FEDERAL FUNDING SUPPORT FOR FILM AND TV, PRESENTED BY TELEFILM CANADA
Join national funding agencies as they share how their organizations contribute to film, Broadcast television and/or web based projects. Learn about the different ways you can apply and move your project forward by hearing from Telefilm Canada, the National Film Board of Canada, the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Broadcasting Company, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
MODERATOR
Ella Cooper, Executive Director, Black Women Film! Canada
ELLA COOPER is an award winning independent producer, multimedia artist, educator, writer and director based in Toronto who has been working in the arts, film and cultural sector for over 20 years.
Ella is the founder of Black Women Film! Canada a not for profit supporting the development of Black women in film and media.
She also enjoys running Brown Rabbit Studios, a new BIPOC production company focused on content creation for tv, lifestyle, arts and children programming with a new animation in development with CBC Kids & Karen Chapman.
Ella recently made the long list for the Canadian Screen Awards in the category of BEST DIRECTION of a Youth Series and has received the Tiffany’s Hometown Hero Award in 2020 and was nominated for the 2019 TAC Mayor's Arts Award for cultural leadership and featured as one of 33 Black Canadians Making Change Now in Chatelaine magazine. Her documentary, dance and video installation works have been presented in galleries, public spaces, for broadcast and film festivals in Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Berlin. She was an artist in residence at the Banff Centre, Picture Berlin and is supported by the Ontario, Toronto & Canada Arts Councils.
Ella is also known for her leadership and arts empowerment programs for diverse communities internationally. She was interim Director of Arts Management at University of Toronto Scarborough, and continues to be a featured speaker for national and international conferences.
SPEAKERS
Caroline Chopra, Deputy Director, CMF Program Administrator, Telefilm Canada
Caroline Chopra has been with Telefilm Canada in Toronto since 2006, working exclusively with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) Program Administrator team. Over the last 16+ years, she has held various positions within this team, and is currently Deputy Director – Portfolio Management responsible for English-language documentary programming. Prior to joining Telefilm Canada, Caroline worked at the Canadian Television Fund (now CMF), the Historica Foundation, the NFB and French-language educational broadcaster TFO.
Chanda Chevannes, Executive Producer, Ontario Studio, National Film Board of Canada
Chanda Chevannes joined the NFB’s Ontario Studio in September 2022. Prior to this, she worked for more than two decades in the independent documentary industry, as an award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator. She produced/directed 14 artful documentaries that sought to amplify women’s voices, produced or production-managing 25 other documentary projects, and trained more than 800 emerging film professionals.
Mekhala Chaubal, Senior Manager, Program Acquisitions & Feature Film, Canadian Broadcast Corporation Films (CBC Films)
Mekhala Chaubal is currently Senior Manager, Program Acquisitions and Feature Films at CBC, overseeing the licensing and negotiations of finished content for CBC's linear, specialty and digital platforms (CBC Main Network, the Documentary Channel, CBC Gem, Canadian Reflections, and others), and pre-license funding for CBC Films.
Working with producers, distributors and CBC's programming team to help bring interesting and relevant content to Canadians is a favourite part of Mekhala's work; as a new Canadian, it's especially rewarding to help tell stories that speak directly to the diverse audiences and communities of the country today.
Melissa Amer, Ontario and Nunavut Interim Regional Feature Film Executive, Telefilm
Melissa Amer is the Interim Regional Feature Film Executive for Ontario and Nunavut at Telefilm Canada. Telefilm’s mission is to support the development, production, promotion and distribution of the screen-based industry in Canada. Prior to joining Telefilm, Melissa worked at the Canadian Television Fund, Alliance Atlantis and the Canadian Film Centre. She studied film and communications at both McGill University and the University of Toronto.
