HBFF BLACK MARKET: PANEL DIVERSITY ON / OFF SCREEN
A great panel of industry professionals will talk about the under representation of Black talent off and on screen. They will share their experiences regarding the issue as well as offering ideas and advice to help solve the problem. Our goal is to help increase the number of black professionals working on film sets in the Halifax and Atlantic Regional - behind and in front of the camera. Be a part of this important discussion.
PANELISTS
Tara L. Taylor : Tara is currently the Cofounder & Festival Director for The Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival in its 9th year; a filmmaker, playwright, actress, multi-media artist and singer; has worked in the film industry for 17 years in various roles. Current member of AFCOOP, Program Committee at Centre for Art Tapes, Board member of The OM Arts Foundation, Centre for Art Tapes, Melanated Artist Collective, Bus Stop Theatre and Vice Chair of Link Performing Arts Society. In her role as Producer for Charles Taylor Theatre & Media Arts Association, she has produced and starred in numerous productions.
Cory Bowles:
Cory Bowles is a multidisciplinary artist from Truro, Nova Scotia. Most known for “Cory” in the TV series TRAILER PARK BOYS, of which he currently serves as a director. He is principal choreographer and director of the companies Verve Mwendo Dance, and Black Rabbit Entertainment, he has created numerous works / choreographies for stage and film. As a musician he has scored film and appeared and recorded over a dozen releases. His long list of credits includes director of the award winning CBC mini series STUDIO BLACK!, DIGGSTOWN and is a writer for the CBC comedy, LITTLE DOG .After making a number of short films, he released his award winning feature film BLACK COP.
Jason Beaudry: With 20 years’ experience in film festival management, Jason currently serves as Program Director of FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival, overseeing all aspects of film selection and curation across the organization’s family of events.
Rohan Fernando – Producer National Film Board’s Quebec Atlantic Studio: Rohan Fernando’s first documentary, Cecil’s Journey, won best film at the Atlantic Film Festival and was nominated for a Gemini Award. His other feature documentaries include Trudeau’s Other Children, Blood & Water, and The Chocolate Farmer. “Snow” premiered at Cinequest and opened the Reelworld Film Festival, marking his feature dramatic debut. Rohan recently collaborated on “Becoming Labrador” for NFB and is now serving as Producer for the Atlantic Studio.
Jeremy Webb -Artistic Director of Neptune Theatre, Halifax: Jeremy has been part of the arts community in Nova Scotia for 20 years. Under his direction, Neptune Theatre has strengthened its commitment to seeing all Nova Scotians represented on the stage and in its programming choices. Shauntay Grant's The Bridge kicked things off this year and the season ends with the Canadian premiere of The Color Purple. Webb has worked in nearly every theatre venue in the province, toured extensively with his own shows and is proud to have written and directed Cinderella for Neptune. His next Neptune season (for 2019-20) gets revealed on March 6th.
Floyd Kane - executive producer CBC legal drama Diggstown. Floyd Kane is the creator, executive producer and showrunner of the new original CBC legal drama, DIGGSTOWN. Prior to DIGGSTOWN, Floyd’s recent writing credits include SLASHER (Netflix), BACKSTAGE (Disney/DHX), CONTINUUM (Syfy) and the critically acclaimed feature film, ACROSS THE LINE. In addition to his work as a screenwriter, Floyd continues to produce independent feature films. His recent producing credits include, JEAN OF THE JONESES, which debuted at SXSW and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, ANGELIQUE’S ISLE, a period indigenous drama, THE INCREDIBLE 25th YEAR OF MITZI BEARCLAW and BROWN GIRL BEGINS based on the renowned novel, “Brown Girl in the Ring.”
