To elevate WIFF’s goal of supporting current and emerging filmmakers, as part of the 2023 Festival we introduced a new series of events through an Industry Program. These events included in-depth panel discussions, workshops and more, featuring industry professionals and nominated filmmakers.
Holly Pruner is the Senior Manager of Theatrical Releasing at levelFILM where she’s collaborated on the release of films like Scarborough, Adult Adoption, Soft and The Inspection, as well as recent acquisitions Another Body and Hey, Viktor!. She has previously worked with the Tribeca Film Festival, TIFF and Hot Docs.
India Blaisdell is a Toronto-based film professional and graduate of McGill University. As the Manager of Operations and Delivery at levelFILM, she has assisted with the distribution strategy of numerous films, including Scarborough, Soft, The Inspection, and The Miracle Club, and is working on the releases for upcoming Canadian hits from the 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, Backspot and Hey, Viktor!
Yoann Sauvageau had worked in movie distribution with Alliance Films and Sony Pictures before joining Entertainment One in 2012 as Director of theatrical sales. He led the theatrical sales team in Quebec and released films like Hunger Games, La La Land, Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 and John Wick. In 2019, his role extended nationwide through the role of Vice-President of Theatrical Sales, working with exhibitors across the country. In 2022, Yoann then moved to independent distributor Maison 4:3 as Vice President of Sales, overseeing the process of all and every window a movie can have.
Anna Newallo has three decades of experience in the Film and Television industry. As a Program Consultant at Ontario Creates, her portfolio contains a wide range of programs and initiatives including the Film Fund (Production and Development), Marketing and Distribution Initiative and Industry Development Program. As a producer, her award-winning independent films have played major international festivals, and as a writer, her short stories have appeared in numerous publications. Prior to joining Ontario Creates, she worked on projects for The Disney Channel, CTV, Discovery Channel, CBC, TMN (now Crave), CityTV and BRAVO.
Louise Archambault is a screenwriter and director. Her first feature film, Familia, won international sales and awards, including at TIFF and at the Genie Awards. She went on to direct episodes of TV series (La Galère, Nouvelle adresse and This Life) and launched her second film, Gabrielle, at the Locarno International Film Festival (Audience Award). Canada’s selection for the 2014 Oscars and Golden Globes, the film won several international awards and was sold in over twenty-four territories. Since 2016, she has directed 3 seasons of the series Trop and 2 seasons of the series Catastrophe. The latter won the Best Scripted Format award at Cannes. In 2019, Louise released Il pleuvait des oiseaux, which was launched at TIFF and won several awards, including the Canadian Screen Awards, the Iris québécois and Göteborg, Sweden. Her fourth feature, the comedy Merci pour tout, was released in cinemas at Christmas 2019. Her last two films were popular successes, ranking 2nd and 3rd at the box office in Canada. Louise will release two feature films in 2023, a biopic set during the Second World War, Irena’s Vow, shot in Poland, and Le temps d’un été, shot in the Gaspé.
Vincent Georgie brings films to the masses and makes art accessible for all with an irrepressible penchant for big, bold ideas and a relentless positivity that inspires and empowers. Georgie holds a Ph.D. in the marketing of film. Georgie wed his marketing savvy with his lifelong love of cinema to grow the award-winning Windsor International Film Festival into the largest volunteer-run festival in Canada.
Georgie was named a Top 10 Community Leader Who Makes Windsor Better by Windsor Star, made the Top 40 Under 40 list by Leadership Windsor-Essex and received the Made a Difference Award from the University of Windsor, where he earned his MBA and where he continues to be Marketing faculty while serving as the Acting Associate Vice President External.
Georgie has been an active member of the Board of Directors for Ontario Creates since 2021.
Michael Stasko is a talented and award-winning filmmaker who has written, produced and directed five feature films that have premiered at prestigious festivals and sold to major distributors. His films range from comedy to sci-fi to drama, and feature stars like Ray Wise, Tom Cavanagh, Fred Willard, Graham Greene, Colin Mochrie and Kevin McDonald. He has also created and produced original TV shows for YTV and CBC. Michael Stasko is a versatile and visionary storyteller who always delivers engaging and entertaining stories for the screen. Works include “Things To Do” (2006), “Iodine” (2009), “The Brider” (2014), “The Control” (2018) and “Boys vs. Girls” (2020).
Most recently he produced the psychological thriller “Depraved Mind” with Suede Productions, and it’s currently enjoying a successful film festival run. His current project “Vampire Zombies…from Space!” is in advance post-production and gearing up for a festival run in early 2024.
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