By Anna Steshenko
Totally Indie Day, presented by STORYHIVE, is an opportunity for those who dream of screening their content, directing a movie, or creating anything for film production, to learn from top experienced industry pros and rising new talent how to get their start and find success in cinematography.
On October 7 at Vancity Theatre more than 20 industry professionals will be sharing their tips, advice and experience on how to establish your name in the world of cinema.
The event will host independent content writers, internationally recognized directors, producers, top distributors, actors, multiplatform creators and many other film experts who will be presenting and holding discussions from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. followed by an evening reception to mingle with other delegates.
There are three ticket options to participate in the day: All Day Session Pass for $125 (students’ discounts available), Morning Session Ticket for $75, or Afternoon Session Ticket for $95. For tickets and the program schedule please click here.
Some of the exceptional panel speakers at Totally Indie Day include: Simon Barry (Writer/Executive Producer, Ghost Wars), Shirley Vercruysse (Executive Producer of the National Film Board of Canada’s BC & Yukon Studio), Sheri Elwood (Writer/Executive Producer, Lucifer), Michael Grassi (Writer/Executive Producer, Riverdale), Thomas Schnauz (Writer/Executive Producer, Better Call Saul), Chris Harris (Executive Producer, Digital, CBC), Jonas Woost (Executive Producer, TELUS Original Content & STORYHIVE), Nina Sudra (General Manager, VICE Canada), Kathleen Hepburn (Writer/Director, Never Steady, Never Still), Kyle Rideout (Co-Writer/Director, Public Schooled), Mina Shum (Writer/Director, Meditation Park).
Here are 5 well-known and new talents at Totally Indie Day 2017:
Mayumi Yoshida – Director, Akashi
Mayumi Yoshida is from Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University (B.A., English & American Literature) and starred in 25 theatre productions in Tokyo. In 2010 she moved to Vancouver to pursue her acting career in North America and graduated from Vancouver Film School (Acting, Film & Television). Her role as Crown Princess (The Man in The High Castle) received a 2016 UBCP/ACTRA’s Emerging Actor nomination. She made her debut as a filmmaker with Akashi-あかし- (2017) which she wrote, produced, directed, and starred in. The short film is based on her play NeOn-ね音- which screened at the 2016 Vancouver Fringe Festival and 2017’s rEvolver Festival. Mayumi won Best Actor award at the 2017 East Van Showcase and TELUS Storyhive 2016 Shorts Grand Prize in BC. Her other known TV and film credits include Evangeline (2013), Mythos (2015), Inconceivable (2016), and Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce (2014).
Jem Garrard – Writer, Director, Android Employed
Jem Gerrard is a writer and a director based in Vancouver, but is originally from London, U.K. She has made music videos for Ringo Starr, Linkin Park, Young Galaxy and many other international music artists. Jem has directed episodic TV and shot documentaries around the world. Her notable works include feature documentary Guns to Mics, filmed in Sierra Leone, about the power of music over politics, and a TV feature, A Murderer Upstairs, also known as Secrets of My Stepdaughter. Jem is also a winner of four Leo awards for the musical documentary TV series, Playground. Recently she directed four episodes of Disney’s adventure TV series, Mech X4, and wrote and directed Android Employed, a four part comedic science fiction mini-series. Currently Jem is working on the development of her debut feature, Project IVAN, a sci-fi thriller.
Cowboy Smithx – Director, Elder in the Making
Cowboy Smithx is an award-winning filmmaker of Blackfoot Ancestry from the Piikani and Kainai Nations of Southern Alberta, Canada. He graduated in 2008 from the Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking Program at Capilano University. Cowboy is an actor, writer, director and a co-producer of a variety of short films and music videos. He was recently involved in the full feature documentary co-produced with Chris Hsiung, Elder in the Making. The film is about a Blackfoot Aboriginal and a Chinese-Canadian embarking on a spiritual journey of reconciliation across their shared home. Cowboy is also the founder and curator of the highly acclaimed International Indigenous speaker series REDx Talks. He also serves as the Artistic Director of the Iiniistsi Treaty Arts Society. Cowboy is currently working in Indigenous education, Cultural consultation and Youth work across the globe. Cowboy hosts the Silent x podcast and is the founder of the Noirfoot Narrative Labs program. His other films include Cree Code Talker (2016), Bloodland (2011), and Crookz (2005).
Kristin Lehman – Actor, Ghost Wars
Kristin Lehman is an award-winning film and television actress, producer, and director born in New Westminster and raised in Vancouver. Kristin trained in classical ballet for eight years at Royal Academy of Dance before beginning to act professionally in 1995. Her acting repertoire includes Poltergeist: The Legacy (1998–1999), Strange World (1999-2002), The Way of the Gun (2000), Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Century City (2004), The Killing (2011-2012), The Loft (2014), Motive (2013-2016), and many other films and series. Currently she stars both in Netflix’s Altered Carbon and ScyFy’s Ghost Wars, which she will also direct.
Evette Vargas – CEO, Writer, Director, Producer, Digital Reign Productions
Named by the New York Times as an Artist to Watch, Evette is an award-winning writer, director, producer, Virtual Reality and multiplatform storyteller. Evette was born in the Bronx and learned to tell stories at the dinner table with her family where the imagination ruled. She earned her BFA in Directing and Film/TV Production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and her MFA from UCLA for Screenwriting with a concentration in Television Showrunning. Her work includes series for Amazon, MTV, Bravo, DirectTV; as well as writing, apps, games and branded entertainment for Fast & Furious, Lord of The Rings trilogy and Madonna. Evette executive-produced, wrote and directed her digital and Emmy-nominated series Dark Prophet which will premiere on the Sony PlayStation VR. Evette sold her half-hour drama series Muses to Turner Broadcasting Super Deluxe and is developing her show Trans with Electus. Her slate of VR projects includes The Weinstein Company’s VR experience for The Current War. In the past Evette was a DJ, a fashion designer and New York advertising Art Director.
For more information or to purchase tickets click here.
VIFF Blog 