Meet the Directors, presented by the DGC will give screenwriters the opportunity to sign up for one-on-one ten-minute meetings during a one-hour breakout session at the TSC. Each registered delegate may sign up for a maximum of five meetings over a 60-minute session. Participating delegates should have a project that they are specifically looking to find a Director for. Participating Directors have indicated the types of projects that they are interested in. 

Presented By

Craig is a director of television series for NETFLIX, HULU, AMAZON, SYFY, PBS, HALLMARK, CBC, THE SPACE CHANNEL, and THE COMEDY NETWORK, including episodes of DARK MATTER, SLASHER, GOOD WITCH, and the controversial MURDOCH MYSTERIES 2018 Halloween Special where everyone gets taken over by alien spider creatures.

He was the Co-Creator, Executive Producer, and Showrunner of the live action half-hour supernatural-comedy high school series for Adults, TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL, which ran for 26 episodes on THE SPACE CHANNEL in Canada, SHUDDER in the US, and internationally.

He co-directed and co-wrote the TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL Animated Feature Film, distributed by Raven Banner Entertainment, which was released theatrically across Canada in fall 2017.

Craig directed all eight episodes of the first season of NETFLIX’s original series SLASHER, which was nominated for 5 Canadian Screen Awards including Best Direction in A Limited Series and Best Limited Series, and won for Best Supporting Actress.

Craig won an Emmy for his directing, and has been nominated for Best Direction at the Gemini Awards, Canadian Comedy Awards, and four times at the Canadian Screen Awards, as well as nominated for Best Short Film at the Directors Guild Of Canada Awards. He has been nominated twice and won once at the Writers Guild Of Canada Awards, and won the 2013 Bell Media Fellowship Award.

You can find more about Craig and see his work at: www.craigdavidwallace.com

The projects I am looking for are: HORROR, THRILLER, SUPERNATURAL and SCI FI genre.

My passion in collaborating with screenwriters is to help make the most meaningful creative contribution to the best possible narratives. I have long history of working with fellow screenwriters and a screenwriter myself understand the immense value and strength in creative alliances, united in a common goal and shared cinematic language, where the only higher power is the quality of the collaborated vision and work. it is the single greatest creative opportunity there is.

The projects I am looking for are: My sensibility ranges from Social Justice to psychological dramas to more hybrid genres like Comedy-Thrillers. My stories are character driven. I am fascinated by everyday outsiders who find themselves on moral / ethical quests to correct / aright injustice, real or imagined.

A native Montrealer now based in Toronto, Jim caught the film bug in his teens and has never been cured. His body of work flows through the eclectic worlds of music videos, commercials, independent film, factual and scripted television. Jim cut his teeth in television drama directing several successful youth programs including the hit series ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK (Nickelodeon/YTV), THE MYSTERY FILES OF SHELBY WOO (Nickelodean/YTV) MTV’s UNDRESSED and for DEGRASSI JUNIOR HIGH producers Epitome Productions on INSTANT STAR (CTV).

Since then Jim has created award-winning work for primetime dramas on both French and English platforms. Highlights include FLASHPOINT, HEARTLAND, REPUBLIC OF DOYLE, CRACKED, and LE CLAN.

His independent feature 3 SAISONS won multiple international awards including the Borsos for best Canadian feature at the 2008 Whistler Film Festival, and a triple nomination at the 2010 Genie Awards including Best Picture. In 2013 he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction for FLASHPOINT, A DAY IN THE LIFE. In 2014-2015 Jim was tapped for 2 seasons as series director on the acclaimed Frenchlanguage drama LE CLAN for SRC, recently acquired by ITV for an American remake and now streaming on Netflix. In 2016 he directed the pilot for soccer drama 21 THUNDER for CBC and Netflix. In 2017, Jim helmed the 6-part mini-series entitled LE SIEGE produced by Attraction Images for which he received his 4th DGC Nomination for best director in the 2018 gala. He recently directed the true-crime television movie BELIEVE ME, The Abduction of Lisa McVey for Cineflix which aired to top ratings on LMN in 2018. Currently Jim is collaborating with producers Attraction Images, Echo Media and Casablanca on new television drama series projects including MONT ROUGE, a 6-part mini-series slated for 2019 for Bell Media and Montreal producer Joanne Forgues at Casablanca Films.

The projects I am looking for are: Currently, I am seeking two things primarily: strong, character-based dramas for television. These can be in any genre, limited series, regular series, or television movies. Second, I am looking for my next feature film that I can bring into Telefilm. Once again dramas are my strong suit and I am open to any story that I can connect to. I love strong characters, idiosyncratic stories, and unique voices. I am attracted to historical dramas, crime dramas, sci-fi and am particularly attracted to stories that explore the father-son relationship, identity, middle life, loyalty, the global climate crisis, social justice and the vast array of struggles that make us who we are.

Kelly Makin is an award-winning director who has received international acclaim for his film and television work at home and abroad. Among his feature credits are the mob comedy MICKEY BLUE EYES (Warner Bros), KIDS IN THE HALL: BRAIN CANDY (Paramount), and his first studio picture, New Line’s SENIOR TRIP. Kelly has also directed innumerable hit television series and TV movies for both Canadian and American networks. He started his television career directing the highly acclaimed HBO comedy KIDS IN THE HALL for Lorne Michaels. Kelly re-teamed with the KIDS IN THE HALL as Director on the mini-series, DEATH COMES TO TOWN.

Amongst Kelly’s other TV credits are Gemini nominated turns on THE ELEVENTH HOUR, Showtime’s QUEER AS FOLKS (a show for which Kelly received three DGC Award nominations), SyFy’s BEING HUMAN, and MOTIVE CTV/NBC-Universal). He was also one of the key directors on the CTV/CBS hit FLASHPOINT, which garnered him one of two Best Direction Gemini Awards in 2009 – the second was for HBO Canada dramedy, LESS THAN KIND. Kelly served as Producing Director on the Shaw Series REMEDY, and directed two episodes of The History Channel’s epic series VIKINGS before reuniting with KIDS IN THE HALL alumnus Bruce McCulloch on YOUNG DRUNK PUNK (Rogers/Seven24).

Kelly’s more recent credits include MARY KILLS PEOPLE (Global), SHADOWHUNTERS (ABC), X COMPANY (CBC), THE DETAIL (CTV) and PRIVATE EYES (Global/eOne) on which he has also served as an Executive Producer, and INCORPORATED (Syfy) from Executive Producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. He also served as Executive Producer and Director on the new CBC series DIGGSTOWN.

Kelly is currently directing for the new medical drama series NURSES (eOne) and he is set to direct the crime dramedy CARTER (Bravo) and legal drama BURDEN OF PROOF (CBC).

The projects I am looking for are: I am looking for Dramatic and Comedic Feature Film and Television Projects. A wide variety of genres and tones are of interest to me. What attracts me to a project is the quality of the writing. Ideally they are cinematic, emotional, smart character based stories with a sense of humour.

Marta Borowski is an emerging DGC director and former script supervisor of 14 years on shows such as NBC’s HANNIBAL, Syfy’s ALPHAS, Netflix’s feature SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS WITH RICKY GERVAIS & ERIC BANA, and NBC’s STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. As a director, she has worked on Family Channel’s sitcom REALLY ME and a handful independent projects, including her short film JACOB’s ARROW which premiered at the Phoenix Film Festival. In between projects, Marta has been shadowing accomplished directors, and attending workshops to hone her skills and practise directing actors. Marta recently created a web series, RESOLVE, for which she directed a proof-of-concept with an ensemble cast including Jane Moffat, Joanne Boland, Spencer Macpherson, Chelsea Clark, Mike Taylor and Matthew Isen. Resolve has been very well received and will be produced and distributed by iTHENTIC. A television expansion of the concept is also on the horizon.

The projects I am looking for are:

– character driven dramas
– dark comedies
– dramedies
– dramas with elements of Sci-Fi
– stories with women leads
– stories about mental health
– stories with flawed characters
– underdog stories, struggle
– whimsical stories with elements of surrealism
– Types of shows/stories I would like to direct: Six Feet Under, Black Mirror, Orphan Black,Being Erica,The Great Beauty, Mr. Robot, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Lost In Translation, Big Little Lies, American Beauty, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Nikila (Nikki) Cole has established an international reputation as an award-winning writer, producer, and director. Formerly a critically acclaimed choreographer and theater director, she transitioned into film production and continued circling the globe with her 11-year old daughter Sarah for three years. They created a PBS and Vision TV documentary WANDERINGS: A JOURNEY TO CONNECT, as they explored strange and unusual Jewish communities from Korea to Iceland to India. She was the Series Producer/director of You…Me & the Kids for WTN and also produced audio-visual materials for Vancouver’s Pacific Space Centre, the King Abdulaziz Historical Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and was production manager for several English and foreign language Motion Simulator Ride films including MARS and SEATREK for SimEx Inc.

Her other documentaries and dance films include PAUL’S PIECE OF SKY (PBS) about a struggling African American Dance Company and INTIMACIES about Michael Kearns, Hollywood’s first openly HIV+ actor. (Bravo, Audience Vote: Best Documentary, Palm Springs Int’l Film Fest).

Now, after an extensive career as a writer/producer/director/story producer of over 15 factual series including THE SHOPPING BAGS, TAKE THIS HOUSE & SELL IT, TILL DEBT DO US PART, FOUR WEDDINGS, STORAGE WARS CANADA, and ICE ROAD TRUCKERS, she’s expanded into scripted entertainment with a dramatic BravoFACT short, MY FATHER, JOE adapted from a story by Jack Engelhard (INDECENT PROPOSAL). After winning five international awards including the Special Jury Remi Award at WorldFest Houston, it was well received in the Cannes Marche, broadcast on The Movie Channel and released on iTunes. She directed the Canadian Screen Awards nominated TESSA and SCOTT about Canada’s Olympic ice dancing champions for the W Network, as well the CSA nominated KEEPING CANADA ALIVE, and CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON for the CBC. She was the showrunner for a CBC pilot. ANYTHING BUT AVERAGE, exploring the real-life stories behind Canada’s statistics.

Nikki is currently developing two drama series, two features, and a documentary. One of the features, The Bride’s Wedding, recently won Best Screenwriting at the Jogja International Film Festival in Indonesia, and her pilot script for the series Serpent Queen just won Best TV Pilot Screenplay at the Oaxaca International Film Festival.

The projects I am looking for are: I’m looking for a low budget screenplay (either drama or comedy) that I can direct as my first feature, after transitioning from documentaries and short films.

Rama Rau is that rare mix of woman director who can tackle character-driven as well as fast action, as can be seen in her fiction feature HONEY BEE, starring Julia Sarah Stone (ALLURE) and Martha Plimpton (THE BLACKLIST, RAISING HOPE). Lensed by Steve Cosens (BLAZE, CARDINAL) and penned by Bonnie Fairweather and Kathleen Hepburn, the film garnered both the Reel Indie Award at the Canadian Film Fest and the EDA Best Film Award at the Whistler Film Festival. A gritty take on human trafficking, shot on location in North Bay, Ontario, this film was EP’d by Damon D’Oliveira (BOOK OF NEGROES) and Sally Karam (WHAT WE HAVE). As a Canadian Screen Award nominated writer-director whose works feature strong roles, Rau is well known for her daring choice of subject matter and ability to interest funders in her directorial voice, moving between fiction and documentary. A recipient of TIFF’s Irving Avrich Award for 2018, Rau has also been the shadow director on MURDOCH MYSTERIES while completing THE DAUGHTER TREE, an epic documentary film, six years in the making, about the disappearance of women in India resulting in all-male populations in some villages. She has made a name for herself as being a pioneer in employing all-female crews on her film LEAGUE OF EXOTIQUE DANCERS which was Opening Night film at Hot Docs in 2016 to rave reviews. NO PLACE TO HIDE, a film on teen cyberbullying, was voted an Audience Award winner in 2015. Rau is also the winner of the TIFF Pitch This! first ever Honorable Mention for UNWANTED. Her first short fiction AFTERMATH played at the Cannes Film Festival’s Court Metrages.

Rau’s work has screened in more than fifty international film festivals and has been covered by The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Playback, The Toronto Star and Globe and Mail. She has been profiled as one of Canada’s Top Ten Women Filmmakers, winning awards like the EDA Best Film Award, the Hot Docs Don Haig Award, the Stuttgart Best Director Award and the Golden Panda for Best Director. A PhD in English Drama and Literature from the University of Madras, India, Rau is an alumna of the Women in the Director’s Chair program (WIDC) and of the Judith Weston and Joan Scheckel Director’s Labs in LA and a member of the Alliance of Women Directors (AWD) in LA and the Director’s Guild of Canada.

The projects I am looking for are: Female-led character-driven films about gender, race or sexuality with an outsider perspective, where the protagonist finds agency, going through an experience that changes them forever.

Reem Morsi had careers in professional scuba diving and in human rights internationally, at the United Nations and many other international organizations, in both peace and war zones, before becoming a writer/director.

Morsi is a recipient of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s inaugural Apprenticeship Program for Female Directors, through which she shadowed the director of THE HANDMAID’S TALE on a block of episodes . She has also been chosen as a participant of Women in View’s 2xMore 2017 Director’s Lab, where she shadowed on and direct an episode of Sinking Ship Entertainment’s series DINO DANA. Reem is currently a story editor at Up in The Air, a new TV series writing room and is invited to participate at Cannes Film Festival’s La Fabrique Des Cinémas Du Monde May 2019.

Morsi has participated in the Berlinale Talents in 2012, the Canadian Film Centre’s Directors’ Lab in 2015, the TIFF Talent Lab in 2016 and the Women in the Director’s Chair in 2014/2015. She recently won the Telefilm Canada New Voices Award at the Toronto Screenwriters Conference in 2017. Most recently, she was selected as one of 10 participants at the Berlinale Script Lab 2018, and both herself and her project “Bootleg” were especially highlighted at the Berlinale Talents Opening Ceremony and throughout the program. Following that, Reem & Bootleg participated at Realness Pan African Screenwriting Residency (Summer 2018) & the Berlinale Residency at Nipkow 2018.

Morsi’s film credits include THEIR FEAST (2012 – Cannes Short Film Corner, TIFF, BBC, Cine Sud), NOSTALGIA (2015 – WIFT), among others. Several of her short film scripts were named finalists of the Robert Bosch Foundation Film Prize, an affiliate of the Berlin Film Festival. Other shorts of Morsi’s include THE DOOR (2016), which screened at Whistler Film Festival, Cascadia, Women in Film Toronto, Mosaic MISAFF17 and many others, and won Best Drama at the 2017 Yorkton Film Festival, and SHOW & TELL (2016), which won first place at the WIFT/BravoFact pitch competition and screened at the 2017 Yorkton Film Festival, where it won Golden Sheaf Awards for Best Director, Best Short Subject and Best Emerging Director. It also screened at many notable film festivals including Austin and South Florida and more. Reem has also won the Canadian National Genre Competition by WIFTV for her story “Fish”.

In March 2016, Morsi received the prestigious SFFILM Rainin Grant in screenwriting for her feature film BOOTLEG. Subsequently, her short film based on this feature screened at a number of international film festivals, and was awarded the best Canadian short at the London Worldwide Comedy Festival.

Morsi is a recipient of the Telefilm Canada Talent to Watch feature film micro-budget grant for her feature script HATE and is planning to shoot her first feature in mid 2019.

I am looking for genre projects in the following order:
Projects with heart, that are either –
a-Psychological Thriller
b-Magical Realism
c-Horror or Sci-Fi

Samir Rehem is a director known for bringing a fresh aesthetic to iconic television series and edgy indie comedies. He’s currently developing a new sci-fi series with IDW Publishing and Gotham Group based on the graphic novel JUDAS: THE LAST DAYS.

He most recently worked with Greg Garcia on the comedy series, THE GUEST BOOK for TBS and Howie Mandel on a comedy pilot for eOne Entertainment. Other directorial work has been featured on award-winning television series such as SKINS, KILLJOYS and WHAT WOULD SAL DO? Samir has also collaborated with Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew on the viral video YOU IN YOUR WERE, featuring Zach Galifianakis.

Samir has been nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards for Best Direction, one DGC Award for the comedy series WHAT WOULD SAL DO? and two Canadian Comedy Awards, one of which he won for his work on the IFC series COCK’D GUNNS.

Samir is an active member of the DGA & DGC, he is based in Toronto, Canada where he continues to work in film and television.

The projects I am looking for are: 1-hour genre television series (sci-fi, thriller or mystery) — in features I have the same interest but would also consider comedy. In the half-hour space I like television comedies that are more serialized. A good example of that style would be shows like; BARRY, FOREVER, BLACK MONDAY, etc.

Stefan Brogren may be best known for playing the role of Archie “Snake” Simpson on the series DEGRASSI, but he’s also directed over 60 episodes of the iconic series.

Along with Directing for series OPEN HEART, THE L.A. COMPLEX, and RAISING EXPECTATIONS, Stefan is also an accomplished Producer. He has received 4 Primetime Emmy nominations for his producing work within the DEGRASSI franchise.

Stefan has been nominated 3 times, with two wins at the Canadian Screen Awards for “Best Direction in a Youth Program or Series”. He won a Directors Guild of Canada Award in 2015 for the series OPEN HEART and received his fourth DGC nomination in 2017 for DEGRASSI: NEXT CLASS.?
This past summer he directed and co-executive produced the live action teen drama HOLLY HOBBIE for Hulu.

The projects I am looking for are: Although Stefan has a love for youth drama and would love to read screenplays in the genre, he’d love to explore outside that realm. This would include, comedy, suspense, horror and the beyond. They can be youth oriented or with an adult edge. Stefan’s looking to collaborate with screenwriters with original voices outside the circles he already knows within the industry. Feature and series ideas are welcome.