MARTIN, Producer

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Jessica Martins is the founder of Hero Artists and partner at Hero Entertainment Partners and has been an entrepreneur and executive for 15 years. She’s the executive producer of eOne’s Forsaken (Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore), the Netflix original Kiss and Cry, and Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate’s The Last Full Measure (starring eight Academy Award–winning actors, including Christopher Plummer and Samuel L. Jackson), and she’s the lead producer on the musical biopic Spinning Gold, which was released theatrically in 2023. Her current slate includes Trader and Room (both in post-production) and Verona (principal photography). Next up is North Star, directed by Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan (pre-production). Martins sits on the advisory board of Tiltify, a live-streaming charity-fundraising platform in partnership with Twitch and TikTok. She is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, Women in Film & Television (Toronto and New York chapters), the EIC, and the Women’s Executive Network (WXN).

JESSICA MARTINS

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Martin Harbury has spent most of his career in the film and television industry, creating productions that have won awards from LA to Monte Carlo, Toronto to Milan, including two Geminis, a Genie, and a US CableACE Award. He has extensive credits as writer, director, executive producer, and producer. He also served as executive in charge of dramatic series and broadcast executive at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He was a founder of the television branch of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and served on the Academy’s board of directors, the executive board, and various academy committees. He served as a director of the Actors’ Fund of Canada and taught screenwriting at Ryerson

University (now Toronto Metropolitan University). His many productions have been seen on CBC, CTV, Global Television, TVO, Discovery, Fox, NBC, PBS, HBO, TVNZ, and London Weekend Television. He is the author of a book on film and television production and spent 10 years as a consultant at the Ontario Media Development Corporation (Ontario Creates), where he developed and administered programs for film and television, including the Film Fund, supporting the development and production of feature films. He also created and ran the Export Fund.

MARTIN HARBURY

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Paige Haight is a talented Producer of content for both digital and linear platforms, with a strong track record of collaborating with award-winning writers, directors, and actors to produce hit projects like the AMC+ series Slasher, Slo Pitch for OutTV and IFC, Topline for CBC Gem and more. 

 

She currently works at Shaftesbury, one of the top television production companies in Canada whose slate includes Murdoch Mysteries, Departure, Hudson & Rex, and more. Over the past 7 years, Haight has worked in almost every department at Shaftesbury from Marketing, Production, Development to Business & Legal Affairs. In her current role as Producer, she brings together the different skills and knowledge she has garnered over the years jumping around departments.

 

Haight is a graduate of Queen’s University’s Film & Media Program, a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and WIF-T.

PAIGE HAIGHT, Producer

MORE DELEGATES (TBA)

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