Guest Speakers |
TAF 2022 Producer AcceleratorThe Accelerator will pair emerging Arab-Canadian filmmakers with emerging producers, where they will attend an intensive day of workshops presented by industry professionals on: development, pitching and distribution.
Ten participants will be selected in total to form 5 teams - 5 directors, and 5 producers. Participants can either apply as a team comprised of a producer and a filmmaker, or they can apply individually and be partnered with someone. TAF will partner participants based on their applications detailing their experience, goals and content interests. |

Sherien Barsoum is a producer with the National Film Board of Canada. As an independent filmmaker she directed and produced Cynara, Ride for Promise and Player Zero, winning the Hot Docs Short Film Pitch and Best Canadian Documentary at NorthWest Fest. She was the producer of Dreams in Vantablack and Babe, I Hate To Go, which played top festivals internationally and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. Sherien was also the story consultant on the Oscar-shortlisted Frame 394 and co-produced House of Z, the first feature bought and distributed by Condé Nast, now on Netflix. Sherien is a founding member of the Racial Equity Media Collective, which uses research to advocate on behalf of racialized creators in Canada. She is also the former Director of Programming for the Reelworld Film Festival and served as a board member of the Documentary Organization of Canada.

Christina Piovesan has produced a dozen feature films including FRENCH EXIT which earned a 2020 Best Actress Golden Globe nomination. Other films include THE NEST by Sean Durkin, the upcoming INFINITY POOL by Brandon Cronenberg and A GOOD PERSON by Zach Braff for MGM. Under her production banner First Generation Films, Christina is actively producing television series including Jeff Lemire’s ESSEX COUNTY which is in pre-production for ITV Studios and CBC. FGF’s first animated series PINECONE AND PONY based on Kate Beaton’s NYT best-selling children’s book recently launched on Apple TV+. FGF just announced a half hour tween live action series for HBO Max and Wildbrain called HOME SWEET ROME which begins production in the fall in Rome. Christina is an active member of the Canadian Media Producers Association and the Producers Guild of America.
This program is made possible by the generous support of Ontario Creates.
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