WRITING FOR FILM + TV INSTRUCTORS

SCREENWRITING

Duane Adler has been a working writer, director, and producer in film and television for over 25 years. As one of Hollywood’s top creators of edgy, music-driven dramas, his produced writing credits include Save the Last Dance and Step Up, and his directing titles include Make Your Move and Heartbeats, a Hollywood/Bollywood crossover film shot in India. He also wrote VH1’s original telefilm The Way She Moves, which was nominated for Outstanding Made for Television Movie at the 2002 ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) Awards.

Duane has been drawn throughout his career to create multi-ethnic and cultural crossover projects that speak to the human condition. He has written television for eOne, ABC, Fox, and NBC, and features for New Line, Universal, New Regency, Fox, and Focus Features, all among many independents and others.

Duane grew up all over the Carolinas until relocating to Maryland halfway thru high school. He attended over 18 schools from first grade thru high school graduation, creating a diverse understanding of the world he continues to use today in his story-telling. He currently resides in Vancouver with his family.

SCREENWRITING

After completing her residency at the CFC TV Writing Program, Waneta Storms became a Writer/Consulting Producer for four seasons of the CTV/Ion/eOne/ICF dramatic series Saving Hope. She then helped develop, write, and consult on the CBC/Back Alley one-hour series, The Coroner, with creator Morwyn Brebner. She co-produced and wrote for the limited-series dramas Bellevue (CBC/Back Alley), as well as Pure (CBC/WGN/Two East Productions). Recently, she wrote a comedy webisode for The Communist Daughter (Natalie Novak Films/LocoMotion Pictures). Currently, she is adapting Cracked, a novel by Barbra Leslie, into a one-hour dramatic series for High Dive Media and Lark Ent.

Waneta has also worked extensively as an actor. She trained at Simon Fraser University and the National Theatre School of Canada. She has been nominated for a Gemini Award four times, once for her Guest-starring role on Blue Murder, and three times for Lead Actress on The Eleventh Hour. She has won a Dora Award for her performance in DVxT’s theatre production of Lynn Seifert’s Coyote Ugly.

SCRENWRITING

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.

SCREENWRITING

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.

SCREENWRITING

Roslyn Muir is an award-winning screenwriter who writes YA stories, family drama and thrillers. She was a writer on the Global/CBS one-hour drama, Ransom, created by Frank Spotnitz (Man in the High Castle). Roslyn has also written several movies that have aired on TV around the world: Washed Away, Stranger in the House, and Reluctant Witness to name a few. Roslyn also wrote and produced the dramatic feature film, The Birdwatcher, directed by Siobhan Devine. Her co-written, half-hour YA comedy, The Tutors, is in development with the CBC. Roslyn has a MFA from UBC’s Creative Writing Program.