OUR TEAM
Master Class Leaders
Cinematography
Danny Nowak c.s.c.
Danny started his career as a maverick young cinematographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. After making a dozen of his own short films, he excelled behind the camera, shooting various projects around the world. In recent years, he has served as Director of Photography on many TV movies and over 20 feature films, including Tristar’s The Big Hit, Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl and Bruce McDonald’s Hard Core Logo. Awards for his work include a Gemini (Canada’s Emmy) and top prize from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers.
He is a full member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and a member of the International Photographers Union (IATSE 669). A patriot of Canadian Cinema, Danny is devoted to the development of the local and international film art.
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Directing
Penelope Buitenhuis
Since 1984 Penny Bruitenhuis has been directing and producing films throughout Europe and North America. She started in Berlin’s super-8 community with aesthetically gritty films that challenged Hollywood’s glossy veneer. Penelope has since directed 18 features and numerous short films. A self-made female director, her recent feature A Wake has won numerous awards around the world.
Penelope encourages new directors to develop and produce their own work, as waiting for funding or support from bureaucratic systems can be disillusioning and often pointless. Make it, show it, be proud of it. Anyone with the passion can be a filmmaker, you just have to do it.
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Visual Effects
Chris Ryan
With over 20 years of experience in virtually every aspect of visual effects post-production, Chris Ryan is a veteran of the VFX industry. Currently working as CG Supervisor at Method Studios, Chris began his career with Metrolight Studios in Los Angeles, but has worked in Canada for the past 17 years as a CG Supervisor, technical director and pipeline specialist at FuseFX and Prime Focus studios. His many credits include more than 75 motion picture and television productions such as Black Panther, Watchmen, Transformers, Final Destination, TRON, X-Men, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, The Great Gatsby and Pirates of the Caribbean.
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Directing and Producing
Jeffery Lando
Director, writer, and producer, known for Savage Island, Thirst, House of Bones and Roboshark. His latest release, Suspension, won him Best Director at Montreal HorrorFest, and was released by 20th Century Fox as one of the 8 Films To Die Forï. His first feature film as a director, Savage Island (2004) won best feature awards at The Strasbourg Film Festival, Fright-Fest and ShockerFest.
Since then Lando has directed a further 13 films, produced 12, and written four. Before plunging fully into filmmaking, Lando attended NYU to study film and cinematography. He started his career as a cinematographer in the New York indie scene and after DPing a dozen odd features moved to Vancouver in 2001. Lando brings together an expansive creative and cultural vision for his auteur genre films that, combined with his electrifying visual style and comprehensive technological understanding, put him right on the ‘bleeding’ edge of contemporary filmmaking.
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Business
Clayton Goodfellow
A strong business ethic and a passion for storytelling led Clayton to form Georgia Street Media in 2008. Clayton’s educational background and past experiences nurtured both his creative skills and his business skills and have ultimately enabled him to grow a dedicated team of skilled videographers, directors and editors at GSM. After earning his BA in sociology from UBC, Clayton studied Documentary Film Production at Langara College. Clayton has worked with major tech firms and produced and supervised hundreds of film projects in his years of experience of working in the industry.
Film Production Instructors
Cinematography
Ryan Atimoyoo
Ryan Atimoyoo is a First Nations, international award-winning writer, director, and producer within the Vancouver filmmaking community. He has studied at New York’s Circle in the Square Theater School, The University of Saskatchewan, The Vancouver Film School and holds a Joint MFA in Screenwriting and Film Production from The University of British Columbia.
Ryan has gathered numerous international awards and screenings ranging from being a 2011 semi-finalist in the Sundance Screenwriting Program, Best Web Series/ Best VFX in The New Media Film Festival, Best Horror Screenplay in The Canada International Film Festival, A Golden Ace award from The Las Vegas Film Festival and various others and works as a professional VFX Editor at FuseFX.
Ryan has enjoyed the full range spectrum of storytelling from directing and cinematography through to acting and visual effects. He has recently finished shooting a short film commissioned by The Canada Council for the Arts titled Macimanitonahk or “The Devil Dwelling” as well as working on his first full-length Feature Film for his thesis Project titled “The Circle”.
Cinematography
Leslie Kennah
A graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Leslie Kennah has been exploring life through the lens for over a decade. Several years of experience working with artistic, non-profit and small business organizations have fostered Leslie’s passion for collaborative work. Her practice as a digital media artist, working with both photography and video, has honed her skills as a visual storyteller. Experienced with transforming conceptual ideas into dynamic and engaging visual content, she is committed to bringing imagination and style to all projects.
Directing
Roy Hayter
After six years, Roy Hayter established his own companies; RH Productions Ltd and Shadow Films Ltd, directing episodic television drama, producing and directing docu-dramas, documentaries, industrials, multimedia presentations for world fairs and international exhibits. He has written several screenplays and a television pilot which he produced and directed and sold to a national television station. He also has produced and directed over 125 television commercials, both in local and national markets.
He has earned 27 local, national and international awards and acclamations for his work.
Roy is a member of the Directors Guild of Canada and is the Representative for the Directors Caucus Committee – 2016, 2017
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Directing
Katrin Bowen
Katrin Bowen is a Vancouver-based director whose award-winning films include Amazon Falls, Financially Strapped, Spitting Reality, Someone, Almost Forgot My Bones and Sandcastle.
Katrin won the 2011 Artistic Achievement Award for direction in her first feature film: Amazon Falls. Amazon Falls premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and won the best debut feature at the 2011 female eye festival. Katrin directed the Gemini nominated slam poetry film Shane with Shane Koyczan that opened the 2011 Doxa Festival.
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Documentary
Julia Ivanova
Julia Ivanova is an award-winning Vancouver documentary filmmaker, whose film, Family Portrait in Black and White, won at Hot Docs 2011 as the Best Canadian Feature, played at Sundance and was nominated for Genie Award.
She grew up in Moscow, studied filmmaking at the Russian Film Institute (VGIK) and immigrated to Canada in mid-nineties. Since then, she has been directing, editing and filming documentaries. She has made a number of intimate films on the topics of love, adoption, cultural differences and family, partnering with CBC, Global TV, Knowledge Network, PBS and Discovery. Ivanova has been actively involved in the documentary filmmaking community by organizing professional development workshops for DOC BC, co-chairing DOC BC, being on the Board of Hot Docs Festival and mentoring emerging filmmakers through “Giving Voice” DOC program. Being a director/editor/cinematographer and an avid fan of international documentaries, she believes in the emotional power of visual storytelling and poetic cinema.
IMDB
Screenwriting
Ric Beairsto
Ric Beairsto is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer who has been active in the Canadian film and television industry since 1980. He has written over a dozen feature-length screenplays, while his TV writing credits include The Beachcombers for CBC and Mixed Blessings broadcast by APTN where Ric is the Creator and Head Writer. Ric has also written, directed and produced extensively in the area of nonfiction film, including both one-hour and documentary series for CBC and Knowledge. His documentary production Picture Start, produced for Bravo! and released in 2011, captures the remarkable story of the world-renowned Vancouver School of Photoconceptual Artists, chief among them Jeff Wall, Rodney Graham and Ian Wallace. In 2012 Ric wrote, directed and edited a documentary essay called What Happyns, exploring the unlikely merging of a group of elderly lawn bowlers and youthful skateboarders.
Since 1987, Ric has taught screenwriting at various post-secondary institutes, including and has actively workshopped more than 1500 short screenplays. Ric is the author of THE TYRANNY OF STORY: Audience Expectations and the Short Screenplay, published in 1998, and now available in a revised 2nd edition. The book has been used as a regular textbook in over a dozen North American film schools, including UCLA and the American Film institute.
Screenwriting
Robert Chomiak
Robert Chomiak is co-writer of the award-winning zombie-comedy cult feature Fido. He has written English adaptations for three animated theatrical features (Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Escaflowne – The Movie) and 207 episodes on seven animated series (Gundam Seed, Zoids, Inuyasha) which have aired on Cartoon Network and Teletoon.
Other television work includes the sitcom Alienated and the Gemini-nominated children’s special Twisteeria. Robert’s pilot script “Slaughter Landing” has been optioned to Frantic Films and MarVista and is currently out to broadcasters.
His screenplays have received development funding from Telefilm, Harold Greenberg, and BC Film. He is co-writer of the R-rated comedy screenplay “My A**hole Neighbour” which was selected for the Comedy Exchange program sponsored by the Canadian Film Centre. Most recently his comedy feature project “ex-gf’s” was awarded $50,000 in development from the NSI/Corus Script to Screen program.
Robert graduated with a BA in Dramatic Arts from the University of Lethbridge and studied for two years in the Simon Fraser University film program.
IMDB
Editing
Ileana Pietrobruno
Ileana Pietrobruno is an editor with extensive experience in feature-length documentaries and dramas. She has cut films for the National Film Board of Canada (This Land, River of Life, Between The Laughter, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, In Other Words, Pocket Desert, Sticks And Stones, Surviving Death) and has also edited for producers such as Jayme Pfahl, Prem Gill, Evan Adams, Desiree Lim and Shan Tam. These films have won awards and screened at hundreds of festivals, including the Berlin International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Pietrobruno’s editing credits include a range of styles: cinéma vérité, direct cinema, docudrama, personal narrative, cinematic essay, animated documentary, educational, promotional, mockumentary, comedy, adventure and horror. She believes that an editor’s greatest asset is the ability to listen to the material; to utilize the grammar of film as a platform that allows the film to speak for itself. Her editing work has been described as seamless, innovative, humourous, intelligent and provocative.
IMDB
Audio
Kris Siegers
Kris Siegers began his recording career as so many do, as a musician that got hooked on a home recording setup. It wasn’t long after trying to record his friends’ bands that he realized he needed to further his education in the field of audio engineering. After graduating from the Audio Engineering and Production Diploma program at Pacific Audio Visual Institute, Kris was hired as an assistant engineer at Blue Wave Studios; he then worked his way up to Engineer.
He started engineering and producing audio for advertising, quickly moved to animated cartoons, and then on to feature films. Notable companies he has worked for are Disney, Universal Pictures, and Lions Gate Films. He has also worked with music producers and artists such as: Dan Swinimer, Jeff Johnson, Terry Jacks, Raffi, Tom Lavin, and Michael Kreeber.
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Storyboarding
Javier Badillo
Javier Badillo is a Venezuelan-Canadian film director, writer, and producer with a decade of experience in film, TV, and animation production. His dramas and comedies have screened at various prestigious festivals, including the Cannes International Film Festival. A consummate filmmaker, Javier has a slate of feature scripts in various stages of development. Known as a collaborative actors’ director and a hands-on, dynamic producer, Javier has lent his expertise on hundreds of feature films, shorts, music videos, commercials and corporate videos. With an early career stint as an animation artist on shows like Ed, Edd n Eddy (AKA Cartoons/Cartoon Network) and Atomic Betty (Atomic Cartoons/Disney), Javier has started successful businesses in music, animation and film in Malaysia, China and Canada.
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Producing
Erik Paulsson
Erik Paulsson is an award-winning filmmaker with over twenty years of film and television experience.
He has produced numerous feature or full-length narrative and documentary productions including The Edge of the World: BC’s Early Years, Peacing It Together, Eve & the Fire Horse, Army of One, Say I Do, Island of Shadows, and Protection. Eve & the Fire Horse, a theatrical feature film, appeared at dozens of international film festivals, garnering half a dozen awards, including the Sundance Jury Prize. Army of One, was awarded Best Canadian Feature documentary at Hot Docs 2004, and was aired on CBC’s Passionate Eye and the BBC. The Island of Shadows, a one-hour documentary produced for CTV, won a Gemini Award and three Leo Awards, including Best Director for Erik’s directorial work.
IMDB
Documentary/Directing/Producing
Cari Green
Cari Green is a film and television producer with over thirty years experience and a background in distribution, sales and marketing. She has produced over 20-award winning productions, including, The Corporation, When I Walk, and Scared Sacred.
She has taught film courses for over ten years at UBC, Emily Carr, Langara College, and the Vancouver Film School and mentored many emerging filmmakers over the course of her career. She received the Mayor’s Arts Award as recognition of her contributions to the film industry and a lifetime honorary membership with Women in Film. Recently she turned her attention to writing and directing and received an MFA in film production from UBC with her short drama, Citizen Jane. She recently produced a feature documentary, It Runs in the Family, for OUTtv and is currently executive producing The Search for CBC’s documentary channel.
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Producing
Mary Frymire
With over 30 years experience in diverse genres, Mary M. Frymire has developed, directed and produced around 400 hours of production projects in over 75 countries, working in 4 different languages.
Mary honed her filmmaking skills studying and working for several years in Europe, Latin America & Africa on both documentary and dramatic projects. For many years Mary has been lead judge for Vancouver International Film Festival Artistic Merit Award and served as board member with WIFT-T, WIFTV, and for past 5 years, Mary has been on the board of Creative Women Workshops Association.
Mary’s work has been distributed through Bravo, OWN, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, Fox Network, National Geographic, OLN, W Network, Discovery Canada, BBC, Knowledge Network, CBC, CTV, Global TV, and more. She is a Director member of the DGC and Writer member of the WGC.
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Production Design
Sean McQuillan
Sean McQuillan is a graduate of Studio 58. He has transitioned his theatre training to support a full-time career in the film industry, working in Set Design, Props, Special Effects, Set Decoration and as an Armourer. Additionally, Sean has experience as an actor on stage, in front of the camera and with voice work. His credits include Skyscraper, Timeless, Motive, Wayward Pines, and the Netflix series Altered Carbon. His Design for Short Film Intemperance was featured on Air Canada Flights as part of the embargo project. Sean is an active member in IATSE 891 and International attending conferences across North America.
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Visual Effects Instructors
Visual Effects
Darvin Manwah
Darvin is the Compositing Supervisor at Side Street Post and a visual effects producer from Vancouver, BC. A graduate of Vancouver Film School, his professional work includes Netflix’s ‘Spectral’, ‘Aliens Ate My Homework’ and ‘The Mist’, Marvel’s ‘Legion’, ‘Falling Skies’ and ‘Once Upon a Time’. Darvin also volunteers with ACM SIGGRAPH S3R3 as a Portfolio Review Mentor. His short film ‘OutPost Alpha’ is in post production this summer where he served as VFX Supervisor and Producer.
IMDB | Demo Reel
3D and Visual Effects
Miguel Rodríguez
Miguel Rodríguez is the lead teacher of the 3D Animation & VFX Program at InFocus Film School. After finishing his Education here in Vancouver, he went back to Mexico to work as a freelance artist working on Video, Photography, as well as 3D Modeling and Compositing. With a background in TV and Animation, he discovered his passion for teaching, and is now focused on designing programs and developing engaging techniques to help people achieve their goals in the 3D & VFX industry.
Compositing
Karen Parker
Artist, illustrator and Matte Painter Karen Lorena Parker is a traditional and digital artist living in Vancouver Canada. Known for her versatility in style, from realism to abstract, she has worked on concept art, Film, TV as a compositor and Matte Painter for the visual effects and short film industry. Her paintings are collected internationally and she exhibits annually in Vancouver Canada at Parker Street Studios.
A graduate of Vancouver Film School’s 3D animation and VFX, Think Tank Matte Painting Program, Graphic Design, and Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Karen has over 15 years of experience in design, marketing, print and traditional fine art. With a focus on the art of storytelling in visual effects, Karen builds artistic and technical skill necessary to achieve an exquisite result and pushes students towards employment within a talented industry of artists.
IMDB | Demo Reel
3D and Compositing
Sean Kalra
Sean Kalra is a director and a visual effects artist, who has worked on various projects for some of the biggest clients in the industry including Warner Bros., Fox, Legendary Digital, 343 Industries, ABC and Bad Robot providing visual effects work for various different tv shows, films, and video Games. His most recent credit includes a short film called ‘Unbound’ which he worked on as the VFX Supervisor and it was screened at the Cannes SFC (2017).
IMDB | Demo Reel
Compositing
Geoff DuQuette
Geoff DuQuette is a Senior Compositor and Supervisor with over 10 years of experience. From feature films (Batman v Superman, Furious 7) to television (Game of Thrones, Timeless), commercials (Ubisoft, Gatorade), and music videos (Dr. Dre, Katy Perry), his knowledge base is wide and varied.
Currently working as a 2D Lead for Once Upon A Time, Geoff is still in the thick of the industry. He is actively working to create new tools and set new standards in visual effects.
IMDB | Demo Reel
Screenwriting Instructors
Writing Department Lead
Robert Chomiak
Robert Chomiak is co-writer of the award-winning zombie-comedy cult feature Fido. He has written English adaptations for three animated theatrical features (Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Escaflowne – The Movie) and 207 episodes on seven animated series (Gundam Seed, Zoids, Inuyasha) which have aired on Cartoon Network and Teletoon.
Other television work includes the sitcom Alienated and the Gemini-nominated children’s special Twisteeria. Robert’s pilot script “Slaughter Landing” has been optioned to Frantic Films and MarVista and is currently out to broadcasters
His screenplays have received development funding from Telefilm, Harold Greenberg, and BC Film. He is co-writer of the R-rated comedy screenplay “My A**hole Neighbour” which was selected for the Comedy Exchange program sponsored by the Canadian Film Centre. Most recently his comedy feature project “ex-gf’s” was awarded $50,000 in development from the NSI/Corus Script to Screen program.
Robert graduated with a BA in Dramatic Arts from the University of Lethbridge and studied for two years in the Simon Fraser University film program.
IMDB
Screenwriting
Tihemme Gagnon
Tihemme Gagnon is the Leo Award-nominated writer and one of the producers of the APTN documentary series Chaos & Courage. Her feature PB&J is in late-stage development at APTN with Kistikan Productions. Tihemme’s films have won awards at the Houston and ThrillSpy International Film Festivals, and her original screenplays have placed at the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, the Canada International Film Festival, and International Family Film Festival. She has also story edited over 40 episodes of documentary and lifestyle television, including 1491, Love It or List It: Vancouver, and Timber Kings.
Tihemme studied theatre at the University of Victoria and screenwriting at Vancouver Film School, the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters, and the National Screen Institute.
IMDB
Screenwriting
Mark Hoffe
Mark Hoffe is a Vancouver-based filmmaker originally from the East Coast. His credits include writer, director, and co-producer for the CBC documentary The Needle and the Damage Undone (2012), writer and co-producer for the CBC documentary Sister Morphine (2014), and writer and creative director for Newfoundland and Labrador’s first interactive web documentary Bubble Dancers (2014), co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada. He wrote Away From Everywhere (2016), a feature adaptation of Chad Pelley’s book and in 2016, Mark’s feature spec “No Voices in the Sky” won the inaugural Daryl Duke Prize.
A university graduate with a M.A. in English Language & Literature and an alumnus of the PEI Screenwriters’ Bootcamp, Mark is also a Writers Guild of Canada member.
IMDB
Screenwriting
Sveto Ristovski
Svetozar (Sveto) Ristovski is a Macedonian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, and producer. Svetozar’s first feature-length documentary, Joy of Life (2001), won Best Documentary at the GoEast Film Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. His critically acclaimed debut narrative feature, Mirage/Iluzija (2004), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Discovery program and was officially selected at numerous other festivals, including Rotterdam, Tokyo, SXSW, Jerusalem, and Vancouver. Among the film’s honours are the Lèsprit du Temps-Lion’s Award at Rotterdam; Best European Debut at Zlin, Poland; and Best Film at Anchorage, US. It had a theatrical release in the US, Russia, Portugal and Macedonia, with worldwide TV and DVD sales including HBO Europe.
In 2010, Svetozar directed the MOW Dear Mr. Gacy, produced by the Oscar-winning producer Clark Peterson, which premiered on HBO Canada. In 2014, he co-produced the award-winning These Are The Rules, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim. His feature Lazar (2015), a Macedonian co-production, premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival and enjoyed a successful international festival run, winning the Best Actor’s Award and Best Film-Audience Award at Pula, Croatia.
With several films in post-production and development, Svetozar was selected “Producer on the Move” by the European Film Promotion in 2015. He also works as an expert for the MEDIA European Development Fund.
IMDB
Screenwriting
Carleen Kyle
Carleen Kyle has directed and written for a variety of media—features, shorts, corporate projects, and a music video. She directed the TV pilot for Scrounger, which was nominated for a Gemini in the Best Drama category, won the Saskatchewan Showcase Best Drama award, and earned a Best Director nomination.
“The Weather Girl,” her Crazy8s and festival-featured short, was the Best Female Director recipient at the Vancouver Short Film Festival and received multiple Leo Award nominations including Best Screenplay. Her feature screenplay “Interspecies Family Therapy” won the 2015 From Our Dark Side competition from Women in Film and Television, sponsored by Telefilm, Creative BC and Superchannel.
Carleen turned the camera on herself in the feature-length documentary Heavy Heart Laughs, using stand-up comedy to recover from trauma with humour. Her feature screenplay “Pearl’s Cut & Curl” was the winner of a Praxis Centre for Screenwriting fellowship and was selected to represent Canada for the prestigious Hartley-Merrill International Screenwriting Award where it received honourable mention.
Carleen holds a BFA from the University of Regina where for two consecutive years she was honoured with Best Student Film.
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Administration
Program Director
Steve Rosenberg
Steve Rosenberg is an award-winning writer/director based in Vancouver, BC. His dramatic shorts “Watching Mrs.Pomerantz,” “Vannica,” “Divine Waters,” and “Shanti Baba Ram” have screened at various prestigious festivals around the world.
In 2000, “Watching Mrs. Pomerantz” earned him numerous international awards, including the award for Best Director at The Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival. His films have played on The Sundance Channel, CBC, WTV and Bravo. He is an alumni of The Canadian Film Centre, Canada’s most prestigious film institution. In the past, he taught at the Vancouver Film School and the Environmental Youth Alliance. In 2006, he hosted and produced Blink, a weekly TV talk show devoted to obscure films that come and go in a blink. As founder of InFocus Film School, he loves the creative energy and also feels inspired to continue producing films. He currently has several tv/web series in development.
Director of Admissions
Clarence Sponagle
Clarence Sponagle is an award-winning and nominated actor who has worked across Canada and the United States in both theatre and film.
In 2010, Clarence left the acting industry to help other young artists pursue their dreams and career goals.
With 14 years of admissions advisory experience, Clarence has a vast knowledge of the admissions cycle for both domestic and international students in the private career college sector. Always willing to go above and beyond for his current and potential students, Clarence ensures all students feel secure with him leading the way.
Program Director
Steve Rosenberg
Steve Rosenberg is an award-winning writer/director based in Vancouver, BC. His dramatic shorts “Watching Mrs.Pomerantz,” “Vannica,” “Divine Waters,” and “Shanti Baba Ram” have screened at various prestigious festivals around the world.
In 2000, “Watching Mrs. Pomerantz” earned him numerous international awards, including the award for Best Director at The Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival. His films have played on The Sundance Channel, CBC, WTV and Bravo. He is an alumni of The Canadian Film Centre, Canada’s most prestigious film institution. In the past, he taught at the Vancouver Film School and the Environmental Youth Alliance. In 2006, he hosted and produced Blink, a weekly TV talk show devoted to obscure films that come and go in a blink. As founder of InFocus Film School, he loves the creative energy and also feels inspired to continue producing films. He currently has several tv/web series in development.
Director of Admissions
Clarence Sponagle
Clarence Sponagle is an award-winning and nominated actor who has worked across Canada and the United States in both theatre and film.
In 2010, Clarence left the acting industry to help other young artists pursue their dreams and career goals.
With 14 years of admissions advisory experience, Clarence has a vast knowledge of the admissions cycle for both domestic and international students in the private career college sector. Always willing to go above and beyond for his current and potential students, Clarence ensures all students feel secure with him leading the way.
Cinematography
Ryan Atimoyoo
Ryan Atimoyoo is a First Nations, international award-winning writer, director, and producer within the Vancouver filmmaking community. He has studied at New York’s Circle in the Square Theater School, The University of Saskatchewan, The Vancouver Film School and holds a Joint MFA in Screenwriting and Film Production from The University of British Columbia.
Ryan has gathered numerous international awards and screenings ranging from being a 2011 semi-finalist in the Sundance Screenwriting Program, Best Web Series/ Best VFX in The New Media Film Festival, Best Horror Screenplay in The Canada International Film Festival, A Golden Ace award from The Las Vegas Film Festival and various others and works as a professional VFX Editor at FuseFX.
Ryan has enjoyed the full range spectrum of storytelling from directing and cinematography through to acting and visual effects. He has recently finished shooting a short film commissioned by The Canada Council for the Arts titled Macimanitonahk or “The Devil Dwelling” as well as working on his first full-length Feature Film for his thesis Project titled “The Circle”.
Cinematography
Leslie Kennah
A graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Leslie Kennah has been exploring life through the lens for over a decade. Several years of experience working with artistic, non-profit and small business organizations have fostered Leslie’s passion for collaborative work. Her practice as a digital media artist, working with both photography and video, has honed her skills as a visual storyteller. Experienced with transforming conceptual ideas into dynamic and engaging visual content, she is committed to bringing imagination and style to all projects.
Directing
Roy Hayter
After six years, Roy Hayter established his own companies; RH Productions Ltd and Shadow Films Ltd, directing episodic television drama, producing and directing docu-dramas, documentaries, industrials, multimedia presentations for world fairs and international exhibits. He has written several screenplays and a television pilot which he produced and directed and sold to a national television station. He also has produced and directed over 125 television commercials, both in local and national markets.
He has earned 27 local, national and international awards and acclamations for his work.
Roy is a member of the Directors Guild of Canada and is the Representative for the Directors Caucus Committee – 2016, 2017
IMDB
Directing
Katrin Bowen
Katrin Bowen is a Vancouver-based director whose award-winning films include Amazon Falls, Financially Strapped, Spitting Reality, Someone, Almost Forgot My Bones and Sandcastle.
Katrin won the 2011 Artistic Achievement Award for direction in her first feature film: Amazon Falls. Amazon Falls premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and won the best debut feature at the 2011 female eye festival. Katrin directed the Gemini nominated slam poetry film Shane with Shane Koyczan that opened the 2011 Doxa Festival.
IMDB
Documentary
Julia Ivanova
Julia Ivanova is an award-winning Vancouver documentary filmmaker, whose film, Family Portrait in Black and White, won at Hot Docs 2011 as the Best Canadian Feature, played at Sundance and was nominated for Genie Award.
She grew up in Moscow, studied filmmaking at the Russian Film Institute (VGIK) and immigrated to Canada in mid-nineties. Since then, she has been directing, editing and filming documentaries. She has made a number of intimate films on the topics of love, adoption, cultural differences and family, partnering with CBC, Global TV, Knowledge Network, PBS and Discovery. Ivanova has been actively involved in the documentary filmmaking community by organizing professional development workshops for DOC BC, co-chairing DOC BC, being on the Board of Hot Docs Festival and mentoring emerging filmmakers through “Giving Voice” DOC program. Being a director/editor/cinematographer and an avid fan of international documentaries, she believes in the emotional power of visual storytelling and poetic cinema.
IMDB
Screenwriting
Ric Beairsto
Ric Beairsto is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer who has been active in the Canadian film and television industry since 1980. He has written over a dozen feature-length screenplays, while his TV writing credits include The Beachcombers for CBC and Mixed Blessings broadcast by APTN where Ric is the Creator and Head Writer. Ric has also written, directed and produced extensively in the area of nonfiction film, including both one-hour and documentary series for CBC and Knowledge. His documentary production Picture Start, produced for Bravo! and released in 2011, captures the remarkable story of the world-renowned Vancouver School of Photoconceptual Artists, chief among them Jeff Wall, Rodney Graham and Ian Wallace. In 2012 Ric wrote, directed and edited a documentary essay called What Happyns, exploring the unlikely merging of a group of elderly lawn bowlers and youthful skateboarders.
Since 1987, Ric has taught screenwriting at various post-secondary institutes, including and has actively workshopped more than 1500 short screenplays. Ric is the author of THE TYRANNY OF STORY: Audience Expectations and the Short Screenplay, published in 1998, and now available in a revised 2nd edition. The book has been used as a regular textbook in over a dozen North American film schools, including UCLA and the American Film institute.
Screenwriting
Robert Chomiak
Robert Chomiak is co-writer of the zombie-comedy cult feature Fido. He has written English adaptations for three animated theatrical features (Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Escaflowne – The Movie) and 207 episodes in seven animated series (Gundam Seed, Zoids, Inuyasha) which have aired on Cartoon Network and Teletoon. Other television work includes the sitcom Alienated and the Gemini-nominated children’s special Twisteeria. His pilot script Slaughter Landing is optioned to Frantic Films and his horror screenplay Creeped is with Brightlight Pictures.
He is co-writer of the R-rated comedy screenplay My A**hole Neighbor, with eOne on board as distributor and co-producer. His screenplays have received development funding from Telefilm, the Harold Greenberg Fund and BC Film.
Robert graduated with a BA in Dramatic Arts from the University of Lethbridge and studied for two years in the Simon Fraser University film program.
Editing
Ileana Pietrobruno
Ileana Pietrobruno is an editor with extensive experience in feature-length documentaries and dramas. She has cut films for the National Film Board of Canada (This Land, River of Life, Between The Laughter, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, In Other Words, Pocket Desert, Sticks And Stones, Surviving Death) and has also edited for producers such as Jayme Pfahl, Prem Gill, Evan Adams, Desiree Lim and Shan Tam. These films have won awards and screened at hundreds of festivals, including the Berlin International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Pietrobruno’s editing credits include a range of styles: cinéma vérité, direct cinema, docudrama, personal narrative, cinematic essay, animated documentary, educational, promotional, mockumentary, comedy, adventure and horror. She believes that an editor’s greatest asset is the ability to listen to the material; to utilize the grammar of film as a platform that allows the film to speak for itself. Her editing work has been described as seamless, innovative, humourous, intelligent and provocative.
IMDB
Audio
Kris Siegers
Kris Siegers began his recording career as so many do, as a musician that got hooked on a home recording setup. It wasn’t long after trying to record his friends’ bands that he realized he needed to further his education in the field of audio engineering. After graduating from the Audio Engineering and Production Diploma program at Pacific Audio Visual Institute, Kris was hired as an assistant engineer at Blue Wave Studios; he then worked his way up to Engineer.
He started engineering and producing audio for advertising, quickly moved to animated cartoons, and then on to feature films. Notable companies he has worked for are Disney, Universal Pictures, and Lions Gate Films. He has also worked with music producers and artists such as: Dan Swinimer, Jeff Johnson, Terry Jacks, Raffi, Tom Lavin, and Michael Kreeber.
IMDB
Storyboarding
Javier Badillo
Javier Badillo is a Venezuelan-Canadian film director, writer, and producer with a decade of experience in film, TV, and animation production. His dramas and comedies have screened at various prestigious festivals, including the Cannes International Film Festival. A consummate filmmaker, Javier has a slate of feature scripts in various stages of development. Known as a collaborative actors’ director and a hands-on, dynamic producer, Javier has lent his expertise on hundreds of feature films, shorts, music videos, commercials and corporate videos. With an early career stint as an animation artist on shows like Ed, Edd n Eddy (AKA Cartoons/Cartoon Network) and Atomic Betty (Atomic Cartoons/Disney), Javier has started successful businesses in music, animation and film in Malaysia, China and Canada.
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Producing
Erik Paulsson
Erik Paulsson is an award-winning filmmaker with over twenty years of film and television experience.
He has produced numerous feature or full-length narrative and documentary productions including The Edge of the World: BC’s Early Years, Peacing It Together, Eve & the Fire Horse, Army of One, Say I Do, Island of Shadows, and Protection. Eve & the Fire Horse, a theatrical feature film, appeared at dozens of international film festivals, garnering half a dozen awards, including the Sundance Jury Prize. Army of One, was awarded Best Canadian Feature documentary at Hot Docs 2004, and was aired on CBC’s Passionate Eye and the BBC. The Island of Shadows, a one-hour documentary produced for CTV, won a Gemini Award and three Leo Awards, including Best Director for Erik’s directorial work.
IMDB
Documentary/Directing/Producing
Cari Green
Cari Green is a film and television producer with over thirty years experience and a background in distribution, sales and marketing. She has produced over 20-award winning productions, including, The Corporation, When I Walk, and Scared Sacred.
She has taught film courses for over ten years at UBC, Emily Carr, Langara College, and the Vancouver Film School and mentored many emerging filmmakers over the course of her career. She received the Mayor’s Arts Award as recognition of her contributions to the film industry and a lifetime honorary membership with Women in Film. Recently she turned her attention to writing and directing and received an MFA in film production from UBC with her short drama, Citizen Jane. She recently produced a feature documentary, It Runs in the Family, for OUTtv and is currently executive producing The Search for CBC’s documentary channel.
IMDB
Producing
Mary Frymire
With over 30 years experience in diverse genres, Mary M. Frymire has developed, directed and produced around 400 hours of production projects in over 75 countries, working in 4 different languages.
Mary honed her filmmaking skills studying and working for several years in Europe, Latin America & Africa on both documentary and dramatic projects. For many years Mary has been lead judge for Vancouver International Film Festival Artistic Merit Award and served as board member with WIFT-T, WIFTV, and for past 5 years, Mary has been on the board of Creative Women Workshops Association.
Mary’s work has been distributed through Bravo, OWN, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, Fox Network, National Geographic, OLN, W Network, Discovery Canada, BBC, Knowledge Network, CBC, CTV, Global TV, and more. She is a Director member of the DGC and Writer member of the WGC.
IMDB
Production Design
Sean McQuillan
Sean McQuillan is a graduate of Studio 58. He has transitioned his theatre training to support a full-time career in the film industry, working in Set Design, Props, Special Effects, Set Decoration and as an Armourer. Additionally, Sean has experience as an actor on stage, in front of the camera and with voice work. His credits include Skyscraper, Timeless, Motive, Wayward Pines, and the upcoming Netflix series; Altered Carbon. His Design for Short Film Intemperance was featured on Air Canada Flights as part of the embargo project. Sean is an active member in IATSE 891 and International attending conferences across North America.
IMDB
Compositing
Karen Parker
Artist, illustrator and Matte Painter Karen Lorena Parker is a traditional and digital artist living in Vancouver Canada. Known for her versatility in style, from realism to abstract, she has worked on concept art, Film, TV as a compositor and Matte Painter for the visual effects and short film industry. Her paintings are collected internationally and she exhibits annually in Vancouver Canada at Parker Street Studios.
A graduate of Vancouver Film School’s 3D animation and VFX, Think Tank Matte Painting Program, Graphic Design, and Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Karen has over 15 years of experience in design, marketing, print and traditional fine art. With a focus on the art of storytelling in visual effects, Karen builds artistic and technical skill necessary to achieve an exquisite result and pushes students towards employment within a talented industry of artists.
IMDB
Compositing
Sean Kalra
Sean Kalra is a director and a visual effects artist, who has worked on various projects for some of the biggest clients in the industry including Warner Bros., Fox, Legendary Digital, 343 Industries, ABC and Bad Robot providing visual effects work for various different tv shows, films, and video Games. His most recent credit includes a short film called ‘Unbound’ which he worked on as the VFX Supervisor and it was screened at the Cannes SFC (2017).
IMDB
Master Class Leaders
Cinematography
Danny Nowak c.s.c.
Danny started his career as a maverick young cinematographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. After making a dozen of his own short films, he excelled behind the camera, shooting various projects around the world. In recent years, he has served as Director of Photography on many TV movies and over 20 feature films, including Tristar’s The Big Hit, Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl and Bruce McDonald’s Hard Core Logo. Awards for his work include a Gemini (Canada’s Emmy) and top prize from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers.
He is a full member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and a member of the International Photographers Union (IATSE 669). A patriot of Canadian Cinema, Danny is devoted to the development of the local and international film art.
IMDB
Directing
Penelope Buitenhuis
Since 1984 Penny Bruitenhuis has been directing and producing films throughout Europe and North America. She started in Berlin’s super-8 community with aesthetically gritty films that challenged Hollywood’s glossy veneer. Penelope has since directed 18 features and numerous short films. A self-made female director, her recent feature A Wake has won numerous awards around the world.
Penelope encourages new directors to develop and produce their own work, as waiting for funding or support from bureaucratic systems can be disillusioning and often pointless. Make it, show it, be proud of it. Anyone with the passion can be a filmmaker, you just have to do it.
IMDB
Directing and Producing
Jeffery Lando
Director, writer, and producer, known for Savage Island, Thirst, House of Bones and Roboshark. His latest release, Suspension, won him Best Director at Montreal HorrorFest, and was released by 20th Century Fox as one of the 8 Films To Die Forï. His first feature film as a director, Savage Island (2004) won best feature awards at The Strasbourg Film Festival, Fright-Fest and ShockerFest.
Since then Lando has directed a further 13 films, produced 12, and written four. Before plunging fully into filmmaking, Lando attended NYU to study film and cinematography. He started his career as a cinematographer in the New York indie scene and after DPing a dozen odd features moved to Vancouver in 2001. Lando brings together an expansive creative and cultural vision for his auteur genre films that, combined with his electrifying visual style and comprehensive technological understanding, put him right on the ‘bleeding’ edge of contemporary filmmaking.
IMDB
Business
Clayton Goodfellow
A strong business ethic and a passion for storytelling led Clayton to form Georgia Street Media in 2008. Clayton’s educational background and past experiences nurtured both his creative skills and his business skills and have ultimately enabled him to grow a dedicated team of skilled videographers, directors and editors at GSM. After earning his BA in sociology from UBC, Clayton studied Documentary Film Production at Langara College. Clayton has worked with major tech firms and produced and supervised hundreds of film projects in his years of experience of working in the industry.
InFocus Film School
