Book one-on-one 10 minute pitching sessions and pitch yourself or your project directly to these leading film industry professionals.

Sean Cossey - Casting Director - Aikins/Cossey Casting

“13 years ago I jumped head first into casting for film & television and haven’t looked back. As did almost every other casting director I know, I started as an assistant, and the rest is history as they say. I’ve had the great fortune of mentoring under one of Canada’s most renowned Casting Directors and feel truly privileged to have him as my partner-in-crime today. Together, we’ve had wonderful experiences… working with incredible Directors the likes of LAWRENCE KASDAN, CHRISTOPHER GUEST, and SCOTT HICKS and also exciting pop-culture phenomena’s such as the TWILIGHT series. Currently I’m working on a number of pilots for the upcoming season, with one to watch out for currently entitled THE WYOMING PROJECT for the CW being developed by Dan & AmySherman Palladino – creators of the GILMOUR GIRLS. And as for the most meaningful reward I get from doing what I do… seeing an actor grow, develop, and achieve their personal best…and all that comes with that.”

Tyman Stewart - Talent Agent - The Characters Talent Agency

Tyman Stewart has been working in the film industry for Twenty years as a talent agent. He is Senior Vice President and a partner in The Characters Talent Agency (West), and represents many of Canada’s finest actors. His clients can be seen on many Canadian and American television series, and film. Names include Brendan Fletcher, Carly Pope, Daniel Gillies (Spiderman 2 and 3), Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Grace Park, Tyler Labine, Nancy Robertson, Cynthia Stevenson. Tyman has discovered a number of high profile actors whom he has represented over the years, these include; Barry Pepper, Sarah Chalke, Justin Chatwin and Ryan Reynolds to name just a few.

Tyman has an eye for talent and a business ethic that is widely respected throughout the film industry. He provides his clients with valuable opinions and advice based on his experiences from years in the business, and is highly sought- after for his responsible attitudes towards his clients. Tyman branched into Producing in 2002, with Co-Producing credits on “Ginger Snaps” the sequel. Executive produced the Award winning Canadian Feature “everyone” and presently has numerous other projects in development as well.

Robert Hardy - Development Manager, Western Production - CTV

A member of CTV’s development team since 2004, Robert oversees the development and production of scripted and alternative programming in Western Canada. Robert has served as Executive In Charge of Production for CTV on more than forty productions, including the dramatic series “Defying Gravity”, the television movies “Playing For Keeps” and Gemini-award winning “Elijah”; the Gemini-award winning documentary “Hockey Brawl: Battle on Thin Ice”; and the Gemini-nominated documentaries “There’s Something Out There: A Bigfoot Encounter” and “As Seen On TV: The K-Tel Story”.

Formerly the Director of Corporate Development for the National Screen Institute of Canada, a Senior Communications Officer for CBC, and an independent producer and writer, Robert has held a variety of creative and business related positions in advertising, broadcasting, government relations and the arts.

* NB- CTV is generally focusing on episodic drama and comedy series

www.womeninfilm.ca

John Dippong - Regional Feature Film Executive - Telefilm Canada

In his current position as Regional Feature Film Executive, John Dippong oversees Telefilm Canada’s feature film development, production and marketing decisions in the Western Region. Prior to joining Telefilm in 1997, John spent two years as programmer of the Canadian Images Series at the Vancouver International Film Festival, was the Founding Director of Moving Pictures, Canadian Films on Tour - a travelling film festival designed to bring Canadian films into smaller centres in Western Canada, and co-produced Bruce Sweeney’s second feature film, Dirty, which screened at the Sundance, Berlin and Toronto International Film Festivals.

Murray Battle- Director of Independent Production and Presentation- Knowledge

Murray Battle is the Director of Independent Production and Presentation at Knowledge. He has been a filmmaker for over 30 years. From 2000 – 2007 he produced, directed and programmed TVO’s Saturday Night At The Movies.

*NB- Knowledge will only be accepting documentary project proposals (no drama or reality TV)

Stacey Landers- Development Manager & Liam Cripps- Development Coordinator Paperny Films

Stacey Landers Before joining the development team, Stacey worked as a producer in both the factual and scripted worlds on projects ranging from the CBC’s Steven and Chris, Slice Network’s Superstar Hair Challenge, W Network’s The Smart Woman Survival Guide and Paperny’s own, Chop Shop. Bringing with her a production, casting and writing background, Stacey is happy to have found a home where she can be present at the genesis of a show and hopes to help foster many fabulous series that challenge as much as they entertain. Stacey graduated from the University of British Columbia with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and from the University of Toronto with a Master of Arts in Drama.

Liam Cripps As Development Coordiantor at Paperny Films Liam gets to fill a variety of different roles. From reviewing submissions to designing proposals to gathering broadcaster intel and sometimes developing his own ideas, Liam is involved in all stages of development at Paperny Films. Before joining the development team, Liam was an Assistant Director on the second season of Paperny Films' hit CBC series "The Week the Women Went". Prior to that, Liam spent a number of years in visual effects, first working as a visual effects coordinator on Brightlight Pictures' "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale" and then as a producer at VFX studio Tinderbox. Liam graduated with honours from BCIT's Television Production program.

*NB- Paperny Films is interested in pitches for scripted and reality shows for a variety of Canadian and American broadcasters. See www.papernyfilms.com for more information

www.womeninfilm.ca