Industry Day 4
Friday, March 27
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
*Open exclusively to CFF Festival Pass holders by application only. Space is limited.
-
Applications open March 17. More information coming soon.
CFF Industry | Roundtables
INDIE ACCESS SESSIONS
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
A curated series of 20-minute small-group conversations designed to move projects forward. These intimate sessions offer direct access to leading industry professionals – creating space for strategic questions, meaningful dialogue, and high-level insight – all in a focused, conversational setting.
Industry Participants:
Avi Federgreen, Filmmaker|Producer|Distributor, Federgreen Entertainment & IndieCan Entertainment
Sohrab Merchant, Literary & Production Agent | Manager, The Characters Talent Agency
Ryan Goldhar, Vice-President Agent | Manger, The Characters Talent Agency
Kim Ball, Executive Vice President Content & Communications, Super Channel
Suzanne Marshall, Senior Manager Programming, Hollywood Suite
Colleen Rush, Casting Director, Larissa Mair Casting
Melissa Amer, Regional Feature Film Executive, Ontario, Telefilm
Peter Kingstone, Program Manager, Visual & Media Arts, Toronto Arts Council
Paul Gratton, Film Consultant |Former Director of Programming, Whistler Film Festival
Jessica Jennings, Media Producer | Production Consultant, Environmental Services, Ontario Film Commission | Ontario Creates
Carolyn Mauricette and Keda Edwards Pierre, Access Threshold
Caron Nightingale, Director of Sales, APM Music Canada | President/CEO, Nightingale Music Productions
Bruno Marino, Producer, High Star Entertainment
Showcase Judges:
R.T. Thorne, Filmmaker, 40 Acres, The Porter
Floyd Kane, Producer, Village Keeper, Across the Line, Diggstown, Freddie Films Inc.
Carolyn Mauricette, Section Director, Fantasia International Film Festival|Co-Founder of Access Threshold
Kadon Douglas, Executive Director, OYA Black Arts Collective
Vanessa Magic, Filmmaker, I Am Pleased, 2025 You-CAN-Pitch Winner
Admission: Included with CFF Festival Pass, individual tickets sold separately
CFF Industry | Showcase
YOU-CAN-PITCH COMPETITION
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Sponsored by OYA Black Arts Coalition and SESLER
Step inside the excitement as Canada’s rising Black filmmakers take the stage to pitch their feature projects to a panel of top industry experts. With a $50,000+ in-kind prize package on the line, each team delivers their pitch live, getting candid, real-time feedback from the decision-makers shaping the future of film and TV.
Part masterclass, part talent showcase, You-CAN-Pitch offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the pitching process while spotlighting the next wave of Canadian cinema.
ANNOUNCING THE 2026 YOU-CAN-PITCH SHOWCASE SELECTED FILMMAKERS:
-
Isolated in her Canadian childhood home with her older brother, a young astro-geologist struggles to contain a delusion-inducing substance that drives its victims to suicide, only to discover that her entire environment is already an illusion and her traumatic past is being used against her.
Adrian Bobb (He/Him) - Director/Writer
Toronto-based writer and director Adrian Bobb crafts award-winning films exploring the tension between humanity and the natural world, a vision that has propelled his eight short films into over fifty festivals globally, including Sitges and Fantasia. His momentum in 2024 included directing two episodes of the horror series Creepy Bits, while his acclaimed 2022 short The Fore-men, now streaming on DUST with over 650,000 views, is being expanded into a feature film. A competitive alumnus of programs like the Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Pitch Program and WarnerMedia Access, Bobb leverages a formidable 15-year background as a VFX artist for Amazon, Netflix, and Disney and on series such as The Expanse and Moon Knight to ground his storytelling, which probes the intersection of biology, technology, and our fraught efforts to comprehend an incomprehensible reality.
-
Manolo hoped that marrying a Canadian woman to get out of Cuba would help overcome all of his and his family’s daily struggles, but when his wife proves unsupportive of his dreams, he sets out on his own with nothing to his name and fading hopes of having his daughter join him in Canada… that is, until music re-enters his life.
Christine Rodriguez (She/Her) - Director/Writer
Christine Rodriguez is a filmmaker from Montréal who creates from a mixed-race, Afro-Trinidadian perspective as a means to explore identity and self-expression in an ever-changing, multicultural world. She’s received two Rogers – BSO development grants to write TV pilots. Her debut short film “Fuego” was an official selection at festivals in Toronto, the US and France, including the American Black Film Festival, earning her a nomination for Filmmaker of the year by Gala Dynastie. She was also selected for the WBD Access x Canadian Academy Writers Program to write a feature version of “Fuego.” Her second short, “A Dios,” premiered at the New York Latino Film Festival in 2024 and ended its festival run at Fantasia in 2025. The film is now available on NatyfTV. An alumna of the Norman Jewison Writers’ Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, Christine has a Certificate of Professional Screenwriting from UCLA, and an MBA from McGill University. She’s also working on a Bachelor in Hispanic Studies at Université de Montréal.
-
When a talented pianist returns home to face his dying father, he must confront the painful past that derailed his promising career and rediscover his passion by fusing the classical training his father demanded with the Haitian rhythms they both secretly loved.
Fitch Jean (He/Him) - Director/Writer
Fitch Jean is a Haitian-Canadian filmmaker based in Ottawa. A self-taught director, writer, and editor, his work spans features, shorts, documentaries, and series. His films have screened at 50+ international festivals, including Oscar-qualifying selections at Santa Barbara, Edmonton, BronzeLens, and RiverRun, earning multiple awards. His debut feature It Comes in Waves had its world premiere at the American Black Film Festival and won the Audience Award at Sidewalk Film Festival. The film is distributed in Canada by Mongrel Media.
Drawing from his Haitian heritage, Fitch creates character-driven stories that center underrepresented voices and explore themes of identity, resilience, and human connection. He has received funding from Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Canadian Media Fund. -
Past Curfew is an ensemble comedy-drama about a motley crew of multicultural friends that bring chaos to Feven's perfectly planned farewell party. In a night laced with mishaps, infidelity, awkward conversations, and far too many drugs, each must confront their inner demons and each other...before sunrise!
Sossina shenkute (She/Her) - Producer/Co-Director
Sossina spent over 20 years shaping global brands in senior strategy roles across multiple countries, including work with LVMH brands, creating impactful stories that connected with audiences from diverse cultures and backgrounds. From crafting compelling narratives to producing brand videos, she honed her expertise in storytelling across a variety of mediums. Driven by a lifelong passion for storytelling, she transitioned from the corporate world to filmmaking bringing with her business acumen and international project management expertise. Her goal is to champion underrepresented voices within mainstream media with emotionally truthful, culturally nuanced stories. She is also a working actor with credits in TV and commercials, allowing her to bring a holistic perspective that bridges performance, story, and strategy. The short-film The Edge marked her first foray into filmmaking as a producer and with Past Curfew, she is expanding her voice as a filmmaker by stepping into the director’s chair.
Ambika Vas (She/Her) - Writer/Co-Director
Ambika Vas is a multi-hyphenate filmmaker who left her private equity career in 2018 to pursue storytelling full-time.In 2020, her sketch comedy videos caught the attention of Indian comedian Cyrus Broacha, who invited her to join India’s #1 political satire TV show as a Foreign Correspondent. She wrote, directed, and produced her own segments for 30 episodes that aired on CNN-India.
Ambika has appeared on several TV shows and more than 50 commercials. As a writer, she participated in the Pacific Screenwriting Program’s Pitch Accelerator and has worked on series including Family Law, Children Ruin Everything, and ZARQA. She has also directed two short films, both of which she wrote and starred in.
She is a graduate of Upright Citizens Brigade (LA), The Peoples Improv Theater (NY), and The Comedy School (UK).
Having lived in eight countries and visited more than 75, Ambika is passionate about creating multicultural comedic content that entertains while challenging stereotypes and encouraging audiences to reflect on their beliefs and biases.
-
When a teen girl awakens with no memory, she questions her fraying reality within the isolating grip of a devout mother and a passive father, and begins uncovering a buried truth that forces cracks into the delicate façade of their suburban home.
Jessyca Reeves (She/Her) - Director/Writer
Jessyca Reeves is a writer and director whose work blends grounded drama with genre elements. An honours graduate of York University’s Cinema and Media Arts program, she creates emotionally layered stories that explore mental health, society, and the experiences of Black and marginalized communities.She has written several short films, including ‘For You, Paige’, slated for production in 2026. She has directed a commercial, the docuseries ‘Youth In Conflict’, and a short Comedy Igniter Challenge film ‘Reservations’. She is currently developing her debut feature film ‘The Fraying’. Jessyca is passionate about crafting narrative worlds that are intimate, surreal, and culturally rooted.
Jessyca has been developing ‘The Fraying’ through OBAC’s Career Bridge program, where she received funding to shoot the proof of concept, and the Reelworld Emerging 20 Program, where she is further polishing the feature film screenplay.
-
After a deadly mine collapse kills several workers, a trafficked Chinese laborer and a grieving Ghanaian miner unite to escape their captivity. But a cursed bag of gold corrupts everyone it touches, until the earth itself demands justice.
Will Niava (He/Him) - Director/Writer
Will Niava makes films that live in the space between worlds. Flowing between West Africa, the United States, and Canada, his work carries the restless energy of constant motion and the clarity of someone who has turned that into vision.
His short film Zoo consumed the festival circuit, collecting over a dozen awards across 100+ selections before landing in the Criterion Collection. His latest short film, Jazz Infernal, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and won Best International Short Film at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. His feature debut, Paradise, co-written with Oscar-nominated director of the film, Jeremy Comte, has wrapped post-production and is generating serious heat on the festival circuit, premiering at the Berlinale Film Festival.
Will directs commercials for the NBA, Amazon, Apple Music, and Orange, collaborating with artists like Billie Eilish and H.E.R. Even in thirty-second spots, that same intensity burns through. He brings the full weight of his vision to everything he touches.
Will makes films that stay with you, that burrow under your skin and shift the way you see. He's building a body of work that moves between genres and continents while rewriting what's possible when a filmmaker commits completely."
THANK YOU TO OUR
IN-KIND SPONSORS FOR YOUR GENEROSITY
CFF Industry | DGC Ontario Filmmakers Lounge
WGC INGENUITY FAIR:
Creative insights from the front lines of Film & TV
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Sponsored by the Directors Guild of Ontario and The Writers Guild of Canada
In classic science fair set-up, Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) and Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) members will be stationed at displays to present case studies of problems they've encountered and solutions they've employed in development, prep, production, and post on feature film and television projects. Attendees will be able to visit and interact with the presenter at each display to gain a creative craftsperson's view of what can go right when you're in the trenches.
*Open exclusively to DGC Members, WGC Members, and CFF Festival Pass holders. Space is limited.
