Schedule

Session #1: WIFT (Women in Film & Television – Toronto)

11AM

This session will be hosted in collaboration with WIFT (​​Women in Film & Television – Toronto)

When you are in the midst of envisioning the creation of your content, you can afford to “blue sky” your story. You can dream up the very best for each and every scene. But it’s important to realize that you may not be able to afford everything you want.

You need to know exactly how your funds are best spent, and what each dollar can bring to the screen (or to the production in general). For the producer, it’s not about saving money,necessarily: it’s about moving it to where it’ll be best spent.

When crafting this delicate balance, here are your main areas for consideration: speaking parts, background performers, children, animals, vehicles, locations, exteriors, time of day, weather, period of project, make-up and hair, costumes, music, copyright, stunts, firearms, and special eBects (both practical and digital).

When you approach your budget with an open mind and some flexibility, wonderful things can happen!

Session Panelist: Genna Megaw | Creative Producer
Genna is a versatile creative producer of award-winning films, series, and digital media. Prioritizing stories by underrepresented communities, Genna supports projects through creative production and strategic distribution and sales, ensuring a combination of strong storytelling and commercial viability.

Raised in Toronto with a background in theatre, documentary, and scripted content, she began her career producing films in Australia, Asia, and South Pacific Islands. Genna’s international documentary film work primarily highlights Indigenous communities in remote Northern Australia, as well as under-served communities in various countries. 

These films were funded by government grants and not-for-profit organizations. Genna won “Best Documentary Series” for directing a follow-doc series capturing female-led tech start-ups progressing through an incubator program in Sydney, Australia and San Francisco, USA.

After returning to Canada, she now produces original films and series for the Stratford Festival, combining her passion for theatre and film. In addition to this work, she’s building a company of her own that serves artists looking to break into the screen industry, through training and production support for screen-based projects.

Driven by unique perspectives and diverse characters, Genna has excelled in producing original content for the Stratford Festival’s streaming service, StratFest@Home, managing the worldwide distribution. Her work has won eight film awards, including a Canadian Screen Award nomination in 2024 for Illuminated Text, Best Interactive Production.

As a creative producer, Genna is passionate about providing opportunities for Canadian artists, many of which are first time filmmakers. By connecting artists with the resources to make their dreams come to life, Genna hopes to continue to foster a community of artists turning their passion to the screen, enriching global audiences with compeling perspectives and experiences.

Learn more about WIFT (​​Women in Film & Television – Toronto).

Session #2: ACTRA Toronto

1PM

Join us for an informative 30 minute session followed by a short Q&A with ACTRA representatives. Representatives from ACTRA will introduce resources, benefits, workshops, and methods available for filmmakers to connect and work with ACTRA on their upcoming short films, features, web series or TV projects.

Session Panelist: Luisa Alvarez Restrepo: Director, Inclusion & Community Development | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging.

Colombian-Canadian filmmaker and industry executive Luisa Alvarez Restrepo represents a rare convergence of creative vision and institutional impact. Over the past five years, she has launched groundbreaking inclusion initiatives that have reshaped industry access, while simultaneously crafting award-winning scripted content that centers underrepresented voices. She is not just advocating for systemic change, she is building the infrastructure for it.

As Director of Inclusion & Community Development at ACTRA Toronto, Luisa created the Permit Access Fund in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, an industry-first initiative supporting underrepresented performers in gaining full ACTRA membership. She has also delivered accessible networking opportunities and secured pathways for ACTRA members to attend TIFF and other major events. Previously, at WarnerMedia, she launched the Access Festivals initiative, spotlighted in both Playback and Variety, connecting over 40 Canadian and American creators with programmers from major festivals, including TIFF and Sundance.

Alongside this institutional leadership, Luisa is building her creative slate. She executive produced and wrote on the comedy series 18 to 35 (winner of the Forest City Film Festival pitch competition), now available on Bell Fibe. Her script Situationship won the Athena Film Festival Script Competition and was a finalist at the Just for Laughs pitch competition. Her award-winning short Forbidden Tikka Masala was licensed by CBC, Air Canada, and TIFF’s Film Circuit.

A founding board member of Listo Calisto, and a frequent juror and speaker for major industry bodies, Luisa combines creative talent, cultural fluency, and industry insight to open doors for others, and tell stories that make them feel seen.

Learn more about ACTRA Toronto.

Session #3: Q&A with Karla 

2PM

Are you developing your first feature live action or documentary film, first web series, or first TV pilot? Are you looking to apply for funding or pitching to funders for your next project? If you are, this is a good time to think about your plans and level up your producing chops.

Join this session to ask questions about how to set up the business and legal infrastructure to enable producing success, and make your pitch/application stand out to funders.

This session is meant for filmmakers/producers who have completed short films/projects in the past, and are now scaling up to larger productions and budgets. Get ahead of the curve and avoid the typical pitfalls that impact the assessment of your funding proposals.

Panelist: Karla Bobadilla | Barrister & Solicitor

Karla has over 20 years of legal experience in film, television and digital media financing, development, production and distribution and is a partner at the entertainment and media law firm, Lewis Birnberg Hanet Bobadilla, LLP. Prior to entering private practice, Karla worked at the Canadian Media Producers Association providing policy, government relations, strategic planning, advocacy and lobby work on behalf of its membership.  She also worked for many years as in-house legal counsel and corporate secretary at then Astral Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund and before that at a Toronto-based production and media company.

Karla is also active in the not-for-profit cultural sector. Currently a member of the Advisory of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, she is also a former Chair of the Board where she oversaw all corporate governance and corporate matters for the organization. Karla was also on the Board of WorkInCulture, and organization that supports the career and business needs of the cultural sector.

Learn more about ACTRA Toronto.

Session #4: Media Training with Judy Lung

3PM

This session is intended to help underrepresented artists effectively and strategically navigate and leverage media interviews and other related PR opportunities.This tailored media training session will provide practical tools and tips for filmmakers and media artists to position and communicate their projects. This session is intended for both emerging and seasoned filmmakers and media artists, with the intention of providing strategies to use at all stages of your career. In the 30 minute media training workshop, you will learn what to expect in media interviews, how to prepare for them and how to deliver and frame your own messaging. This workshop will also be useful for emerging artists who are pitching projects to broadcasters, funders, and partners and are looking to learn best practices in creating impactful messaging.

Session panelist: Judy Lung | Vice President of Strategy, Communications & Stakeholder Relations

In a 25-year career that has unfolded against a backdrop of seismic change, Judy Lung has worked with major media companies, cultural institutions, and award-winning filmmakers in leadership, PR, and marketing roles across the sector, from distribution, exhibition, broadcasting to production.Currently, as Vice President of Strategy, Communications & Stakeholder Relations, Lung leads strategic planning for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), tapping into her deep understanding of the entertainment business and long-standing relationships across the global industry. Her focus is on the long-term relevance and reach of the organization, ensuring it continues to deliver on its mission and vision in a fast-changing entertainment ecosystem.In 2023, she was appointed to the newly created Golden Globes Membership Board where her extensive experience in publicity and media relations, and commitment to representation and inclusion, is critical to the Board’s mandate of rebuilding the international voting membership of the awards organization.Over the course of her career, Lung had led Canadian and international publicity campaigns for hundreds of series and films. Prior to joining TIFF, Lung was Director of Communications for Cineplex, Canada’s largest cinema chain.

Session #5: Charles Street Video

4PM

An overview of the services, workshops, support and equipment offered to filmmakers and media artists at Charles Street Video.

Session Panelist: Greg Woodbury |

Greg has worked in the Media Arts community for over 35 years as an administrator in artist-run production centres: as a production and post-production freelancer and in his own art practice. He has produced several of his own single channel videos and installations as well as fostered the work of other independent film/video/media artists through teaching, advocacy,technical support, creative collaboration and programming.

About Charles Street Video:

Charles Street Video (CSV) is a non-profit production organization established in 1981 to help support media artists. We provide affordable access to equipment and post-production editing facilities for creating videos, films, installations and other media art forms. We offer regular workshops, training sessions and residencies.

CSV also commissions artists to create new works, and sponsors a variety of youth-oriented production programs and post-secondary scholarships. We actively participate in local exhibitions of media art through our partnerships with arts organizations and grassroots festivals.

CSV is supported by its members, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council for operating funding and by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts for capital funding.

Learn more about Charles Street Video.

Session #5: SAMANSA

7PM

 Discover SAMANSA, the global streaming platform for short films, and learn how filmmakers can distribute their projects through the platform.

Session Panelist: Yunah Chung | VP, Content and Executive Producer

Of Texas provenance and a bicoastal upbringing in California and New Jersey, Yunah Chung is a Korean American creative executive. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts as a film & TV major, she cut her teeth at CAA followed by MTV where she witnessed words on a page turn into pixels on a screen as a scripted series development and current programming assistant. Her lifelong love of Korean cinema naturally led her to blogging about it online over at Dramabeans.com where a global community of K-drama fans continue to engage in thoughtful and enthusiastic discourse. In early 2017, Yunah was selected for an inaugural comedy screenwriting fellowship from Whoop Inc. (Whoopi Goldberg’s production company) and Mana Contemporary. Unable to shake her interest in global cinema, she also developed series and analyzed scripts at Infinite Studios (local producer of Crazy Rich Asians) while completing her dual international MBA degrees in Singapore (Nanyang Technological University) and Tokyo (Waseda University). She wrapped a 3-year stint as a Development Executive at 9 Story Media Group in New York where she developed kids & family animated and live action content. Currently, Yunah is the VP, Content and Executive Producer at SAMANSA, a Tokyo-based SVOD platform for high quality short films from all around the world; she oversees content acquisitions and originals. 

Learn more about SAMANSA.