Robby Baumgartner began his film career 28 years ago in New York City. His interest in lighting inspired him to choose the unconventional route to DP via Gaffing.

This career path allowed him to light films and learn from some of the most talented DP’s in the business: Rodrigo Prieto, Chris Menges, Robert Elswit, Dante Spinotti, Darius Khondji, Janusz Kaminski, and Emmanuel Lubezki. Some of the films include: “8 Mile”, “25th Hour”, “21 Grams”, “Babel”, “Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”, and “There Will be Blood”.

In between Gaffing gigs he took every opportunity to DP or camera-operate on feature films, 2nd-unit photography, commercials, and shorts.

Then in 2008 “There Will be Blood” shot by Robert Elswit, won the Oscar for Best Cinematography; the highest honor for any DP/Gaffing team. That event was the impetus for Robby to stop gaffing and DP exclusively.

In 2009 Robby joined the International Cinematographers Guild as a DP. Since then he has gone on to shoot 2nd unit on both “Hunger Games” l and ll, “Water for Elephants”, and “Argo” amongst other films. For the last 5 years he has been concentrating on shooting main unit for films such as “The Guest”, “Blair Witch (2016)” and now “Blindspotting”, which has been selected for competition in the US Dramatic category at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

W: http://robbybaumgartner.com/about/

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Join veteran cinematographer Suki Medencevic, A.S.C. (Disney, Pixar, FX Networks, Netflix, American Horror Story). He teaches you how to create beautiful images using three lighting techniques he has mastered on film sets over his 30+ years in the film industry.
Each technique uses basic, low-cost lighting equipment so that anyone can achieve beautiful visuals no matter your projects's budget.
Learn film lighting from an ASC cinematographer. If you want to take your cinematography to the next level, this free training will get you there. These videos are available for a limited time, so sign up for instant access.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

https://www.ifhacademy.com/a/28632/aLFBXkpN

If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
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Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

If you enjoy listening to Filmmaking Conversations with Damien Swaby, I would love a coffee. Podcasting is thirsty work https://ko-fi.com/damienswaby

Williams was born Cynthia Ann Williams in Chicago, Illinois, to Charles, a police officer, and Beverly, a medical lab technician and raised in the Pullman neighborhood on the south side. She spent parts of her early childhood in Indiana, where she sang in her grandfather's church. Williams attended Bennett Elementary School and Dunbar Vocational High School before moving with her mother to Muncie, Indiana when she was a teenager. While in Indiana, Williams attended Northside High School, graduating in 1984. After high school, Williams attended Ball State University, studying theater. While in college, She was crowned Ms. Ball State in 1987 and later graduated in 1989.

She has appeared in the movies Mo' Better Blues, Wet, The Sweeper, Shooter, One False Move, Divine Intervention, and many more.

In 1990, her appearance on the soundtrack to Mo' Better Blues was on the song 'Harlem Blues.' The single was widespread, reaching #9 on the R&B charts on November 17, 1990.
With the single success, Cynda had been lined up with Sony to produce her album.

Cynda is still creating music and working in the film industry.

CHECK HER OUT!

CREDITS
Film Appearances
Clarke Bentancourt, Mo' Better Blues, Universal, 1990
Lila "Fantasia" Walker, One False Move, IRS Media, 1992
Rebecca, The Killing Box (also known as Ghost Brigade, Ghost Brigade: The Killing Box, Grey Knight, and Grey Night), Motion Picture Corporation of America, 1993
Peace and Quiet, 1994
Lisa-Marie Chandler, The Tie That Binds, Buena Vista/Hollywood Pictures, 1995
Diane, The Sweeper, PM Entertainment Group, 1995
Gidell Ryan, Condition Red (also known as Condition Red--Haelytystila and Draussen lauert der Tod), Oak Islands Films/Overseas FilmGroup, 1996
Georgia Freeman, Black Rose of Harlem (also known as Machine Gun Blues and Pistol Blues), New Horizon, 1996
Davida Urked, "Wet," Tales of Erotica (also known as Erotic Tales), Trimark Pictures, 1996
Arabella, Spirit Lost, Live Entertainment, 1996
Vanessa Dietrich/Trish, Caught Up, Live Film & Mediaworks, 1998
Sarina Classer, Relax ... It's Just Sex, A-Pix Entertainment, 1998
The Last Call (also known as Stingers), Leo Films, 1998
Alicia, MacArthur Park, Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, 2001
Angela Walsh, March, Kanan/Hammerschlag, 2001
With or without You, 2003
Grace, When Do We Eat?, 2004

Television Appearances
Miniseries
D'orothea/Dorothy Wilson, Tales of the City (also known as Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City), PBS, 1993
Liz Coles Otis, The Wedding (also known as Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Wedding), ABC, 1998

Movies
Anita Bayard, Gang in Blue, Showtime, 1996
Vivian Dandridge, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, HBO, 1999
Cecelia Delille, The Courage to Love, Lifetime, 2000
Brandy Taylor, Hidden Blessings, Black Entertainment Television, 2000
Rita Washington, Violation, Showtime, 2003
Episodic
Deletha, "Fearless," Fallen Angels, Showtime, 1994
Erica Rockler, "Hubris," New York Undercover, Fox, 1997
Appeared as Pamela Austin in an episode of Marker, UPN.

Specials
Host, Miss Collegiate African American Pageant, syndicated, 1993

Stage Appearances
Appeared in productions of A Chorus Line, A Raisin in the Sun, Two by Two, and West Side Story.

Podcast
P.P.C. Podcast with Cynda Williams
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p-p-c-podcast-with-cynda-williams/id1514233449

THE GROWN FOLKS RADIO
https://www.thegrownefolksradio.com/

IG:

Loretta Sarah Todd | Bio

Loretta Sarah Todd is a visionary leader in Indigenous media, considered a true artist with entrepreneurial energy and deep cultural knowledge. Her first dramatic feature, Monkey Beach, based on the iconic novel by Eden Robinson, recently launched to strong audience and critical response, screening at TIFF (Industry Selects), opening the Vancouver International Film Festival and sweeping the Drama awards at the American Indian and Red Nation Film Festivals in the USA, including Best Film and Best Director. With international awards adding up (Venice Film Awards, 7th Art International Film Festival), Monkey Beach was the #1 Canadian film for 4 weeks at Cineplex and Landmark Theatres.

Ms. Todd has directed over 100 projects including award-winning documentaries (Forgotten Warriors, Remembering Chief Dan George, People Go On), digital media and games (My Cree App, Coyote Quest) animation (25 short animations) and TV. Ms. Todd created, produced, wrote and directed children's series (Tansi! Nehiyawetan 1-3, Coyote’s Crazy Smart Science 1-3), sci-fi (Skye and Chang) and interactive media (Fierce Girls). She is in development with a new animated children's series called Nitanis & Skylar.

Her media work encompasses contributions to the development of Indigenous media, providing opportunities for Indigenous cast, crew and creative, building new spaces for Indigenous production and expression and writing influential scholarly essays on issues of appropriation, representation and Indigenous futurism. Ms. Todd created the Aboriginal Media Lab with the Chief Dan George Centre and Simon Fraser University and was instrumental in the formation of the Aboriginal Arts Centre at the Banff Centre.

Recently, she created the IM4 Media Lab, an Indigenous VR/AR/XR Lab, in collaboration with Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where she is the Creative Director.
Trailblazing in the development of immersive technologies, Ms. Todd is currently a Fellow to the Inaugural Indigenous Delegation to the Co-Creation Lab at MIT, sponsored by the Indigenous Screen Office. And she is on the Advisory Board to the ONX Studio, a NYC based immersive technology art lab sponsored by the Onassis Foundation and the NEW MUSEUM, plus she was recently invited to be on the board of the Kalediascope Immersive Fund. A respected speaker, she's presented at VIFFImmersed, The Global AR/VR Summit, Kidscreen, Museum of Modern Art – as well the Aboriginal International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, at the United Nations – to name a few.

Ms. Todd is an original. She ran away at 13, was homeless and became a teen mother – which changed her life. She went back to school and worked in bakeries, construction, restaurants – to stay off welfare and away from social workers who might take her daughter. Still she managed to become a writer, activist, entrepreneur and an award-winning filmmaker. She is a devotee of world cinema, sci-fi, obscure music, elegant fashion, forests, gardens and Paris – and is an instigator of fusion Indigenous cultural expression. She is also knowledgeable about her culture – creating and producing an award-winning children’s series that teaches kids to speak Cree, her father’s first language, as well as creating the first Cree language app.

Her films have screened at the Sundance Festival, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco), Yamagata Film Festival, ImagineNative, and the Museum of Modern Art, to name just a few. She has received many prestigious honours and awards, including a Rockefeller Fellowship to New York University, attendance to the Sundance Scriptwriter’s Lab, Special Jury Citation (TIFF), Mayor's Award for Media Arts (City of Vancouver) and the recent Women of Excellence Award, from the United Nation's WEF Women's Economic Forum.

Ms. Todd is Cree/Metis, from St. Paul...

Julie Sokolow is an award-winning film director, musician, and writer. She directed the feature documentaries Woman on Fire (2017) and Aspie Seeks Love (2015). Woman on Fire follows Brooke Guinan, the first openly transgender firefighter in NY. The film received praise in IndieWire and the Village Voice and first aired on Starz in November 2017. Her film Aspie Seeks Love chronicles David V. Matthews, an offbeat writer on a quest to find love after a late-in-life Aspergers diagnosis. The award-winning film has played festivals worldwide and gained acclaim in Vice, Salon, and the Huffington Post.

Sokolow’s short films have been featured by TIME, Vimeo Staff Picks, BuzzFeed, Gawker, Upworthy, and Huffington Post. In 2014, The New York Times profiled Sokolow and the documentary series she created: Healthy Artists. The series highlights the lives, talents, and struggles of over 40 uninsured artists in America. That same year, her short film Street Doctor went viral and received over one million views. Street Doctor follows Jim Withers, the legendary doctor who hits the streets at night to provide medical care to the homeless. Sometimes Sokolow's writing appears in Salon or Huffington Post. You can listen to her music album Something About Violins on iTunes and read about it in Pitchfork.

T: https://twitter.com/juliesokolow
IG: https://www.instagram.com/julie.sokolow/
IMBD: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6322959/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Like to have a ASC cinematographer as a mentor?
Have you thought of upgrading your cinematography game?
Would you like to have an ASC Cinematographer mentor you for free?

Join veteran cinematographer Suki Medencevic, A.S.C. (Disney, Pixar, FX Networks, Netflix, American Horror Story). He teaches you how to create beautiful images using three lighting techniques he has mastered on film sets over his 30+ years in the film industry.
Each technique uses basic, low-cost lighting equipment so that anyone can achieve beautiful visuals no matter your projects's budget.
Learn film lighting from an ASC cinematographer. If you want to take your cinematography to the next level, this free training will get you there. These videos are available for a limited time, so sign up for instant access.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

https://www.ifhacademy.com/a/28632/aLFBXkpN

If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

If you enjoy listening to Filmmaking Conversations with Damien Swaby, I would love a coffee. Podcasting is thirsty work https://ko-fi.com/damienswaby

Benjamin Madrid is an Actor/Comic/Writer/Producer from the Midwestern portion of the United States. 'Connected' and multi-talented in the business of show.' In addition to acting, he has a Masters of Science in Communication and a French wife.

He is the star of Indican Pictures' new true-crime drama, No Place.

Synopsis
No Place stars Benjamin Madrid (The Lumber Baron) as Mac, a grifter on the hunt for his next hustle. After tying up loose ends in the midwest with his fixer, Les (Forba Shepherd, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile), she turns him onto an opportunity expected to lead to a big payout in Indianapolis. Sent to a local bar owner, his chance for revenge and redemption turns into a meet up with an old flame, Evelyn (Afton Shepard). As his past catches up with him, Mac realizes that getting involved with her again means putting his life on the line.

From director and co-writer Peter Matsoukas (The Intersection), No Place also stars Ric Payne (A Day in the Life of Joe Redwood).

Film Site: https://bhipr.co/2GIkjkB
T:https://twitter.com/benjamin_madrid
IG:https://www.instagram.com/benjaminmadridactor/

Like to have a ASC cinematographer as a mentor?
Have you thought of upgrading your cinematography game?
Would you like to have an ASC Cinematographer mentor you for free?

Join veteran cinematographer Suki Medencevic, A.S.C. (Disney, Pixar, FX Networks, Netflix, American Horror Story). He teaches you how to create beautiful images using three lighting techniques he has mastered on film sets over his 30+ years in the film industry.
Each technique uses basic, low-cost lighting equipment so that anyone can achieve beautiful visuals no matter your projects's budget.
Learn film lighting from an ASC cinematographer. If you want to take your cinematography to the next level, this free training will get you there. These videos are available for a limited time, so sign up for instant access.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

https://www.ifhacademy.com/a/28632/aLFBXkpN

If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
http://filmmakingconversations.com/

If you enjoy listening to Filmmaking Conversations with Damien Swaby, I would love a coffee. Podcasting is thirsty work https://ko-fi.com/damienswaby

Suzan was born and raised in the Caribbean. Broadcast includes - Independent Lens, PBS, World Channel, Lincoln Center. BAG IT - winner of the Britdoc Impact Award, televised in over thirty countries. URANIUM DRIVE-IN - Sundance Institute, Good Pitch and Hot Docs Pitch Forum. Documentary Excellence by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. MASSACRE RIVER - ITVS funded, Latino Media Market, Points North Fellowship, and IFP Spotlight on Documentaries. Suzan became Festival Director for Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado in 2017.



Suzan is a Hispana-Latina-American and was born and raised in the Caribbean. Her films have shown on Independent Lens, PBS, Pivot TV and on the Documentary Channel, at Lincoln Center, and at many festivals. Her first film, BAG IT, was a winner of the Britdoc Impact Award in Berlin and has been televised in over thirty countries. URANIUM DRIVE-IN was a recipient of Sundance Institute and Chicken and Egg funding and was featured at Good Pitch and at Hot Docs Pitch Forum. The film was awarded the Big Sky Award, was honored for documentary excellence by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and was part of the American Film Showcase, an international film program of the U.S. State Department. Her most recent film, MASSACRE RIVER aired on PBS in 2019 and is the recipient of ITVS funding and was selected for the Latino Media Market, Camden International Film Festival Points North Fellowship, and IFP Spotlight on Documentaries. Suzan became Festival Director for Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado in 2017.

FILMS BY SUZAN BERAZA

MASSACRE RIVER: The Woman Without a Country
Pikilina is a Dominican-born woman of Haitian descent. Racial and political violence erupt when the country of her birth, the Dominican Republic, reverses its birthright citizenship law and she is left stateless, along with over 200,000 others.


Uranium Drive-In

Bag It
Try going a day without plastic. In this touching and often flat-out-funny film, we follow "everyman" Jeb Berrier as he embarks on a global tour to unravel the complexities of our plastic world.

New Day was initially formed because the women’s movement had arrived and a group of independent filmmakers couldn’t find distribution for their feminist films. New Day sustains the ideas that inspired its formation in 1971 - collaboration, hope and social change.

“We met at the 1971 Flaherty Seminar, where some of our films were programmed,” recalled founding member Amalie Rothschild. “I was in production with It Happens to Us. I'd been trying to get distribution for Woo Who? May Wilson. I'd take it to non-theatrical distribution companies and they'd say 'It's wonderful, dear, we really like it. But there's no audience...’ ”

Founding members Julia Reichert and Jim Klein had already started self-distributing their film, Growing Up Female.

"The whole idea of distribution," explained Julia Reichert, "was to help the women's movement grow. Films could do that, they could get the ideas out. We could watch the women's movement spread across the country just by who was ordering our films. First it was Cambridge and Berkeley. I remember the first showing in the deep South."

Soon, a fourth member joined the three: "When I first met them," Liane Brandon explains, "I'd been inundated with requests to show Anything You Want To Be. I'd been running back and forth to the Post Office, making myself crazy. Other distributors wanted my film, but the most they would offer was a two-year contract, as they were sure the women's movement wouldn't last any longer than that. Because I'd been active in women's groups since 1969, I knew there was a huge demand, but most distributors didn't, so they offered bad deals, or they wanted to ghettoize the films. When I first talked with Jim and Julia and Amalie, I thought 'Ah-hah! Someone else who's...

Like to have a ASC cinematographer as a mentor?
Have you thought of upgrading your cinematography game? Would you like to have an ASC Cinematographer mentor you for free?

Join veteran cinematographer Suki Medencevic, A.S.C. (Disney, Pixar, FX Networks, Netflix, American Horror Story). He teaches you how to create beautiful images using three lighting techniques he has mastered on film sets over his 30+ years in the film industry.
Each technique uses basic, low-cost lighting equipment so that anyone can achieve beautiful visuals no matter your projects's budget.
Learn film lighting from an ASC cinematographer. If you want to take your cinematography to the next level, this free training will get you there. These videos are available for a limited time, so sign up for instant access.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

https://www.ifhacademy.com/a/28632/aLFBXkpN

If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
filmmakingconversations.com

If you enjoy listening to Filmmaking Conversations with Damien Swaby, I would love a coffee. Podcasting is thirsty work https://ko-fi.com/damienswaby






​

Morgan (Mo) Heim
MA - Environmental Journalism, BS - Zoology

Once upon a time, Morgan spent her days studying things like dam removal or how killer whales communicate in the dark waters of British Columbia. Now, she's a science groupie, working with researchers, NGOs and media outlets to connect nature's stories with broader audiences.

She loves helping wildlife…and people, and wants them to do a better job of living together. She does this by creating photographs and films that weave together the stories of wildlife and humans sharing our planet.

Mo is a Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and a former board member of the North American Nature Photography Association. She has worked on two National Geographic granted projects, one on urban coyotes, and the other for the feature film Deer 139, following the migration of a single, pregnant mule deer across Wyoming. Her photos and writing appears in outlets, such as BBC Wildlife, Smithsonian, Nature Conservancy , World Wildlife Magazine, Newsweek and Playboy. Her film collaborations have appeared in Banff Mountain Film Festival, Adventure Film, Telluride and the International Wildlife Film Festival. In 2016, The Snow Guardian received second place recognition in the Film4Climate Competition in associate with COP22 and has since gone viral.

She also likes to support budding storytellers! Mo leads workshops on photography and filmmaking all over the world, and offers trainings to help get your own projects off the ground. Check out the latest workshop schedule to see how you can enhance your skill sets and also explore somewhere fun!

Preserving An American Icon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baYOa4mkdc0&feature=youtu.be

Website
https://www.morganheim.com/MOTION/1

Vimeo https://vimeo.com/277698636

IG: https://www.instagram.com/moheim/?hl=en
T: https://twitter.com/notesfrommo?lang=en
Morgan Heim
Astoria, OR
P / 206-619-4482
E / [email protected]

Like to have a ASC cinematographer as a mentor?
Have you thought of upgrading your cinematography game? Would you like to have an ASC Cinematographer mentor you for free?

Join veteran cinematographer Suki Medencevic, A.S.C. (Disney, Pixar, FX Networks, Netflix, American Horror Story). He teaches you how to create beautiful images using three lighting techniques he has mastered on film sets over his 30+ years in the film industry.
Each technique uses basic, low-cost lighting equipment so that anyone can achieve beautiful visuals no matter your projects's budget.
Learn film lighting from an ASC cinematographer. If you want to take your cinematography to the next level, this free training will get you there. These videos are available for a limited time, so sign up for instant access.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

https://www.ifhacademy.com/a/28632/aLFBXkpN

If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram

Hey there, I’m Melissa Center. I’m an actor, filmmaker & “social entrepreneur” working and living in Hollywood.

Ever since my parents took me to see ET & The Nutcracker, I knew my destiny was to work in Showbiz. As a child with an active imagination & a penchant for song and dance, I LOVED to perform! Those passions coupled with my bright mind led me to seek excellence in life as an actor, creator, and entrepreneur. My journey has taken me from touring A Chorus Line to originating a one-woman show to pioneering a digital series to recurring on Grey’s Anatomy to creating award-winning films to coaching & advocating for Women’s Rights to co-founding a company Whole Self Systems + Whole Self Stories, dedicated to empowering women & diverse voices to bring their authentic stories to the world. Thank you for visiting me here!

MUCH LOVE,
M

W: http://melissacenter.com/

Like to have a ASC cinematographer as a mentor?
Have you thought of upgrading your cinematography game? Would you like to have an ASC Cinematographer mentor you for free?

Join veteran cinematographer Suki Medencevic, A.S.C. (Disney, Pixar, FX Networks, Netflix, American Horror Story). He teaches you how to create beautiful images using three lighting techniques he has mastered on film sets over his 30+ years in the film industry.
Each technique uses basic, low-cost lighting equipment so that anyone can achieve beautiful visuals no matter your projects's budget.
Learn film lighting from an ASC cinematographer. If you want to take your cinematography to the next level, this free training will get you there. These videos are available for a limited time, so sign up for instant access.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

https://www.ifhacademy.com/a/28632/aLFBXkpN

If you liked this podcast, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]

Also, you can check out my documentary The People of Brixton, on Kwelitv here: https://www.kweli.tv/programs/the-people-of-brixton

Damien Swaby Social Media Links:

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/filmmaker_damien_swaby/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/DamienSwaby?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website
filmmakingconversations.com

If you enjoy listening to Filmmaking Conversations with Damien Swaby, I would love a coffee. Podcasting is thirsty work https://ko-fi.com/damienswaby






​

JERRY CICCORITTI (DIRECTOR)

A founder of the Buddies In Bad Times Theatre Company and long one of Canada’s most prolific and influential film and television directors, Jerry Ciccoritti is known for both his innovative and dynamic visual style, as well as being one of Canada’s best actor’s directors. His features have been invited to festivals throughout the world and, in television, his work has earned ten Gemini Awards and two Canadian Screen Awards.
He has won six Directors Guild of Canada Awards and received a Genie Awards nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in a Feature Film.

LESLIE HOPE

Leslie Hope was 16 when she starred in Ups and Downs her first feature with the great Canadian filmmaker, Paul Almond. Bit by the bug, she left high-school and landed in Los Angeles to star in John Cassavetes’ Love Streams, in a role he had written for her. At 19 she wrote and directed her first short film The Luncheon and later Siren Moon, a shout-out to the early black and white silent films she loved.

Leslie directed her first television movie, the charming A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride, followed quickly by the highly- rated My Neighbor’s Secret for TF-1. The Merry In-Laws, an oddball Christmas comedy starring George Wendt and Shelley Long won its nightly ratings and Christmas on the Bayou starring Ed Asner, Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton and Randy Travis garnered the highest ratings for Lifetime holiday movie since 2011 and was an official selection of the Southern Screen Film Festival in Louisiana.

What I See When I Close My Eyes, her documentary which follows the street kids of Cambodia, won several awards and was the official selection of over 30 film festivals. What I See When I Close My Eyes was invited to screen as part of the 10th anniversary of "V-Day" (an event which celebrates women and children, and which supports an end to violence against both), alongside even supporters like Oprah Winfrey, Eve Ensler, Ellen DeGeneres and Salma Hayek. Eyes also screened at the Amerian Visionalry Arts Museum as part of their year-long exhibition "The Art of Story Telling".

Hope was honoured to have the Kent Film Festival name “The Hope Award for Outstanding Work in Documentary Filmmaking” after her and her work. Eyes sold to Moviola, The Short Film Channel.

Leslie's episodic work includes Lost in Space, The Order and Ghost Wars for Netflix, Snow Piercer for TNT. Additional work includes ABC’s Emergence and Law&Order: SVU for NBC. She has directed several episodes of the period procedural The Murdoch Mysteries, Aftermath for Halfire Entertainment/SyFy, Frankie Drake for the CBC, and Van Helsing for Nomadic Pictures. With Jon Eskenas, she served as Executive Producer on The Bling Ring for Dick Clark Productions. Leslie wrote and directed the hilarious, award-winning short GAYKEITH, and created its accompanying web campaign. GAYKEITH became a viral internet hit and was picked up for distribution by Tricon Films.

Leslie produced the feature film Lie Exposed, directed by Jerry Ciccoritti, based on Jeff Kober’s play Pornography. Lie Exposed was recently sold to Mongrel Media for theatrical distribution and Crave for Canadian broadcast, as well as Indican Pictures for US theatrical and international distribution. Leslie also directed and executive produced the short film Buried Treasure, which won the Rome International Film Festival as Best Narrative Short.

She is attached to direct the J-Horror feature, Blood Wish, the comedy thriller mash up Ding Dong Ditch and the psychological thriller, Snow Man, based on best-selling author Carolyn Chute’s acclaimed novel. Leslie will direct the pilot for X-treme Medicine, a docu-reality series she co-created.

For the theater, Leslie directed and co-created with Roberto Campanella F-Lying: A Fellini Cabaret for SoulPepper and ProArte Danza as part of The Global Cabaret Festival....