Education – Youth Lens Film Festival

1. MASTERCLASS : Power of story

Date: Nov 16, 2019

Time: 1 to 2 PM

Venue: Room H104, Sheridan College, 7899 McLaughlin Road, Brampton

OVERVIEW

Sugith Varughese will present an hour long masterclass on script writing. Writing for the screen requires an awareness of dramatic structure. This class will deconstruct the principles of story that have engaged audiences since drama was invented thousands of years ago, so that they can be applied to telling stories now. Be prepared to think, participate and expand your knowledge so you can write your own scripts in a manner that will connect with the audience.

PRESENTER

Sugith Varughese is internationally awarded actor, screenwriter, director and playwright.

As an actor, he has over 80 credits in films and TV programs, radio dramas and on stage. Feature films include “Remember”, “Orphan” and “Mission to Mars”. He was a series regular on CBC’s Gemini-winning comedy series “An American in Canada” and a recurring character on CBC’s famed comedy “Little Mosque on the Prairie”.

Screenwriting credits include the CBC TV movie, “Best of Both Worlds” which he also starred in and several TV series, including the famed Muppet series “Fraggle Rock”, as well as other series as wide ranging as the crime drama “Blue Murder” to the children’s show “Blobheads”. His documentary credits include co-writing the IMAX film “Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance” narrated by Harrison Ford. He won a Writers Guild of Canada award for his animated scripts for the NFB’s Talespinners’ collection. He won the first York Trillium Award for Most Promising Writer – Television. He has

received two Gemini nominations and four Writers Guild of Canada award nominations for screenwriting. His radio drama “Entry Denied” was Canada’s entry in the WorldPlay festival and was broadcast worldwide. His first stage play, “Entitlement” premiered at the Summerworks Theatre Festival in Toronto to strong notices. He most recently wrote for and acted in “The Postman” a play with music about Toronto’s first black postman, which premiered as part of the Panamania arts festival for the Pan Am Games in Toronto.

He won a Governor-General’s medal for the province of Saskatchewan upon graduating high school in Saskatoon and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota in theatre arts. He was the first graduate from Canada’s first MFA program in film at York University and the first minority writer-director graduate of the prestigious Canadian Film Centre’s feature film programme where his short thesis film “Kumar and Mr. Jones” was the first CFC film nominated for a Genie and went on to won 3 international awards.

He has been on the faculty of Humber College’s Acting for Film and Television program, Centennial College’s film program, and the Toronto Film School. He has also been invited to give seminars and workshops on acting and screenwriting, including running the first three years of the WGC-Bell Media Diverse Screenwriting program.

2. WORKSHOP : Process of directing

Date: Nov 16, 2019

Time: 2 to 3 PM

Venue: Room H104, Sheridan College, 7899 McLaughlin Road, Brampton

OVERVIEW

Renuka Jeyapalan’s workshop will allow students to understand the process of directing for TV and film, especially the collaborative aspects of filmmaking and the ability to impart your vision to all creative departments. Renuka will use one of her short films as a case study. Come prepared with questions for an interactive session.

PRESENTER

Renuka Jeyapalan is a Toronto-based writer/director and graduate of the Canadian Film Centre’s Director’s Lab. Her Genie-nominated short film BIG GIRL (05) screened at the Berlinale, Tribeca Film Festival, and TIFF, where it was awarded Best Short Film. Her other short films include ARRANGED (14), which she made for TMN, Movie Central, and the Harold Greenberg Fund, A BICYCLE LESSON (16), a finalist on CBC’s Short Film Face-Off, and LIFE SUPPORT (2019) which premiered at TIFF.

She has directed episodes of MURDOCH MYSTERIES, KIM’S CONVENIENCE, and WORKIN MOMS as well as the web series THE 410 for the CBC. She was also one of three directors on the Telefilm funded feature ORDINARY DAYS (17).

Renuka was the winner of the WIFT-T Kodak New Vision Mentorship Award (10) and has completed the TIFF Studio Incubator (16), Bell Media Diversity Screenwriter’s Program (16), and the CBC Development Workshop for Diverse Creators (16). Currently, she is in post-production on her first feature. She has an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto.

3. SEMINAR : Film Markets

Date: Nov 16, 2019

Time: 3 to 4 PM

Venue: Room H104, Sheridan College, 7899 McLaughlin Road, Brampton

OVERVIEW

This workshop will examine the business side of major film festivals – from the selection process to the bustling film markets. Examining the selling and distribution of films that takes place during festivals, this workshop will provide hands-on advice on how to perfect your elevator pitch. Drawing on her experience in Cannes, Amirah will offer tips and insights on how to network and make meaningful connections with important members of the film industry.

There will be a Q&A session, so please come prepared with all your questions!

PRESENTER

Amirah Islam is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business, pursuing a career in entertainment marketing. She currently works full time at The Second City, an improv comedy theatre and school with locations in Chicago, Hollywood, and Toronto. She has volunteered for the Toronto International Film Festival for four years, assisting in the marketing department. Amirah recently completed an internship at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, assisting a Canadian sales agency at the Cannes film market.