FINDING YOUR CREATIVE SPACE IN VANCOUVER - BLACK FILMMAKERS AND WRITERS
FINDING YOUR CREATIVE SPACE IN VANCOUVER - BLACK FILMMAKERS AND WRITERS
Vancouver and its surroundings have been the location of the making of award-winning movies, huge blockbusters and popular tv shows. DC’s The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, and films such as Deadpool, Bad Times at the El Royale and Juno are among the long list of titles that used the area as their filming destination.
But what does all of this success mean for Vancouver - based Black and Racialized artists, most especially writers and filmmakers? With so many production services happening in BC, has there been any space for original Canadian content to strive in the area? Have there been significant changes in funding opportunities or increased support for these Black creatives looking to produce their films? This panel will focus on their inspirations, the obstacles, the improvements and the positive points of being a Black content creator in Vancouver.
MODERATOR:
Giselle Miller, Writer, Director, Actor, Producer
Giselle Miller is a Jamaican-born writer, actor, filmmaker, and web series showrunner based in BC. She was recently nominated for two Leo awards and is currently developing a feature film, and a new web series, NOVELETTE IS TRYING, a comedy about a Black woman as she finds her footing in Vancouver after the end of her relationship.
SPEAKERS
Gur-Inder Singh, Writer, Producer, Director
As a filmmaker, Gurinder explores the blurred lines between country, culture, creed and color. Having worked in the Bollywood system, He is finding his footing in the west, with multiple awards for his scripts and short-film work, slowly but surely, he plans to bridge the gap between Bollywood and Hollywood.
Ian Nsenga, Writer, Producer, Director
For over a decade Ian David Nsenga has worked in both the film and music industries of Canada, United States, China, Taiwan, and Europe. As a BIPOC producer his passion for creative arts has helped shape quite a diverse career from acting to writing and running his own production company. His work has been featured on Amazon Prime Video and festivals in the USA and Canada. With his company Visionary Productions ; he aims to create creative and original content.
Jamila Pomeroy, Writer, Director, Producer
Jamila Pomeroy is a Kenyan-Canadian internationally-published writer (TWUC), screenwriter (WGC), director and producer. She has worked for a variety of globally-recognized outlets; spanning print and media; factual, reality and scripted film and television.
Janessa St. Pierre, Director, Writer, Multidisciplinary Artist & Performer
I’m Janessa St. Pierre, a black filmmaker, multi-disciplinary artist and performer born and raised on the unceded lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I studied Film Studies at Concordia University in 2015 then transferred to Capilano University to get my certificate in Motion Picture Arts in 2017. I have been working in the film industry ever since. My goal is to ground all my stories and work in true authenticity. Specifically highlighting and centring Black women and non-men in a genuine way to have authentic representations in-front and behind the camera.
Jessie Anthony, Producer, Writer, Director, DGC
Writer/Director/Producer Jessie Anthony is a proud Haudenosaunee woman from the Onondaga Nation, Beaver clan, born and raised in the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory in Ontario, Canada. Jessie graduated from the Indigenous Independent Filmmaking Program with a Bachelor of Motion Picture Arts from Capilano University. Jessie is a Telefilm Talent to Watch winner for her first feature film titled “Brother, I Cry,” which won the 2020 BC Emerging Filmmakers Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Audience Choice Award in the 2020 imagiNative Film Festival, Best Screenwriting Award at the 2021 Vancouver International Women's Film Festival and Best Screenwriting and Best Direction in a motion picture at the 2021 Leo Awards. Jessie is also the producer of the Canadian Screen Award-nominated Indigenous Queer series QUERENCIA, which won the imagineNATIVE Pitch Competition, gaining a broadcast deal with APTN/The Bell Fund and Telefilm Talent to Watch. Jessie is currently in development with a television slate supported by CMF, AMAZON, ISO, CREATIVE BC and BELL MEDIA. Jessie recently wrapped up a writer's room for a brand new Indigenous T.V comedy series titled “Acting Good.” with CTV and a director's mentorship on THE HANDMAIDS TALE with Emmy award-winning cinematographer and director Dana Gonzales.
Jessie has produced shorts through her production company Pass-Through Productions, which the Indigenous Screen Office has funded, Telus Optik and BravoFact. Jessie is a member of Red Castle Films and is one of the producers of the award-winning short film El Color Negro a story about black empowerment and many music videos. She was the first Assistant Director on The Edge of the Knife, co-directed by Helen Haig-Brown and Haida Artist Gwaai Edenshaw. Jessie was a finalist at the MPPIA short film award competition, receiving an honourable mention. She directed the documentary Through My Needle, which follows a Mohawk designer and her family, exploring culture and clan through the beading and design of indigenous regalia. Jessie worked on the Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce (NBC Universal), River of Silence (Telefilm), Going For Broke (Telus/Red Castle Films), Man in the High Castle (Amazon) and La Quinceanera (Lucha Gore -Time Warner) and many more.
