Program Director Shares Accomplishments from Writing Diploma Students and Grads
By Adam Till, Program Director of the Writing for Film and Television Diploma
Each term there is no shortage of accolades to share from alumni, students and faculty in the Writing for Film and Television Diploma at Toronto Film School. This term is no exception. 2018 Writing for Film and Television valedictorian, Caleigh Bacchus, has hit the ground running after graduation. Caleigh has been hired by Hungry Eyes Entertainment (Sudz Sutherland/Jennifer Holness) to work in the writing room for a new series they’re developing entitled #relationshipgoals. She is also writing a feature for acclaimed director Clement Virgo (Book of Negroes, The Listener), a psychological thriller entitled Paralysis. And finally, Caleigh remains in development with our very own Andrew Barnsley (Project 10) on her series Spiked, loosely based on her experiences as a high jumper at the University of Iowa.
Current Writing for Film and Television student Nathaniel Montei has just finished a successful limited-term internship with Voltage Pictures, a production, distribution and merchandising company based in Los Angeles. Voltage’s latest production project is a feature film entitled Eve, starring and co-produced by Jessica Chastain.
Both Toronto Film School Talent To Watch teams have now begun pre-production on their projects. Ho Che Anderson and Mohammed Hassan (Le Corbeau) and Laura Bergeron and Maxime Robin (Meilleur Avant) are putting their six-figure grants to use as they begin work on their feature film and web series, respectively. Toronto Film School nabbed 2 of the 45 grants given out nationwide in the first year of this Telefilm program, a great start for TFS as a partner school.
And current Writing for Film and Television student Sofia Simanovich has made her directorial debut with a short film entitled The Drip!, funded by a grant from ACTRA and William F. White. Toronto Film School Instructor Colin Mercer is writer/producer on the project; Colin selected Sofia for the opportunity based on his experiences with her in his class. The film premiered at the Reelworld Film Festival on October 10th.
With the latest season of Schitt’s Creek in the can (set to air on CBC early 2019), Toronto Film School’s Executive Producer In Residence Andrew Barnsley (Project 10) has begun production on his latest sitcom Jann, created by and starring Jann Arden. Jann is currently shooting in Calgary, with plans to air on CTV early 2019. Eight-time Juno Award winner Arden plays a fictionalized version of herself, as a newly single singer-songwriter trying to revive her career.
And finally, current Writing for Film and Television student Reeth Mazumder is making her Canadian acting debut (after an illustrious Bollywood career) this fall in a feature film entitled Zarb. The film is based on the novel by Rubina Faisal, and began filming late-September. Reeth has also been commissioned to co-write a feature film in India entitled Kaya Palat. The film is a dramatic thriller, and the team is hopeful for production sometime next year.
Adam Till is the Program Director of the Writing For Film & Television Diploma at Toronto Film School as well as a producer and writer, known for Billable Hours (2006), Perfect Sisters (2014) and Too Late to Say Goodbye (2009).
