Introducing the Selected Participants to Ins’ Writing Workshop

Adnan Khan

Adnan Khan is a screenwriter, novelist, and journalist. His first feature film, Shook, is in post-production. His debut novel, There has to Be a Knife, was named a best Canadian novel of 2019 by CBC. His second, The Hypebeast, will be published spring 2025. His journalism has been recognized with a National Magazine Award for best profile and he has taught screenwriting at the University of Guelph.

Alice Wang

Alice Wang is a Chinese-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto. As day jobs, Alice has worked as a production coordinator at CBC Kids, Industry Producer at Canadian Film Fest and Manager of Programming at Regent Park Film Festival. As a creative, Alice’s films have received Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council funding and have been screened at Inside Out Film Festival, Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Canadian Film Festival and more. Currently working on longer form content, Alice has an upcoming web series Rent-A-Girlfriend that has received IPF production funding. An RBC Emerging Director’s Award recipient, a participant of the BIPOC TV and Film Episodic Lab, 2024 Netflix x BANFF diversity of voices pitch participant, and part of the 2023 Reelworld Emerging 20 cohort, Alice gravitates towards telling stories about loss, acceptance, and belonging with nuanced perspectives on family dynamics and self actualization.

Amir Zargara

Amir Zargara is an Iranian-Canadian (BIPOC) writer/director, whose unique perspective is shaped by the cultural mosaic of Iran and Canada. His journey, characterized by the resilience of an immigrant and the challenges of living with a stutter, deeply influences his approach to filmmaking.

Amir began his filmmaking journey with “Become the Wounded” in 2021. Since then, he has directed several shorts, that he hopes to build his feature film career on. His work has earned recognition at prestigious festivals like Hollyshorts and Nashville, highlighting his dedication to diverse, compelling narratives. His films delve into the moral complexities faced by individuals, focusing on the gray areas of human character and advocating for empathy over judgment.

Recommended/Promoted by The Black List, Top 2% of Coverfly’s Redlist, Berlinale EFM Fiction Toolbox Program 2024, Canadian Film Centre’s (CFC) Director’s lab 2024 Shortlist, Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF) Talent Lab 2024, Young Director Award (YDA) 2024 Shortlist.

Andrew Ko

Andrew Ko is a Humber Film & Television grad that specialized in writing (his final year script submission was sent off to the New York International Screenplay Awards, where it would become a semi-finalist), and cinematography (winning 2020’s Canadian Cinematography Awards for Best Student Cinematographer on the year of my graduation). He’s been working in the industry as an electric in television since graduating and with the savings from running cable, he recently purchased a cinema camera kit and is making his transition back to filmmaking.

Bessie Cheng

Bessie Cheng is an award-winning queer Chinese-Canadian writer and actor. She graduated from the Playwriting and Devised Theatre program at York University. Her first play, Dirt, received the Ellen Ross Stuart Award from the Ontario Arts Foundation and was nominated for the RBC Emerging Playwright Award from Playwrights Guild of Canada. Her newest work in development Girls With Cars is a recipient of the 2021 Promising Pen Award from Cahoots Theatre where she is named one of their theatre-makers that will help shape the next 30 years in Canadian theatre.

Bessie is also a co-founder of Silk Bath Collective, creating the Fringe hit, Silk Bath. Silk Bath Collective’s production, Yellow Rabbit, enjoyed a sold-out run at Soulpepper Theatre in 2018. The collective just closed their world-premiere of their latest show, Woking Phoenix, at Theatre Passe Muraille to critical acclaim.

In 2016, Bessie participated in Inside Out Festival’s New Vision program, where she pitched and created a documentary with the help of mentors and industry professionals. Paint it White premiered at the Inside Out Festival that year. Since then, she has co-written a queer short film, Jo, which has gained over 11 million views on Youtube to date. Her most recent short, Something’s Phishy, premiered at Inside Out LGBT Festival this year.

Haaris Qadri

Haaris Qadri is an emerging filmmaker based in Toronto and London and a graduate from York University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production Specialized Honours.

His short film majboor-e-mamool recently screened at the Montreal Festival du Nouveau, was featured on the Short of The Week and won Best Canadian Short Film presented by the National Film Board of Canada at the Canadian Academy recognized film festival, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. He has also screened at the 2023 TIFF Next Wave Film Festival and the Canadian Film Festival. His previous short film, Kashif, screened at the 2020 TIFF Next Wave Film Festival and the Academy recognized, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Haaris aims to make films that seamlessly blend the authenticity of naturalism with the vividness of a painter’s realism. His works delve into the essence of everyday life, capturing the subtle moments that evoke deep emotions and perhaps change. Haaris is drawn to diasporic narratives, exploring themes of identity, familial fragmentation, and the nuances of intergenerational dynamics.

Haaris has had his work supported by the Canada Council of the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, the International Film Festival of South Asia’s inaugural Bright Lights Talent Fund and the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. 

Branching into the world of television, Haaris was also shortlisted for Sundance Institute Episodic Labs with his pilot Bintu’s Weddings and later went on to develop the script with Anthony Q. Farrell with the Warner Brothers Access x BIPOC TV and Film Episodic Labs. He’s currently on development with his next pilot, Kwality Family Care.

Isabella Shibuta

Isabella Shibuta is a Japanese-Brazilian and Polish actor and writer based in Toronto, ON. Her recent acting credits include “Designing Christmas” (Discovery+) and a recurring role in “Right Under My Roof” (BellTV). She is an alumnae of the nationally lauded CBC Actors’ Conservatory at the Canadian Film Centre, where she discovered her deep commitment as an actor and improviser translated into a talent for developing complex characters and a distinct voice as a writer. She proceeded to write and star in the short film “Melanie,” and also starred in the short film “Gerry.” Since graduation, Isabella created her original web series “Alice is Asian” (pre-development) and her first feature “Reassessment” (pre-development), both of which she is set to star in. In support of her proposals, Isabella was recently awarded the Ideas From I Grant and Fellowship from Ecru Club for pan-Asian filmmakers. A Theatre Performance alumna from George Brown College, Isabella wrote and starred in the play “The Letters of Jane Austen” during her studies and went on to work with established houses like Tarragon Theatre as an actor. Isabella is a graduate of Canterbury High School’s Drama program, where she developed an improv background (Winner – Connors Cup) and was selected to travel to Winnipeg with the Next Act Festival as one of their youngest performers. Isabella continues to hone her voice for comedy in the Sketch Studio Series at Bad Dog Theatre. She is grateful her immigrant parents made sacrifices and came to Canada so that she could drop out of the gifted program and competitive figure skating to do improv.

Lulu Liu

Lulu Liu (she/they) is a Chinese-Canadian filmmaker and critic based in Toronto. Her current work explores the monstrous feminine, leveraging horror as a weapon for female body politics. Her projects have been featured with local organizations such as TIFF, CBC, TACLA. Lately, she is wrapping up her directorial debut on a dark-comedy short titled Cherry On Top. You can catch her hastily zipping down Shaw Street on her bike. Catch her if you can, or find her later @lulu.lemonless on Instagram.

Roann Enriquez

Roann Enriquez is an emerging Filipino-Canadian writer based in Mississauga, Ontario. She is a recent graduate of UCLA’s Professional Program in Screenwriting and was previously selected for writing mentorships at organizations like Diaspora Dialogues and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. As a multi-genre writer, Roann is currently taking video game writing courses while drafting her first novel–a work of speculative neocolonial fiction set in the Philippines.