Archive · Blood in the Snow Film Festival Presents
Industry Conference · Nov 21–23 · Toronto
Deadly Exposure is our industry conference at Blood in the Snow, featuring in-depth panels and power round tables with key industry professionals from across Canada's screen industry, held at the Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7).
Made possible with the financial support of Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates, and the Independent Production Fund.
All 5 panels include live captioning. Passes include a full delegate contact list sent after the event.
Complimentary coffee and tea courtesy of Coffin Creek Coffee Co.
In this three-part event over two days, participants meet with Canada's industry leaders to discuss financing, distribution, key funders, sales agents, and producers.
Stay for a networking drink with your colleagues at the Tranzac Club before heading over to the screenings at the Isabel Bader Theatre.
Complimentary coffee and tea courtesy of Coffin Creek Coffee Co.
Full Deadly Exposure Pass or Panel Pass required for Friday industry panels.
Creating Doom in The Digital Space
Digital platforms are blurring the lines between web and TV series. The quality and complexity of web series are increasingly on par with what we see in the feature film realm, with major broadcasters like Super Channel, Hollywood Suite, APTN, and OutTV collaborating with digital genre creators. Meet some of the creators of these programs and discuss their influence on genre production in Canada.
Moderated by Mariah Owen
Guests include:
Ashlea Wessel (Creepy Bits)
Francesco Loschiavo (Tales from the Void)
Luke Hutchie (EZRA)
David J Fernandes (Creepy Bits)
Ashlea Wessel is a writer and director hailing from Toronto. Her work uses elements of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy as a framework to explore themes of social, political, and personal upheaval — coupling stark realism with a phantasmagoric flair. Her first two short films INK and TiCK screened at festivals around the globe. In 2019, Ashlea was a recipient of WIFT's From Our Dark Side award, and participated in the Frontières Shorts to Features pitch session.
Francesco Loschiavo is a Canadian-born, London-based independent filmmaker. He began directing in 2017 with his first short film Into The Grey and runs independent production company Envoi Entertainment, which has produced two feature films including the thriller Tear Us Apart and documentary Refugee.
Luke Hutchie is an award-winning Canadian LGBTQ+ television producer, screenwriter, director, and actor. He created, produced, and starred in EZRA, a digital series starring Priyanka (Canada's Drag Race) and Veronika Slowikowska (What We Do in the Shadows). He has since worked with Blue Ice Pictures, Blue Ant Studios, Marble Media, OUTtv, and CBC, where he created and produced Ghosting.
David J Fernandes is a multi-award-winning Canadian & Portuguese filmmaker focused on creating highly original films and TV in genres spanning comedy, docu-series, horror, thriller, and sci-fi. His first short, RE-WIRE, premiered at Fantasia. David is the creator of the horror series Creepy Bits.
Mariah Owen is an award-winning, multi-hyphenate actor, creator, and filmmaker who founded Webby-honoree production company GTE Productions. Her films have played at SXSW, Sitges, and Cannes, and can be found on Amazon, Hulu, Crave, Apple, and CBC Gem.
Equity Behind the Camera: Support for Underrepresented Creators
Join us for an in-depth conversation with behind-the-scenes supporters of BIPOC and underrepresented creators and changemakers in the Canadian film industry. Learn what you can do better to bring underrepresented voices in front and behind the camera to the forefront.
Moderated by Heidy Morales
Guests include:
Kadon Douglas, Executive Director — BIPOC TV and Film
Alethea Bakogeorge, Director of Programs & Development — Disability Screen Office
Luisa Alvarez Restrepo, Director of Inclusion and Community Development — ACTRA Toronto
Julian Carrington, Founder — Racial Equity Media Collective
Kadon Douglas is a dedicated advocate for artists and cultural producers. Recognized as one of the Globe and Mail's Top 25 Most Influential People in Canadian Television (2023), before her role as Executive Director at BIPOC TV & Film, she led marketing and communications at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University and WIFT-Toronto.
Luisa Alvarez Restrepo is a Colombian-born film executive, diversity advocate, and artist. She is the Director of Inclusion and Community Development at ACTRA Toronto, where she leads work to tackle anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination. Previous work includes WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery) and TIFF.
Alethea Bakogeorge (she/her) is a physically disabled access professional, fundraiser, and actor with cerebral palsy. She is the Director of Programs & Development at the Disability Screen Office and has worked across Canada in fundraising and access at organizations including the National accessArts Centre and The Musical Stage Company.
Julian Carrington is a film programmer, creative analyst, and racial equity advocate based in Toronto. He is Managing Director of the Racial Equity Media Collective (REMC), a non-profit committed to equity for BIPOC creators in Canada's film, television, and digital media industries. Julian is also a programmer with Hot Docs.
Heidy Morales is the founder of Hye's Musings, an alternative media website covering film, theatre, and arts and culture. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, she was born in Guatemala and has been writing about the film scene locally and abroad for over 12 years.
Stay for a networking drink with your colleagues at the Tranzac Club before heading over to the screenings at the Isabel Bader Theatre.
Complimentary coffee and tea courtesy of Coffin Creek Coffee Co.
Revolutionizing Film Production: The Interplay of Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality and Virtual Production
Dive into the exhilarating world of Artificial Intelligence and Immersive Media at this transformative workshop. This creative and interactive session merges cutting-edge technology and innovation with the art of storytelling — exploring the future of media where innovation meets imagination.
Moderated by Keda Edwards Pierre
Guests include:
Tanya Stemberger, co-CEO — Immersion Room
Christopher Bernard, VP/Creative Producer — Coyalu Media Group
Spencer Idenouye, Developer, Educator & Artist — Screen Industries Research and Training Centre
Joseph Ellsworth, Technical Advisor in XR Immersive Media — Story2Tech
Jeannine Charles, Mixed Reality & Media Producer — And Action! Media
Marko Cigljarev, Multimedia Designer & Educator
Tanya Stemberger is co-CEO of Immersion Room, a Virtual Production company based in Toronto recently shortlisted for an Academy Award in Science and Technology. Immersion Room designs in-camera VFX LED volumes, processors, and tools, offering end-to-end virtual production services to make VP accessible to filmmakers of all sizes.
Christopher Bernard has contributed to Lego Friends: The New Chapter, Luna, Chip & Inkie: Adventure Rangers Go!, and an animated Christmas special. He's a Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voice delegate and graduate of the Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program and BIPOC Kids TV Writing Bootcamp.
Spencer Idenouye is the Virtual Production Lead and Senior Motion Capture Specialist at Sheridan College's Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT). With over a decade of experience in real-time rendering, in-camera VFX, and motion capture, he holds a Master's Degree in 3D Animation.
Joseph Ellsworth of Story2Tech is a Producer & Technical Advisor and an Immersive Technology Support Specialist with OCAD University. He is the Producer and Technical Lead for Fiery Sparks of Light, a Volumetric AR immersive celebration of poetry.
Jeannine Charles is committed to crafting immersive experiences that transcend the boundaries of reality. She pivoted her career into the tech space exploring XR and co-created her first VR prototype before founding her XR production company providing AR/VR marketing solutions for mid-sized businesses.
Marko Cigljarev is a Yugoslavian-born multimedia artist and designer based in Toronto. He studied film production at Humber College and interactive media at George Brown College. His projects use 16mm film, digital video, 3D design, Arduino, and extended reality.
Keda Edwards Pierre brings a unique and authentic voice to her consultancy and content development work. Her content studio, Broken Whole Media, creates, develops, and produces provocative scripted and unscripted content through A.R.T.S. Keda joined Blood in the Snow in 2023 as Assistant Development Coordinator for the BITS Development Lab and Deadly Exposure.
The Journey from Production to Distribution
Find out what you need to know as a producer to find and work with the right distributor. This panel includes a mix of producers and distributors — meet some of Canada's top distributors and producers to get the latest market trends and find out what's happening in the Canadian film industry and the US and international marketplace.
Moderated by Becca McKay
Guests include:
Bruno Marino, Producer
Todd Brown, Head of International Acquisitions & Producer — XYZ Films
CF Benner, Operations Manager — Black Fawn Distribution
Bruno Marino has produced over 60 films, including Gridlocked (Netflix, 150+ countries) starring Dominic Purcell, Danny Glover, and Stephen Lang, and Fight Another Day starring Jim Belushi and Martin Kove. His films have garnered over 10 Best Feature awards at festivals worldwide.
Todd Brown is an experienced film festival programmer and founder of ScreenAnarchy.com. He joined XYZ Films in 2009 as Head of International Acquisitions, with a strong focus on emerging talent. He has served as producer or executive producer on Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance titles including The Raid, Spring, and Bushwick.
CF Benner is Black Fawn Distribution's Sales and Operations Manager, handling the promotional planning and structure of each film release. With over ten years of industry experience, he knows how to pitch titles to distributors, what pitfalls to avoid, and how to best support a film once it's released.
Becca McKay is the Programming Manager of the Fantasia International Film Festival, a film critic for CULT Mtl, and a film historian based in Montreal. Her work supports filmmakers from early development through theatrical release.
In A Violent Nature: A Canadian Horror Breakthrough
When Chris Nash's In A Violent Nature premiered at Sundance, it was picked up by IFC Films and became the big breakthrough success for a genre film from Canada. This unlikely low-budget film went on to make over $4.1 million at the US box office and gathered high-profile fans like Stephen King. Join the filmmakers celebrating its success and discussing its creation.
Moderated by Alex West
Guests include:
Peter Kuplowsky, Producer
Shannon Hanmer, Producer
Pierce Derks, Director of Photography
Ry Barrett, Actor
Peter Kuplowsky is a film curator, producer, and writer based in Toronto. Since 2005, he has championed genre cinema and underground art at various international film festivals. He has led TIFF's Midnight Madness section since 2017. His productions include Steven Kostanski's Psycho Goreman, Mickey Reece's Climate of the Hunter, and Charles Roxburgh's Metal Detector Maniac.
Shannon Hanmer is an independent film producer and programmer. Her first feature as producer was the sci-fi comedy Psycho Goreman with Steven Kostanski, which became an instant cult classic. She most recently produced Chris Nash's In A Violent Nature, which premiered at Sundance 2024 and debuted in the top ten in both the North American and UK box offices.
Pierce Derks is a cinematographer based in Toronto with a lifelong love for bold genre cinema. His recent work includes In A Violent Nature (nominated for Best Cinematography in the 2024 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards), Frankie Freako, and The All Golden.
Ry Barrett is a Toronto-based actor originally from Guelph, Ontario. He can be seen in the 6-time CSA-nominated Cult Hero, the Sundance 2024 hit In A Violent Nature (playing the lead, Johnny), and CSA-nominated genre hits The Hyperborean and Beyond the Chamber of Terror.
Alex West is the author of Films of the New French Extremity: Visceral Horror and National Identity, The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula, and Gore-Geous: Personal Essays on Beauty and Horror. She has co-hosted the Faculty of Horror podcast with Andrea Subissati since its inception in 2012.
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