2021 Agenda

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Master Classes

Monday, June 21

5:00pm

Master Class: Reservation Dogs (5:00pm - 5:45pm)

A conversation with the stars and creative team of FX’s Reservation Dogs,  a new half-hour comedy that follows the exploits of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma who steal, rob and save in order to get to the exotic, faraway land of California. Created and executive produced by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, the series boasts the first-ever all-Indigenous creative team, represented by every writer, director and series regular.

Moderating:


Kelly Boutsalis

International Programmer, Canada

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Featuring:

Tazbah Rose Chavez

Producer/Director/Writer, Reservation Dogs

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Sterlin Harjo

Co-Creator/Executive Producer/Director/Writer, Reservation Dogs

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Wednesday, June 23

1:00pm

Master Class: Sort Of (1:00pm - 1:45pm)

In Partnership With

Join us for a conversation with the creative team behind CBC's new dramatic comedy, Sort Of, premiering this fall. Creators and Showrunners Bilal Baig (Acha Bacha) and Fab Filippo (Save Me) and Sienna Films' Jennifer Kawaja will take BANFF delegates behind the scenes of this big-hearted, coming-of-age story about Sabi Mehboob (Baig), a gender-fluid millennial in transition in every aspect of their life, from gender to love to sexuality to family to career.


Moderating:


Lauren Howes

Executive Director

Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival

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Featuring:

Bilal Baig

EP/Writer/Lead Performer/Co-Creator, Sort Of

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Fab Filippo

EP/Writer/Director/Co-Creator, Sort Of

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Jennifer Kawaja

President of English Scripted

Sienna Films

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Trish Williams

Executive Director, Scripted Content

CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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Thursday, June 24

12:00pm

Master Class: It’s a Sin (12:00pm - 12:45pm)

In Partnership With

A coming-of-age chronicle of four friends during the rise of the AIDS crisis from 1981 to 1991, the critically acclaimed mini-series drama It’s a Sin has been lauded by critics and audiences globally. Join us for an intimate conversation with the show’s Creator, Executive Producer and Showrunner Russell T. Davies, Director Peter Hoar and series star Nathaniel Curtis as they discuss the journey to bringing this change making landmark show to the screen and its impact to date. It’s a Sin was produced by Red Production Company For Channel 4 and HBO Max in association with All3Media International. The show is globally distributed by All3Media and has aired on Channel 4, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video Canada and Canal+.

Moderating:


Marc Malkin

Senior Editor of Culture and Events

Variety

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Featuring:

Nathaniel Curtis

Actor, It's a Sin

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Peter Hoar

Director (It's a Sin)

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Russell T Davies

Creator, Executive Producer and Showrunner (It's a Sin)

RED Production Company

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4:00pm

Master Class: David Makes Man (4:00pm - 4:45pm)

The Peabody Award-winning series produced by Warner Bros. Television, also received a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for “Best Drama,” a prestigious Gotham Award nomination, and has been named to several critics’ 2019 year-end “best of television” lists. “David Makes Man” premiered to overwhelming critical acclaim in August 2019. The New York Times called the show “deeply beautiful and distinctive” while The Washington Post called it “one of the most original and riveting TV shows this year.” During its first season run, the series ranked #2 in its time period across all cable with African-American women and reached over 4.1 million unique viewers on OWN. Season two fast-forwards and finds David in his 30s (played by Kwame Patterson, “Snowfall,” “The Wire”), a rising business man facing an opportunity that will change him and his community forever; the mounting pressure forces David to choose between the instincts that helped him survive or finding a new way to truly live. The adult versions of David and his brother JG played by Patterson and Arlen Escarpeta join returning series regulars Akili McDowell, Alana Arenas, Travis Coles and Cayden K. Williams for season two.

Moderating:


Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

The Hollywood Reporter

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Featuring:

Dee Harris-Lawrence

Showrunner and Executive Producer

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Tarell Alvin McCraney

Executive Producer and Writer

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Akili McDowell

Actor "David," David Makes Man

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Kwame Patterson

Actor "Adult David," David Makes Man

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Tina Perry

President OWN TV Network & OTT Streaming

OWN Oprah Winfrey Network

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Tuesday, July 6

12:00pm

Master Class: Transplant (12:00pm - 12:45pm)

In Partnership With

Join us for a conversation with the creative team behind the hit CTV Original drama series Transplant. The first season of the critically acclaimed series, which is the 2021 Canadian Screen Award-winner for Best Drama Series, follows a Syrian doctor who tries to build a new life for himself and his sister. It was a ratings hit on CTV, becoming the most-watched Canadian series, and on NBC in the U.S. The discussion will feature creator and executive producer Joseph Kay, Sphere Media Vice President of Development and executive producer Tara Woodbury, series star Hamza Haq, series cultural consultant and actor Ahmad Meree, and General Manager, Original Programming, Bell Media, Carlyn Klebuc.

Moderating:


Tyrone Edwards

Anchor, ETALK

Bell Media

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Featuring:

Hamza Haq

Actor, Transplant

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Joseph Kay

Writer

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Carlyn Klebuc

General Manager, Original Programming

Bell Media

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Ahmad Meree

Cultural Consultant and Actor, Transplant

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Tara Woodbury

Director, Content-Canada

Sphere Media

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Thursday, July 15

12:00pm

Master Class: Moominvalley (12:00pm - 12:45pm)

Join us for a journey into the magic behind the internationally celebrated and positivity-themed animated series Moominvalley based on the stories of beloved Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson. Get the backstory on the series produced by Gutsy Animations from the series Creator Marika Makaroff, Executive Producer Marion Edwards, Director Jay Grace and Actor Jack Rowan (Noughts + Crosses, Peaky Blinders) who voices Moomintroll, as well as Jarmo Lampela, Head of Drama, at the Finnish public broadcaster YLE who was first to board the series which has been sold to over 50 countries.


Moderating:


Elizabeth Foster

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Brunico Communications Ltd.

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Featuring:

Marion Edwards

Managing Director and Executive Producer

Gutsy Animations

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Jay Grace

Director, Moominvalley

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Jarmo Lampela

Head of Drama

YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company

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Marika Makaroff

Founder and CCO

Gutsy Animations

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Jack Rowan

Actor, "Moomintroll," Moominvalley

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